Haley
Family vacation has officially come and gone for 2015. Along with my parents, James was able to come to Hilton Head Island, S.C., for the majority of the week, as well as my sister and her family and my mom’s cousin Beth. It was a whirlwind of a week, even with adults outnumbering the kids. With four little ones three and under, R&R was not on the agenda for this year. But the memories of these sweet babies having the times of their lives was priceless.
James Michael wore himself out swimming in the ocean almost as much as Poppy. He jumped wave after wave with a smile on his face that was pure joy. When the ocean was calm, he simply floated with the big people from the security of his puddle jumper. By the end of the week, when his sleep bank was depleted and he was running on fumes, it was all we could do to keep him out of the ocean in the afternoons when the waves were strongest. Despite a jellyfish sting one afternoon, there was nothing that could keep that little boy from getting back in the water.
Beaudozer wasn’t as fond of the ocean as big brother, though he did venture into it a few times throughout the week. He loved digging in the sand and filling the baby pool with sand. Plus, he had to stay close to our tent in case anyone pulled out a snack, at which point he acted just like the hovering seagulls and swooped in for a bite of anything he could scrounge up. At one point we moved our tent down the beach 50 yards and we all grabbed chairs and flip flops and sand toys to transport. Beau? The first thing he grabbed was the cooler full of snacks.
Scarlett, who is typically entertained at home by the crazy antics of the Rowdy boys, had the best week of her life getting to watch so many people all week long. She loved all the extra attention and was so excited during the trip that she even woke up a couple nights talking loudly (not crying) for more than an hour. She loved splashing her face with saltwater in the baby pool and could not eat enough fistfuls of sand.
My niece Lilly woke up every morning excited to play with the Rowdy boys. She is best buds with Beau and this trip gave us a glimpse of them in the future. She isn’t rough and tumble like Beau, but her sass helps makes them the perfect pair who look for trouble fun and you can always find them smiling and laughing at each other.
Vacations are definitely different with kids. We wised up this year and didn’t go out to eat at all. We cooked with fresh shrimp and ordered takeout. We spent the mornings on the beach and splashing in tidal pools before letting the kids play in the backyard pool while lunch was made. We all rested during naptime, either napping ourselves or reading books. After naps was another trip to the ocean near high tide, where we enjoyed the growing waves and tried our best to avoid jellyfish stings before the early evening storms rolled in. Throughout the week, we visited the splash pad, pulled the kids in a bike trailer while ogling beautiful oceanfront homes, flew kits, stomped other people’s sandcastles, played with new friends, went for wagon rides, managed to finish only half a glass of an evening cocktail at happy hour every night and went to bed exhausted by 9:30. So so thankful for this little time we had to enjoy family without any distractions. Until family vacation next year!
