Vacation: Part One

We simply could not wait for our extended vacation to begin this year.  As our previous posts would indicate, we have had quite the year thus far and a long vacation was just what everyone needed.  I learned that preparing for the vacation, although an apparent insurmountable task upfront, was actually something I enjoyed doing!  I liked thinking about the items to pack, what food should I buy, what games were car-friendly, how do I keep my toddlers occupied for a long car trip, etc.  I suppose it was a challenge, and as per usual, I'm always up for a challenge!

Once we had everything packed (near perfectly I might say, thanks to Evan!), we started our journey on Wednesday evening and headed down to Nky for the first leg.  We stayed at my parent's house and it was the perfect way to get things started.  We then woke super early and were on the road by 6am: an excellent decision as the kids were still sleepy and groggy and the roads were virtually empty.  It took us about 10-ish hours or so to make it down to Surfside Beach, and I can say the entire trip went darn-near flawlessly!  No bathroom issues, no meltdowns, no naseau for this 7-month pregnant lady - it was actually, dare I say, enjoyable?!  

We arrived at T & T's house around dinner time and thrilled to be at the beach and officially on vacation!  Tommy and Tracy are the most gracious hosts and had dinner ready for us and eager to open their home and visit with us.  They live less than a mile from the beach and have bikes and a golf cart to transport us and our roughly 47.8 lbs of necessary beach-gear to the beach every day!  Our weather was great and we all enjoyed time relaxing, swimming, reading, playing games, and of course, eating!  The kids love being down there and it was especially fun this year as we didn't have to mess with diapers or eating sand or anything that can sometimes make the beach not-so-enjoyable.  

We have created such fond memories of Surfside Beach and are so grateful to Tommy and Tracy for opening their home so that we can get some reprive from the doldrums of life in the Midwest!

Enjoy the pictures!

Early morning excitement for vacation!

As noted, Luke LOVES music, so I bought him this old-school Discman to listen to all of his music - he loved it and kept him occupied for hours!

Jane working on a sticker book I created for her.  Yes, I created something after searching the internet - who am I?!

Picnic on the beach every day?  Yes, please!

This was pretty much an every day thing...lots of toys and sand and imaginations!

They loved looking for crabs and shells with daddy...

...until he got too tired and needed a break.

Our dear friends and hosts, Tracy and Tommy

One of my favorite pictures from vacation

August 2013

Well, if there is one thing we have learned this year, it is that we certainly do know how to round out the summer with a bang!  And by bang, I mean an incredibly jam-packed August!

Evan and I decided that we would finally take a vacation for longer than just 7 days and we were SO glad that we did.  We spent the first 10 days of August in full vacation-mode and loved every minute of it.  We drove down to Surfside Beach, SC again for our visit with our dear friends Tommy & Tracy and then from there drove to Charleston for a very fun few days with my parents at their condo down there.  Because this was such an awesome time, I'm going to write more about vacation in subsequent posts...

Not only did we do a lot of relaxing in August, but Jane started her first day of Pre-School (actually called Wee Ones; 2 days a week for 2 hours for 3 year-olds), Evan took the kids down to Indianapolis for a fun zoo trip with his cousin Brian and his 3 boys, and we capped off the month with an awesome surprise 60th birthday weekend for my dad!  

Pictures and details of vacation and my dad's birthday in later posts...too much to capture all in one....

Jane on Wee Ones Orientation Day

Luke really wanted to go to school too

Rainy first day of school, but that didn't bother Jane.  She is obsessed with that "colorful" skirt as she calls it.  Wants to wear it every single day; you can imagine the battles that ensue regarding attire every morning..

Love this one!

Two brave and awesome daddies: 5 kids under 5 (all boys but 1!) venturing out for a day at the zoo.  I have suspicions that Evan and Brian did more laughing than the kids..

Colin, Clayton, Luke and Jane

Love this little boy who wants to be just like his daddy!