Ahh....The Beach!

It's been a long 3 years since we've been on vacation, and we finally were able to go this year.....what a wonderful time we had! I had no doubt that Nolan and Natalie would take to the ocean, but I was a little apprehensive that Nathan wouldn't dig the water at his age, but he proved me wrong! All the kids enjoyed every bit of our beach trip....from the sand to the ocean, the pool to all the fun outings....we had a BLAST!!!

We went to Myrtle Beach (well, Cherry Grove to be exact) last week with Matt's parents. Thank goodness we had them with us, cause it would have been chaotic keeping up with the 3 kids on our own. We spent a few hours each day at the beach playing in the sand and ocean. I was really surprised at how warm the ocean water was for this time of year, but it was just perfect! In the evenings, we planned some outings to the aquarium, the amusement park, the arcade/ice cream shop, and Build-A-Bear. One of the things we did twice was the arcade....which was fantastic because it was the cheapest....and I think the kids enjoyed it just as much as anything else. We had dinner out every night except for one....cause the kids were just too exhausted.

For the most part, the kids were on good behavior all week. Natalie had some issues at the restaurants because she is just 2 years old. One night we went out to eat and sat across from an older couple who were probably in their 70's. Natalie started up her fussiness, and to Matt and my surprise, the older woman across from us started shushing Natalie. Matt and I were appalled by this woman. We did take Natalie out of the restaurant to let her regroup, so I don't know what else this woman expected from us. I guess some people just don't understand that a two year old doesn't act like an adult in restaurants!!! Nathan spent his restaurant time finding people to flirt with. He had so many people to choose from, and won everyone he looked at over with his bright eyes and charming smile!

We ended up doing a couple loads of laundry while we were there, which tickled Nolan. He even offered to help the woman across the hall from us do her laundry as well. He was fascinated by the coin slots on the machines, and insisted on doing that himself. I laughed when I read the directions on the machines, because they said "Never let children operate the machine"....yeah right, Nolan probably could do a complete load by himself, except for the folding!

We are glad to be back home and are settling back into the routine of things....but really hope to be able to go back to the beach in the next year or so! Here are some pics!

Our first night. Flying a kite with Natalie and Nathan.

Nathan figuring out what this sand "stuff" is all about.

Nolan standing in the middle of the sandcastle that Pops built.

Natalie taking a break to have a snack.

Nathan wanted to add his apple to the sandcastle.











Mom-o and Natalie going to find seashells.

Nolan checking out some fish at the aquarium.

Nathan getting a good look at the fish overhead.

Our group...minus Pops, he was the photographer.

Riding the rocket at the arcade.

Fun at the amusement park.

Nathan's favorite ride was on Pops' shoulders.