Goodnight South Carolina!

Our last night in South Carolina was not unlike the others except the dread of packing the van early the next morning.  It is always harder to load a vehicle when time to leave possibly because inevitably there are always additional puzzle pieces to add.  We ALWAYS return with more than we came.  We had such a wonderful, blessed, truly FUN vacation this year.  It was all so fresh and new when viewing things through Jeremiah and Rachel's eyes.  Truly a thrill!!!!

The Stages of Drying

A week at the beach, and we have developed somewhat of a routine.  Who knew there were so many stages of drying???  Stage One - Pre-Drying is simply draping a towel over or around you while walking from the beach back to the house.  However, a rinse in the outdoor shower and you find yourself wet all over again.  Stage Two - Semi-Drying takes place on the deck above the pool outside. 

Once, you are no longer dripping wet you can transition to Stage Three, and completely dry in the screened in porch.  This area is where the kids played a lot before breakfast and where they ate most of their lunches.  It was a favorite spot!

O-H-I-O

The Debate:  Picture for the Alumni Page or Child Abuse???

My dad, the OSU Alum, wanted the picture to show off his grand-cuties to other Buckeyes.  My dear hubby, who bleeds blue, likened this innocent act to child abuse.  Fear not - charges weren't filed even though this picture is now posted somewhere in Ohio State's web space.  However, I see an investment in KY WILDCAT attire in the near future :-)

Our LAST Beach Day... Sniff, Sniff :(

Friday marked our last beach day. It was hard to believe the week had already come to an end, but we made the last day count.  There was more splashing and playing in the waves and sand construction too.  Many memories were made.

Sea Pines = Playground, Lighthouse, & The Salty Dog

Thursday, we ventured out to Sea Pines.  First, we hit the playground for the munchkins to burn off some energy.  They LOVED the tire swing.  Either Jon or I would kick it and send it spinning to hear them shriek and squeal with delight.  The tree house made for a great family photo op as well!

After the kids had played awhile, we strolled through Harbour Town... occasionally poking our heads in the shops.  However, all the "pretties" were just too tempting for 6 little hands.  The amount of shopping this trip compared to last was drastically reduced.  Probably a good thing for our pocketbooks!!!!  Outside one of the shops was a Hilton Head bear just begging for a picture, so mean old Momma forced her 3 little bears to pose one more time!

Our next adventure involved the Harbour Town Lighthouse.  The kiddos were excited to scale the 114 steps to the top and even got the sticker to prove it.  The climb was not air conditioned, so I didn't feel the great need to explore the historical memorabilia marking each flight.  Needless to say, I really couldn't.  The kids weren't stopping.  Their goal was get to the top and FAST!  I wasn't in as much of a hurry because I knew the lighthouse thing was all a ploy... you see a gift shop is at the top.  Believe it or not, we escaped without falling into the buyer's trap.  We stepped outside quickly, tried not to get blown away, made faces at the live web cam pointed in our direction, and took in the sights from above.  The kids enjoyed seeing the boats and water from above.

In true Hilton Head tourist fashion, our final destination in Sea Pines was The Salty Dog Cafe.  We enjoyed lunch, tried to get the macaws to wave and talk, and acquired our Salty Dog family attire.  The kiddos are very proud to have their "JAKE DOG SHIRTS."  Such cuties :)

Dolphin Cruise

A Hilton Head Vacation tradition for us has always been a Dolphin Cruise. This year our vessel of choice was The Holiday steered by Captain Mark.  To ensure the best viewing conditions, we headed to the upper deck.  My kiddos were very chatty on this trip...  ok, they were loud!!!!  Anyway, we successfully spotted some dolphins, but the kids were actually kind of "ho-hum" about it all after seeing them so close earlier in the morning at the beach.  However, we did enjoy our cruise.

JELLYFISH

In all our years, I've been blessed never to see jellyfish in Hilton Head.  We spent a week in Gulf Shores a few years ago, and I spent little time in the water because there were whole clouds of jellyfish everywhere.  They are not my cup of tea.  I'm a wee bit afraid of them.

While swimming with Caleb in the ocean, Jon ended up getting stung on the arm by an itty bitty one.  He said it felt just like a bee sting, but nothing major.  We were just very glad that it didn't get Caleb.  My husband the great sea hunter decided to try and catch some jellyfish for the kids to see up close. 

He ended up getting several.  I said, "EEEWWWW!"  The boys said, "COOL!"  The kids liked looking at them, and we even got to share our finds with a few other families walking up and down the beach.  Just add this to our other wildlife sightings...

Love their Hearts!!!!

Too beautiful not to post :)  They were so sweet.  As the waves would come over them, they would scream "AAAAHHHHH!"  As they went out to sea, they sighed, "ahhhh."  Possibly annoying to the few other people on the beach, but I thought it was precious.

The Big Dig & Burial

Grandpa was curious!  He asked the kids what was making all of the small holes in the sand and thus ensued what I will call "THE BIG DIG!"  Daddy's big hands, shovels, sand tools, and all the munchkins were on a quest to get to the bottom of the mystery.  However, the critters were somewhat elusive, but the sandy beach had many a big hole thanks to my family!!!!

With such a ginormous hole... we needed something to fill it.  Why not Daddy????  He's such a good sport!  Jon crawled in the icky, wet, sandy hole and let the whole fam bury him.  The boys loved this... Rachel wasn't so sure about it.  It was great fun, but I must say my sweetness looked like the swamp thing by the time he emerged from his burial by sand.