Beach Vacation 2013

Well, hello there.  We had our family beach vacation at the end of July and we had so much fun!  It was a nice get-away from the everyday fast paced routine.

 

We got to sunny Myrtle Beach on Saturday and stayed a full week.  I was a bit nervous about the trip there since Emelia is still so young, but breaking up the trip by visiting Aunt Sandra and enjoying one of her {delicious meals} helped to make things more manageable.

We loved the condo that we stayed in.  It has such a nice set-up and it was nice to be able to have separate rooms, living room, kitchen and even a washer and dryer since my brother and his fiance joined us this year.  We even had a walk-in closet in our bedroom and a king-sized bed which was {a little piece of heaven}.  If we hadnt just ordered a new mattress, I might would begin to beg Jerry for a new bed!

 

We did so much relaxing.  Isn't that what vacation is about?  I mostly enjoyed getting to read my book to the sound of the waves and taking afternoon naps.  The girls were able to take naps, blow bubbles with Olivia, and catch up on some fun cartoons on tv.  Olivia is my 12 year old cousin (more like my niece) who Emma Kate and Emelia think is their best friend.  They truly adore her and she was such a blessing to have on our trip!

 I dont think we ever went hungry.  There were so many snacks to choose from, the girls are still trying to get their daily dose of junk!  One morning we had breakfast at the condo/ resort restaurant.  There was a big buffet and you got to eat out on the balcony and enjoy the breezy ocean air right over the water. We tried a place called Good Time Charley's at Broadway at the Beach.  It was a fun atmosphere and a great way to get our food and enjoy some fun family time and then walk around Broadway!  We also went to The Original Benjamin's Calabash Seafood. This is always a treat for us because we {love} our seafood to include crablegs and shrimp! 

 

We got to do a bit of shopping while there.  We went to Myrtle Mall and the Tanger outlets.  I was able to score some new pajamas for the girls (they like to stay in them all day on Saturdays and Sundays after church) from Carters.  I got most of them for $5 or less!!  Jerry and I picked up a few things from Under Armor since I recently started back running again. Jerry got a new pair of running shoes too. I also got a few goodies from J.Crew and was thrilled to pieces to find out that everything in the store was 40% off!  Can't beat that!  We also got to visit the Bass Pro Shop so of course Jerry and my brother were in hog heaven.  I also found a cute little shop that sold monogrammed items and bows.  I snagged a few bows while I had the chance.





There were tons of hot tubs, several swimming pools, two lazy rivers and enough beach viewing for all!  The girls had a chance to go onto the beach and make sand castles and Olivia was able to ride the boogy board.  We searched for seashells so that Emma Kate could add them to her collection. Emma Kate was hilarious on the beach.  She has such a texture hypersensitivity that walking on the beach was definitely not her favorite thing to do.  We have been working on getting her to eat different things, but that is for an entirely separate blog post.  She would walk from our sand mat -- just a mat that layed onto the sand to keep our things from getting to much sand on them, to the boogy board, all to dig and build sand castles.  Emelia was pretty much a free spirit.  She would run towards the ocean and splash her feet and then run back to the sand.
 


Olivia and I had a chance to go for a long run on the beach.  There was a pier not too far from us, so we ran down to it one morning and then back to the resort in time for coffee and breakfast.

Olivia really enjoys watching Myrtle Manor on tv, so we took a little trip over to where the show is filmed.  I think she enjoyed herself!

 

There was a turtle race at the lazy river daily.  Each child got to purchase one and name and decorate it.  We had Graycen, Sasha and Peppa Turtle.  Olivia's turtle won one of the races, but she shared her prize with Emma Kate!  There was also a petting zoo on the resort, so the girls had a chance to feed some of the animals and take a look at a large tortoise. 

We had a really wonderful time!  It was the perfect way to end our summer and get geared up for a new school year!