Mini Vacation

Em’s school transitions classrooms based on the school year, so it’s closed for two days of teacher training every August.  She started in September last year, so this is the first time we’ve had to think about those two days.  I knew I’d take the days off to spend with her, but a few weeks ago, Mick said he’d take them off too, so we decided to spend a four-day weekend in Hilton Head.  We really hadn’t been to the beach all summer, and Em has talked about it nonstop, so we thought we owed her at least one good sand castle.

We left Thursday morning and arrived around noon—the hotel had our room ready, so we checked in early and headed down to the restaurant by the pool for lunch.  She got to meet the Omni dolphin right away, and wasn't shy about giving him a hug!

Em's attitude was going downhill pretty quickly at lunch, so we knew she needed a nap since we had plans for that night and she would be up late. 

She slept for a couple of hours, and when she woke up, we headed to Harbour Town for our Pirates of Hilton Head cruise.  We arrived a few minutes early so she could have her mustache painted and her tattoo applied.  She got her sword, bandana and vest and decided on Evil Eye Emily for her pirate name. 

The cruise was about an hour and a half long, and she stayed in character the whole time!  At one point, she got a turn on the water cannon to shoot at Stinky Pete, who had stolen the key to the treasure chest.  He was defeated and handed over the key, which the pirates then used to open up the sunken treasure chest that we pulled up onto the boat.  All the pirates had a turn to get a big handful of treasure—Em asked “can I take my treasure home?” and was really excited to hear that she could!

Here's a picture of all the pirates on our ship, The Black Dagger.

We had dinner on the water that night, watched a juggling act, and stayed around for a show with Greg Russell, who is apparently a Hilton Head legend. 

 He’s been playing in the same spot for over 30 years, so people come with their kids especially to see him.  Part of his show is bringing kids up on stage to sing, and after several kids got a turn and Em was passed over, she was determined to be the closing act.  He said he was looking for one more singer, and instead of raising her hand, Em got up and walked right over to him. 

After the show was over, she was so proud of herself, and told us she was the star of the show!  She has so much confidence, it’s unbelievable. 

Friday morning, we got up and had breakfast at the café in the hotel before heading down to the beach.  We stayed about half the day and built sand castles, and then went to the pool (tough life on vacation!).  We had lunch and stayed at the pool for a while before going up for a nap.  Mick went and played golf that afternoon while Em rested for a few hours.

There were butterflies everywhere, and this one liked our beach umbrella.

I think Em would have built sandcastles all day every day.

The hotel was really nice, and had two family pools--we didn't visit the adult pool, of course, but these were all we needed.

That night, we went down to the Salty Dog Café—there are several restaurants and shops right on the marina with live music and kids’ entertainment.  Em met Jake the Dog (pretty cool legend about him if you click the link above), got her face painted, and had a great time picking out costumes and dancing before we had dinner.  It was nice that she took such a late nap, because it allowed us to stay out way past her bedtime.

This was her first costume choice--there was a kids' DJ playing music outside, and she had drawers full of different costumes.

Jake stopped by to see Em again while she was having him painted on her face!

She LOVED all the music and dancing!

Em and Daddy acting silly at dinner.

We couldn't leave without souvenirs!

Saturday, we went back to the beach in the morning and then to the pool for a little while. 

That afternoon, we tried to go for a trolley ride in Harbour Town, but when the trolley never showed up, we decided to climb the lighthouse, eat a late lunch, and take Em for a pony ride instead. 

At the top of the lighthouse!

 We also found a playground that Em had to try.

The weather got a little cloudy, but never rained on us the whole time.

She loved the see-saw!

We found Lawton Stables since we missed the trolley, and stopped to see the horses and let Em ride a pony.  She loved Dusty, the white pony, and talked to him the whole way around the farm.  

When the ride was over, she gave him a big hug and thanked him for letting her ride.

Saturday night, we spent some time downstairs on the patio at the hotel listening to live music, and went back out to the beach at low tide so she could pick up seashells.  Since Em skipped a nap that day, we knew it would be a pretty early night—she slept great the whole weekend, but played so hard that she seemed to stay tired.

Especially tired after all this running around chasing seagulls!

She got out of the bathtub and played for a little while in her baker's hat (shower cap), making cakes and goodies before bed.

Em is fascinated by taking pictures with my phone, and here's one she took of us.

These are a couple of my favorites from the night at The Salty Dog.

I think this is the only one we got of all three of us--Mick isn't much for pictures!

Sunday morning, we were sad to get up and leave, but knew we still had two girls at home that probably missed us pretty badly, so we got on the road by about 10am.  It was a great long weekend

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

It has rained every day for weeks, and we sometimes resort to letting Em play in the garage some, just so she can blow bubbles, paint, etc. without worrying about the mess in the house since she can't go outside.  One afternoon, she found her rain boots and (appropriately) put them on while she blew bubbles in the garage.

I just love this little outfit :).

I hate washing the car when I know it's just going to rain again, but it was so bad I waited for an hour of sun and we headed out.  Em said she was going to "scrub it till it shines like new!"  She did a great job.

Come to think of it, I never posted about my new car--since I'm no longer traveling full time for work, I turned in my company car and we bought a Honda CR-V.  I have looked at these for years, and knew it was what I wanted, so even though we looked at some other things, the decision wasn't difficult.  We bought it on the day of Em's birthday party, so we've had it almost four months now, and love it!

Pool Party!

Our neighborhood had the annual pool party on Saturday, and even though it wasn't really sunny, we were just glad it stopped raining long enough to get in the water.  Em was excited to see Brady, our neighbor and one of her favorite friends.  As soon as she set up her chair, he brought his over to sit with her. 

 It didn't take her long this summer to get used to the water again, and she loves it.

She kept getting her mouth full of water, so we told her to close her mouth when she felt the water on her chin--she ended up just swimming around with fish lips.

Such a happy little fish.

There were kids' games--a sack race that I wasn't sure she'd want to get in.

Boy, was I wrong--look at her go!

She came in second place!  I was really proud of her, and she was thrilled to win a prize.

So of course she had to enter the limbo contest next...she didn't win this one though :).

We had a late lunch there and then headed home so she could grab a nap.

Princess

Em had a touch of an upset stomach for a couple of days when we got home from Brunswick--she seemed to feel fine, but all she wanted to eat was bananas!  She loves to dress like a princess these days, so here's Snow White eating a banana :).

4th of July Weekend

Since the holiday fell on a Thursday this year, we planned to take Friday off and go down to Brunswick, GA to spend the weekend with Mick's family.  At the last minute, Aunt Julie decided to come down and go with us, so we left Wednesday night and drove until a little after midnight.

 

We stayed with Uncle Robbie and Stacy at Pat's house on St. Simons Island--Pat is a close family friend, and Mick's mom's boss.  He has a couple of condos and a huge house that he doesn't live in full time, and he generously offered for us to use it for the long weekend.  It was fabulous!

Here are a few shots of our awesome weekend getaway.

It was so nice to have the pool in the backyard, and we spent a lot of time there.

It didn't even matter that we weren't on the beach, because we had our own island paradise.

Thursday was July 4, so we got together and spent the day with the family, mostly in and around the pool relaxing--that afternoon, we went to the waterfront in BrunswickW for fireworks.

We ate, and Em got an American flag sticker that she proudly showed off.

She made her rounds to see everyone...

and was so excited to have Aunt Julie with us for the weekend!

Lots of love for Uncle Stacy,

and Uncle Robbie,

and of course Grandma.

She just loves older kids, and was super glad to see her cousins, Zachary and Landon.

Zachary was so patient with her when she wanted to dance :).

We weren't sure how she'd do with the fireworks, because she's always been afraid of the noise, but she stuck with it this time--she kept her fingers in her ears the whole time, but loved watching them!

 The next day, we spent more time in the pool and the kids enjoyed popsicles on the patio.

Em decided she wanted to spend the night with Grandma and Papa on Friday and Saturday nights--it was her first time away from Mick and me both overnight, and she did great.  She said she missed us, but had plenty of distraction at Grandma's :).  The four of us went out for seafood at dinner, and then stayed up and played cards on the patio Friday night.

Saturday, we spent most of the day at Mick's parents' house--they had an inflatable pool for the kids in the backyard, and we had a bubble gun for Em (that's what she's doing in this picture).

Mick's dad grilled a ton of food, and everyone had a good time in the backyard.

Em wanted to go to the beach the whole time, and we regretfully waited until the last minute and tried to go Saturday afternoon.  We got there as a storm was coming in, so when it started raining, we headed under the shelter.

Good timing, because there was a turtle conservation group there doing a presentation.

We played a little, ate snacks,

and met the turtles!

We did at least go down so she could put her feet in the water.

The wind was crazy and it was raining, so we didn't stay long.

Beach toes :).

Em stayed with Grandma and Papa again on Saturday night, so we got some veggies, chicken and shrimp and spent our last night grilling and relaxing on the patio and in the pool.

Our only regret was not spending more time at the actual beach--so now we're deciding when to take Em back so she can build her sand castle!