Vacation - Day 4

Drew and Mikayla stand on our balcony and look out! We had the rule that they could not be out on the balcony without either Craig or myself. They were aware of this rule and they knew the danger involved so they followed it.

Since it was so nice at the ocean first thing Monday morning, we decided to do the same thing on Tuesday morning. Tuesday, again, proved to us that first thing in the morning is the best time to be at the ocean - it wasn't crowded, the water was calm (well for the ocean anyway), and the tide was going out so there was plenty of sandy shore on which to play. We looked for shells/sharks' teeth again, had fun building a sand castle with Drew (he started one again), and even went out to splash in the waves. Mikayla went out with me and Drew went with Craig (they went farther out than we did), and Mikayla wouldn't let go of my hands. It was quite funny when a wave came in and knocked us both down. I thought she would be upset, but she was too busy laughing at me to be upset.

A view of our hotel from the ocean - I'm glad we were no higher than fourth floor! It was nice!

Drew and Mikayla could not get enough of the sandy, salty water. They are our "fishies"!

They also couldn't enough of playing in the sand - we all worked hard making a sand castle together. Such fun family memories were made!

After playing a good while in the ocean, we headed back to the pool at our building. The sun was partly blocked by our building until early afternoon and it provided a nice shade (just for Craig). Part of the pool was in the sun though, for those of us who wanted a little sun. We all stayed at the pool for a long time with Craig taking Mikayla up to the room to rest a little after lunch time. Drew and I stayed at the pool until it started to storm later that afternoon. We were heading out for a seafood dinner that night anyway, so it was the perfect opportunity to get up to the room and shower and change. Mikayla jumps into the deep end - without her float I might add... while Drew works to perfect his dive.
We headed out to Murrels Inlet for dinner - we were looking for a seafood buffet restaurant where we ate once with Drew when he was a baby. They had a lady dressed as a mermaid and we wanted Mikayla to experience that. We never did find that restaurant, but we found another wonderful one instead - one that we will be sure to frequent on our trips to the beach!!

You read that right - Creek Ratz. I have to say we passed this up and instead dined at Admiral's Flagship. This may very well be a wonderful restaurant - I just couldn't bring myself to eat at any place with RAT in the name.

After dinner, we took Drew and Mikayla to play putt-putt.

They were very excited and couldn't wait to get started!

Drew poses after getting a hole in one on this hole. That's our little golfer!

Mikayla never got a hole in one, but she was oh so close several times - I'm talking about within an inch of the hole. I love this picture of her in front of one of the waterfalls.

I like this picture because you can sort of tell how high up we were - we chose to play the "castles" part of this course. There was even a "pink palace" that Mikayla loved!

After playing putt-putt we went back to the hotel and went down to the pools again. We started in the outdoor pool, but the breeze that was blowing was so cold that we moved into the indoor pool. Mikayla even enjoyed the hot tub for a couple of minutes!
Drew swims in the pool!

After leaving the pool, Drew, Mikayla, and I went back up to the room to get Craig so we could walk on the beach one last time. We were leaving on Wednesday, so we walked down for one last stroll Tuesday night.

It was so much fun watching Drew and Mikayla run in the sand. They were having a lot of fun until the fireworks started, and Mikayla decided she was ready to go. She grabbed Craig's hand and said "let's go to the room, dada". I got one last picture of them in front of the dunes!

Give Me Five - It Feels so Good to be Back!

My friend Becca, at BeccA's Buzz has a wonderful meme called Give Me Five. Each week, she challenges us to create a list of five things that go with a topic provided by her. This week Becca asked us to Give Me Five things you haven't done in a long time that you would like to do again.

Here's my Five...

1. Go Bowling - I love to bowl and there was a time (when I was 16) that I bowled every day. We have taken the children bowling before and Craig and I have gone by ourselves, but it has been awhile since either of those has happened. We love bowling on the Wii, but there is something to be said for the sound of pins clattering all around and people high-fiving after bowling a strike. With 2 busy children, bowling is just not on the top of our priority list. We will have to take time to take Drew and Mikayla bowling again soon!

2. Go to Atlanta - It has been about 2 years since our family has been to Atlanta, and I can't wait to go again. There is so much to do there, and it is not far from our house at all - closer than the beach even. I would love to visit Stone Mountain with my kids, go to another Braves game, and visit Cocoa Cola. I also wouldn't mind heading over to Helen, GA and visiting Babyland General Hospital (where the Cabbage Patch Kids are born).

3. Visit Family - Craig's grandparents, Drew and Mikayla's GG Ma and GG Pa live in Lakeland, Florida and it has been about 3 years since we have seen them. We went for Thanksgiving 3 years ago and also went to Disney's Animal Kingdom while there. We had so much fun visiting with GG Ma, GG Pa, Aunt Susie, and Aunt Juanita and we can't wait to go back again. Maybe sometime within the next year...

4. Participating in Memes - well since I'm participating now, I guess you could say I am well on my way to "doing this again"! I have really fallen behind on my memes and it always fun to participate. They always provide neat topics, and I so enjoy reading what others post. I'm hoping this is something I can stick to now that I have finally gotten back...

5. Since most of the previous activities involved spending money of some sort, I tried to come up with something that was free... walking. Walking is my preferred method of exercise, but since it has been so hot, I have gotten little of that done lately. Well, even before it was hot I wasn't getting a lot of that done - no time like the present to start, huh?

Vacation - Day 3 - The Rides!

You can't go on vacation to Myrtle Beach without going to ride rides. Although it is not the same with the Pavilion being no more, my children have enjoyed the rides at The Family Kingdom every year! Nana has always insisted on taking and paying for Drew and Mikayla (and all of her grandchildrens) wristbands. Drew and Mikayla look forward to this every year, just as my brother, sister, and I used to. The rides are always one of the highlights of our trip each year! So after Nana and Trey met us at our hotel, we headed to The Filling Station, and all you can eat pizza buffet, for dinner. The neat part about that restaurant is that I distinctly remember eating there with my family on vacations and also while we lived at the beach. Although the restaurant has changed locations (it is not bigger and can accommodate more diners), the same bus boy is working there that worked there when I was small. How do I know this, you might ask? He sings/performs as he buses tables. That's why, I'm sure, I have such vivid memories of this restaurant. Craig and I are thinking that we will make this another yearly tradition at the beach! After a wonderful dinner, we headed to the rides!!!

One of Drew's favorite rides are the swings - he rode them for the first time last year, and now they are always first.

Drew and Trey also love riding the Hurricane, another ride that Drew just started riding last year. Drew is at a "middle stage" right now - not tall enough to ride all of the "big rides" by himself, but almost too tall to ride the "kiddie rides". He is still our brave, fearless child who wants to try them all - at least once.

Mikayla, though, doesn't like the loud noises at all. The loud music blaring from the Hurricane hurt her ears.

Mikayla loves the "kiddie cars" that go around the track, but right after this picture was taking she started crying. When I asked the attendant to check on her before they started the ride, we found out that the reason she was crying is because her seat belt was not buckled. The other attendant was going around buckling children up and had not gotten to Mikayla's car yet. She was terrified that they were going to start the ride without her being buckled. Once she was buckled, she was fine, though you won't find her mashing the buttons to make all those "honking" sounds.

Mikayla was afraid to ride these "twirling berries", so Nana rode with her to show her there was really nothing to them. She is so funny when it comes to rides - she is our cautious child anyway, but she will ride some rides that I think she won't, and then others that aren't really "scary" she won't ride. She is a little like me where she wants to know exactly what is going to happen to her on each ride. You can't really see the inside of these, so I think that's why she wouldn't ride. She was all smiles coming off!

Drew flies high on the airplanes!

All smiles on the bumper cars - Drew wanted to ride the "big bumpers", but the attendant said he was too short. He was just as happy on these "kiddie bumpers"!

Mikayla, daddy, Drew, and Craig all enjoy riding the train. Craig had bought a wristband for himself thinking that he would ride the big roller coaster with Drew and Trey. I was waiting to get a picture of that because those of you who know Craig know how afraid he is of things - he doesn't ride anything that goes 'round and 'round fast, and he doesn't like my favorite ride (the Pirate Ship) at all, and his mom and Nanny love telling the story of how he was too afraid to even walk under it as a child. They ended up not riding because Craig said he didn't want to wait in the long line - yeah sure Craig we know that's the real reason!

Both of our children love the Merry Go 'Round - which has always been one of my favorites!

Mikayla loves these motorcycles, after riding them for the first time last year. It always has to be the pink one!

They also always enjoy driving these cars. Drew was insisting that he was going to ride by himself this year, so he did. Craig chauffeurs Mikayla around the tracks - when I asked why she didn't drive, he said "she didn't want to". Yeah right, we know these are really more your speed, daddy - LOL!

Drew, Trey, and Mikayla are stopped at the top of the "kiddie Ferris wheel". Mikayla jumped on with the boys with no hesitation. Nana asked if Craig was going to ride the "big Ferris wheel" with them, but he didn't. Now, I can't really blame him for that because I don't ride those things myself - especially not the "tallest one in SC".

Drew, Mikayla, and Trey rode the "kiddie coaster" even if they didn't get to ride the "big coaster". I'm not sure why they were giving my "fake smiles". Craig would say "because they were ready for you to put that camera away".

The last ride of the night was the most entertaining - at least for Nana and I though Mikayla would not agree. Drew was terrified of the Log Flume last year when he and Trey rode by themselves. This year Drew agreed to ride again - only if daddy would ride with him and he didn't want to ride at the front again. I couldn't believe it when, after crying that she didn't want to ride, Mikayla decided to climb on with them. After the first drop, Craig said she wished she hadn't decided to ride and kept asking over and over "is it over?". By the time they came up to unload right here, she was screaming to get off. When we asked if she would ride again next year, she shakes her head and says "I don't think I will". They have a camera mounted that gets a picture of the riders coming down the big hill, and I had to purchase it again this year - it is hilarious. Craig has his mouth opened and looks as scared as Mikayla. Drew had a scared look again in that picture, but at least this year he wasn't trying to climb out of the boat before it was time to unload. We had so much fun at the rides, as usual, and even I can't wait to go back next year. I think next year we will all get wristbands...

Vacation - Day 3, Part 2

After lunch, we went in search of the children's activity pool (again), and this time we found it. I was located about a block from our building, but again we didn't mind walking (well mostly we didn't - Drew began getting a little impatient right as we walked up on it). This pool was a wonderful area for children to play, and again I was shocked (grateful) that it was not more crowded. Drew and Mikayla had a wonderful time in this pool, and mommy enjoyed it as well. I sat/laid in the 1 foot deep water and got some sun while having a view of the entire pool so that I could watch them play. Craig, on the other hand, didn't care for this pool as much because there was really no shade. Not only does he not care for water, he is also not a fan of the sun. He did sit with me in the pool for a good long time and he was a good sport sitting on a lounge chair in the heat while our children played and played and played some more!

Drew hugs his sister as they decide what they want to do next. You can see it was a nice large pool with lots to do. There was a whale slide, a dinosaur slide, a water tree, and a tube slide (just like the one that Mikayla LOVED at the water park.

Mikayla slides out of the tube - she could have stayed here all day!

Drew enjoyed just swimming around in the water - going under a lot as usual. Another neat thing about the resort (and something that took a little getting used to) was that all of their pools (or at least all of the ones we swam in) were salt water pools. The first day there I thought the pool just needed to be cleaned even though it appeared very clean (since we were swimming in the late afternoon/early evening), but apparently that's a new pool trend...

Mikayla comes down the dinosaur slide looking just as sassy as ever.

Drew comes out of the tube and immediately goes under the water. Too funny!

Mikayla and Drew walk hand and hand back to our building to rest and shower before going to the rides with Nana.

All cleaned up and ready for the rides. We didn't walk to the rides (although we could have because they were only 6 blocks away - they are actually a part of the resort that we stayed in although they are also open to the public). Nana was meeting us at the hotel (they were walking to the road so she would know where to turn) and we were all riding together - first to dinner and then to the rides.

Our home away from home - the Sea Mist Sandcastle. We couldn't have been more pleased with our accommodations and we will definitely stay there again!

I am making a separate post altogether for our trip to Family Kingdom Amusement Park so look for that soon...

Vacation - Day 3

On Monday, we decided to head down to the ocean first for two reasons. One, we were hoping that it wasn't crowded (which it wasn't), and two we were hoping that it would be a little calmer (it was and the tide was going out). We had so much fun playing in the water, looking for sharks' teeth, and playing in the sand.

Drew worked to build this sand castle using the technique Poppi taught him a couple of years ago when we were at the beach with them. I loved watching him build because every time he built a sand castle he dug a path from the castle down to the water - you can see it in this picture a little in the bottom left corner.

Mikayla loved playing at the edge of the water - she wasn't worried anymore. She would run down to the water and then when it threatened to touch her feet she would run back to dry sand squealing the whole time. Craig said, "I bet people think she's never seen the ocean before". I thought it was cute to watch!

Daddy and Mikayla bury Drew in the sand. Drew had actually started this all by himself, then daddy joined in, and finally Mikayla.

After playing in the ocean for awhile we went to play a little in the outdoor pool at our building. Our building also had an indoor pool and jacuzzi (I'll have pictures posted of those later).

Our balcony overlooked the pool and we also had a view of the ocean. Our room was on the fourth floor, the column in the middle. Drew had these two girls helping him to get into his boat. Craig said "that's my boy" - LOL.Mikayla sportin' daddy's sunglasses in the pool.Drew finally gets in his boat with daddy's help.Splish Splashin' in the pool!Mikayla tries out the snorkel - too funny!

Tune in tomorrow for part 2 of day three...

Vacation - Day 2, Part 2

After going up to the room for lunch, we headed down to the ocean. We had walked some in the sand the first day, but the ocean is not Craig's favorite thing. I'm not one that likes to just sit and bake either, but I do enjoy playing in the sand with the kids, looking for shells, and playing a little in the waves. We had a ball even though we didn't stay out there long because the tide was coming in (not a lot of sand to play in) and the current was very strong (not fun to play in the waves).

Mikayla was not too sure of the water to begin with - she has done this every year. She is a slow to warm kinna girl.
Drew, on the other hand, was eager to jump right in. With water in his eyes, he just wiped them and kept right on going.
Craig and I helped Mikayla get used to the water - she felt more comfortable holding on to a hand. Drew laughs after a wave knocked him down.
Too cute!!
It didn't take her long to get used to it - after she did we couldn't get her out.
Drew loved this water toy that Nana gave him - his was blue and Mikayla's was pink.

After staying a little while down at the ocean, we showered off and headed back to the pool where we swam the day before - the resort had the water park, 10 pools and 4 Jacuzzis which was nice because even though there were a lot of people staying there, we never felt crowded. This pool was actually two buildings over from our building, but we didn't mind walking. On the deck behind our building they also had a "barefoot cabana" with a grill, live entertainment, and so forth. I meant to get a picture of that before we left but didn't!

After spending time in the pool we had to head back up to our room, shower, and change so that we could go to Nana (Craig's mom) and Papa Fred's for dinner. They live in Ocean Lakes year round so it is always nice that we get to visit with them when we go on vacation. They grilled HUGE steaks and they made baked potatoes and salad to go with them for our dinner. They were delicious and we are so grateful to Jean and Fred. They always make us feel welcome and they never act put out by visitors. My family lived at Myrtle Beach for five years while I was growing up, so I know how it can be...

While waiting on dinner to finish, Craig and I took Drew, Mikayla, and Trey (Fred's daughter's son) riding on the golf carts. Three cousins - Trey is a year older than Drew and for the most part they get along really well!Craig and I snuggle close while riding.
Then, after dinner Papa Fred took the boys down to the playground for awhile. When he got back and realized Mikayla was upset because "they left her", he was so sweet and took Mikayla down by herself to play. I couldn't believe she played, but Fred said she had a ball with some other little girls that were down there.

Mikayla swings with Nana while the boys are gone. She was not real happy to have been "left" (she was still eating when the boys left), but she enjoyed spending time with Nana.

Trey and Drew played on the porch while Papa Fred and Mikayla were down at the playground.