Sand On Our Feet and Wind In Our Hair

This year we had the amazing opportunity (thanks to my wonderful mother) to spend the week at the beach.  Of course I jumped at the opportunity and took Bennett out of preschool for the week (since I knew this was the last year we'd be able to do that) so that we'd have a family vacation.  Mom rented a house in Ocean Lakes, which is located in Surfside Beach, near Myrtle Beach for those people not familiar with SC.  As I was growing up, this was our vacation spot and we always loved it.  But we haven't been in probably 15 years.  I was not disappointed when we returned this year.  We had a blast and can't wait to go back next year.  I hope to keep it a family tradition for my children, just like I had as a child.

The thing with Ocean Lakes is you rent a house in the campground and the campground has everything you'd need for the week.  It's on the beach, has a wonderful pool area, mini golf, snack bar, a small grocery store, play grounds, basketball court, etc etc.  So we were set for the week with things to do.  If you want to leave you can, if not you have plenty there for fun!

We arrived Sunday afternoon, unpacked and went straight to rent the golf cart.  Everyone in the campground rides around in the golf cart and it is so much fun!!  The  next morning we made a trip to the big grocery store outside the campground and stocked up on food that we would need for the week.  After that we didn't go back out until our one day of excursion, and our night ride down the strip in Myrtle Beach.  Every day our routine was pretty much the same: pool in the morning and beach after lunch.  Wednesday, Jason and I took the kids to Broadway at the Beach for a little fun.  We went to the aquarium and then walked around to see everything, stopped at Johnny Rockets for lunch and then let Bennett play on the playground he found.  :)  The aquarium was ok but Bennett wasn't really interested in the fish.  They had a Wonder Works, which is an interactive museum that he probably would have enjoyed more and it looked awesome from the outside.  But maybe we'll do that next time.  Broadway is a fun place if you have a day to spend there.  We were only there for a few hours so we didn't get to do that much.  My gracious mother gave us a date night, so Wednesday night Jason and I went back to Broadway to eat some seafood at Landry's and to walk around without distraction.  :)

Before we left for  our vacation, I figured Leah would like the beach.  But she LOVED it!!  We'd get there and unload all our stuff on the beach, I'd put her down and she was good to go!  She kept herself entertained just playing in the sand, filling up her buckets, dumping it out, digging her hands in it, crawling to the water.  She had a ball and getting sand on every inch of her body did not bother her one bit.  I had so much fun watching both my babies at the beach having fun.  Bennett enjoyed the pool as well, but it wasn't Leah's favorite.  She'd much rather play in the sand at the beach.  The pool water was pretty cold so maybe she didn't like the cold water.  Most mornings she napped for most of our pool time anyways. A couple times we got snow cones and the kids enjoyed those.  We took a trip to the snack bar for an ice-cream cone one night.  And a lot of times we'd just ride around in the golf cart for fun.

We had a wonderful week with great weather and no catastrophes.  We couldn't have asked for a better week and now I'm looking forward to next year.  It's definitely a place to visit if you haven't.

Oh, how I want to be back feeling the ocean breeze…..

I love making memories with my family- it's just a wonderful reminder of what really is important in life.  I'm blessed to have my 2 children, who teach me more about life than I teach them.  So what are they up to now??

Leah is knocking on 14 months.  She's not quite walking, but taking steps here and there.  She has started to say "here ya go".  She'll say it to you when she's handing you something.  My phone, food, dirt she found on the floor, toys, etc.  It's the cutest thing!  She's still a very good eater.  Loves just about anything and is still nursing twice a day, first thing in the morning and right before bed at night.  It's hard to believe that she won't be nursing much longer.  Where did the time go?!?  She has 2 teeth, her top big tooth and the eye tooth right beside it.  It's the craziest thing.  There is no rhyme or reason to the way her teeth are coming in.  It looks like the other big tooth and incisor are just about to pop through and then her bottom 2 teeth are still right there but haven't popped out yet.  She still doesn't have much hair, but she does have some. :)  One day….

Bennett is 4 and a half, I sigh and shake my head just thinking about that.  He is growing into such a wonderful little guy.  He loves his little sister so much and she loves him right back.  It warms my heart to watch them be so loving towards each other, and I just pray it continues.  I've worked really hard to build their relationship, and the effort I have put into is really paying off.  Thank you Lord for my wonderful babies!  Bennett has started his 4K year and seems to like it.  He misses his teachers from last year but hopefully in a couple months he will love his new teachers just as much.  From what his teacher talked about and the information that he brings home, he is having lots of fun in his class!  He can spell his name and we are working on writing his name.  He can write it, but the e's are backwards and upside down.  :)  He is starting to like more and more food, which is nice.  Still not a big meat eater, but he loves his fruit, noodles, cheese, and ice-cream! :)  Those are his favorites.

Things are going well.  Time is flying by.  My children are growing up.  And I just want time to slow down for just a little bit.