I thought Bert was planning a fun date night for us for my birthday but I had no idea what else he had up his sleeve. He had talked with Patrick (Keri and Patrick are our good friends...I went to Clemson with Keri and Patrick....I was roommates with Keri....we were in each other's weddings....we lived next to them in Seminary....you get the picture) and they came up with the idea to surprise Keri and me with a trip to Myrtle Beach. Patrick's parents own a condo there. One night about a week before we were supposed to leave for the trip he asked me if I wanted to know what he had planned for my birthday and I of course said yes (my type-A personality couldn't say no to a question like that). The plan was to leave on Wednesday morning and come back on Saturday. He had already asked off work. He and Patrick had everything planned. I was so so excited! Bert knows how much I love family time....he just loves me so well!
Just minutes after arriving at the condo I followed Emily and Hannah out on the porch....this is where I found them. The ocean was beautiful and we were all excited to be there!
Our first morning out on the beach ended up coinciding with Hannah's morning nap. She was maybe a little unhappy about being set down in the sand for a picture.
I tried to get Hannah to fall asleep, but had no luck. Her Daddy took her and she just cuddled up on his chest and was out. He took two long walks along the beach while she was napping. She loves her Daddy!:)
Jackson (almost 2), Emily (3) and Kayley (4 in August) playing the sand. None of them are looking at me, but it just shows they were having fun playing together.
Emily was actually scared of the water this year. If you asked her if she wanted to go down to the water she would give you an emphatic "No....I don't like the water."
She may not have liked the water, but she couldn't have been happier playing in the sand. Literally. She was perfectly content to play in the sand near our chairs even if the other three kids were playing down by the water. In her defense....the water was a little cold in early April.:) We'll see how she does at PCB in August.
Covered from head to toe in sand...
Kayley and Emily spent a lot of time playing with the sand toys. Kayley loves the beach...I mean the ocean, pool, sand...all of it.... more than anyone I've ever met. She was soooo excited! Her excitement was contagious. If you're looking for someone to get you motivated to get out to the beach every day ask Keri and Patrick if you can bring Kayley along on your vacation.:)
We went out for seafood one night. We'll admit it was a bit wild with 4 kids 3 and under, but it was fun!:)
After dinner we headed over to Barefoot Landing.
Can you find all four kids faces?
Emily and Kayley got to be good friends on this trip. Kayley's 8 months older than Emily. They played so well together! Their favorite activity was playing dress-up. There is no telling how many times those girls changed throughout the weekend. Thankfully Kayley happily shared her dress-up clothes with Emily, since I forgot to pack any. They had fun!
Below is a family picture that isn't exactly a framer, but it's still sweet. Can you believe that we probably took 5 pictures and this was the best one? Haha! It makes me laugh b/c it accurately portrays the tricky picture-taking-stage that our family is in.:)
Hannah wanted down and Em wasn't interested in smiling or looking at the camera.:)
Emmy and her Daddy
Me and Hannah. Most people tell us that Hannah looks like Bert, but she can't deny where she got those blue eyes.:)
One morning we had a few errands to run and we decided it would be more fun to all ride together so the guys loaded all the carseats into the Harmon's van and we all piled in. Eight of us in one minivan...all bucked!
Hannah loved the water. She would try to get as close to it as she could and when the waves started coming in she would try to get back in time, but often didn't make it without the waves catching her or falling down....it was really cute to see her try though!
We finally talked Emily into coming down to the water so that we could take a few pictures. It took some serious work. Emily was thinking 'Come on Hannah so we can get this over with'...as she drags her sister along!
Sweet girls watching the waves come in...
After a few pictures Emily was done and ready to go back to the sand. Without warning she dropped Hannah's hand and took off running back to the chairs without looking back.
Happy girl again...
It's hard to tell from this picture because I cut off the bottom of their tail, but the girls are supposed to be Mermaids.
After we got back in from the beach that morning Hannah laid down on the floor while we were all still getting ready (in the same room) and just closed her eyes. All the fun in the sun wore her slap out.
The Harmon's and the Watts:
We had such a great time on our mini-vacation with the Harmon's! A big thanks to Patrick's family for letting us stay at their condo! I'm so thankful for my family and friends....very blessed!
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