My dad used to say, "It's not a vacation, it's a quest." I always thought that was kind of strange. Until I had kids. And took them on vacation. And realized it's no longer a vacation. It is in fact, a quest. A quest to stay warm, to stay busy, to stay sane. And it's always a bit trickier with a baby- the logistics needed to pack an infant and a preschooler for a week at the beach are similar to what I imagine NASA did when preparing for shuttle launches all those years. And so, upon our return from Hilton Head Island, I felt decidedly more tired than when I had begun my "vacation..." but the 4 year old wouldn't stop smiling and asking when we could go back, and so I suppose, in that respect, the trip was a big success. :)
Avery, Chris, Grandpa Tommy, and Mimi got to the beach first, and Caroline and I flew down the next day (why on Earth wouldn't anyone want an 11 month old in the car for 13 hours?:).
Caroline insisted on this selfie.
Look at her, sitting like a big girl on the plane (before a giant man got on and sat in that seat).
Airport nap. How I wished I could have traded places with her- she looked so comfy, and I had bags under my eyes the size of Texas.
This germaphobe mommy lost her mind and let Caroline crawl around on the floor- anything to burn off energy before the next flight.
Made it to HHI and found Avery shucking corn with her grandpa on the balcony.
The first night we got there was the warmest- in the 70's- ironically that's the night we roasted s'mores (we really could have used those s'mores on the 50 degree days/nights that made up the rest of the trip!).
Avery was straight up dangerous with her roasting stick (picture a flaming marshmallow hurling through the air- "MOM LET ME HOLD THE STICK!!!"), but the end result was yummy.
Here's what Caroline did outside for most of the trip.
Top of the lighthouse in Harbourtown- brrrr!
Avery collected approximately 13,000 seashells on the trip.
Here's Avery, super peeved that the chlorine is stinging her very serious foot injury (aka shoe blister).
Why are adult sunglasses on little baby heads so funny?
One day it was about 60- so Avery and I hurried to the beach to find we were way underdressed for the wind and chilliness- so I made Avery put on these leggings for a super awesome fashion statement.
"We're cold, we're cold, we're cold." :)
I find that burying your child in the sand can be useful on many levels. Time outs, having a heart-to-heart about the importance of not throwing hermit crabs, the possibilities are really endless.
Ok, and then there was THIS....apparently a giant bird of prey pulverized a fish on the roof of our car, leaving blood splattered on the roof and dripping down the windows- it was like helter skelter at the beach.
It was sunny on the last day of our trip for about an hour in the morning, and warm too!
Here's how Caroline experienced the beach #nordicprincessesstaycoveredup
This was a super-cool live sand dollar.
We hitched a ride on a golf cart and Ave hopped right in the front.
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Thank goodness for the indoor pool and Chris' ability to catch Avery as she made around 87 wild jumps into the water.
Caroline and I were waiting at the teeny HHI airport for almost 3 hours- things got dicey when I ran out of finger foods.
This is actually Cara's cheesy happy face- hilar! Good thing she was so charming on our flights!
