Well our week long vacation in Myrtle Beach came and went. I am still working on editing the photos from my camera but wanted to share the tons of photos I took with my iPhone. I notice a huge difference in the quality of the pics when they go from my phone to the blog but I took too many great ones not to share.
It was nice to get away as a family as Tom is usually so tied up with school. Of course vacation on a beach with a nine month old who still naps twice a day is always interesting but still had a great time. Tom and the kids and I stayed in one condo while my mom and Paul stayed in another. It was nice to spend the week with them and have the extra help. I know Ella loved it.
Stepping foot on the beach for the first time this year. She immediately ran to the water...
Then started to collect every shell she saw.
View from our balcony
We got our suits on and headed down to the beach. She said "this is going to be the best week, I love the beach, I am so excited"
The first full day we had at the beach she was down there from 7am til 430 pm with only a two hour break!
Claire went down to the beach a few times but mostly one of us took shifts with her up in the condo
Ugh I hate how much the quality of the pics changed!!
It was nice to spend Mother's Day as a family and with my mom! We all went to Mother's Day brunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Chestnut Hill
I love that you can see Ella, my mom, and Tom in the background
Sand, Sand, Sand. All she wanted to do was eat sand and got very upset when I tried to prevent her from doing so
The girls went to bed by 7ish every evening. Surprisingly they slept great in the same room. Most evenings Tom and I just sat on the porch and talked or read and enjoyed a beverage. So relaxing.
Sunday night Ella spent the night with my mom in her condo. She was up most of the night not feeling well and ended up with a 102 temp the next day. We took it easy on Monday but I think this little virus affected her a bit for the rest of the trip.
Our condo had an outdoor pool but my mom's condo had a really nice indoor pool and two outdoor pools. One of the pools was only 1.5 feet deep which was perfect for Ella. My mom's condo also had activities such as one day the kids were able to do build a bear.
So I have never been to a Krisy Kreme where the doughnuts are made right there in front of you and you can get a doughnut hot off the belt. Can I just say amazing? A fresh hot doughnut tastes completely different than a cooled doughnut. It just melts in your mouth. Ella had fun watching the doughnuts being made.
The weather was gorgeous and sunny every day. Two days were a bit on the cool side but couldn't have asked for better weather.
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This is a don't eat the sand reaction
Ella's glasses matched mine and I was surprised how much she actually wore sunglasses on this trip
Tom and I took Ella on a date while my mom watched Claire. She played putt putt golf for the first time, or as she called it "pet pet" golf. She LOVED it. The first hole she golfed correctly and literally made it in three shots. After that her swing got a little more crazy but she golfed all the holes and played until she made it in the hole each time. And she wanted to do more after the 18 holes! She never ceases to amaze me at just three years old. Literally the entire rest of the trip she asked if we could go "pet pet" golfing.
She hit it so hard at the beach and pool one day that she passed out on a beach chair. She doesn't even nap anymore and she has never been a child that can just pass out somewhere other than her bed!
Tom and I went for dinner and a few drinks on Wednesday night. Me being the cheap and old lady date ended up ready to go home by 930!
Showing some love for a friend of Tom's that is running for City Council here in Cincinnati
I was up on the balcony watching my mom, Paul, Tom, and Ella walk on the beach. It literally brought a tear to my eye thinking how fast time passes by. I remember sitting on that exact balcony when I was twelve years old ready to tackle the beach. Then this past week I sat there and watched my husband, daughter, and family walk on the beach. Soon I will blink and I will be watching my grandchildren play on the beach.
Build a Bear at the condo. She made a dolphin. Hi name is Mellow
Our last full day we spent part of the time at Barefoot Landing. We all went to dinner, went to the toy store, Ella rode on the carousel, and tried out the bungee trampoline. Perfect ending to our vacation.
Claire insisted on trying the lemon over and over. Even though her face doesn't show it, I'm pretty sure she liked it
Again not allowing her to eat sand
In the past we have always drove through the night with Ella and she slept great. On the way there we left at 6pm and planned to stop around 1 am. Claire only slept 20 min during that whole time then when we got to the hotel for the night she didn't go to sleep til 3 am. So on the way back we chose just to drive during the day. Twelve hour trip is a long trip for two little ones but I have to say they did amazing. Ella had a few moments of complaining but that was it. And that was even with her staying awake that entire time! Claire only took two twenty minute naps and also had just a few minutes of complaining. So proud of my girls. Claire did go on a nursing strike that day as she was way too distracted each time we stopped to nurse. So she literally went from 630 am til 730 that night without nursing.
We stopped at a McDonald's play land for lunch since it was raining. Some nasty little kid trapped Ella up in there and was smacking her in the face and yelling shut up at us each time we tried to tell her just to come down. When I asked the people down below who's child was smacking my daughter and could they tell their son to let her down, no one claimed him. Gotta love those play lands.
Came home to off and on rain/sun/rainbows
And of course the last couple days I have been tackling the never ending vacation laundry mound and putting stuff away. Back to reality
