Brett just had a 3 week Fall Break! Previously studying, board exams, and clinic assignments usually occupied him during parts of his breaks so we never have had him all to ourselves for that long! It was heaven! :) I've been LONGING for a beach vacation, so we made it happen! And it was perfect! We invited some friends to go along and it was so fun!
----DAY 1----
Upon arrival at our awesome RESORT, we found an amazing view out our living room! Hello Myrtle Beach! I love you already!
It took us about 11 hours to drive there. We left at 4AM (haven't seen that hour since Emri was a newborn!) so the kids could sleep for part of the long drive. Well, Emri must have known something exciting was going on for us to get her out of her crib so early! She didn't fall back asleep till 5:30am, and then only slept about an hour! Silly girl! Overall she did great in the car. Thank goodness for portable DVD players and the Curious George movie.
Emri and Samantha. As soon as we got to our suite the kids were all about exploring the new territory!
We stayed in the Master room which also had a balcony overlooking the ocean!
The first night we unloaded everything, let the kids relax a bit and got settled in. After dinner the kiddos were all ready to crash after a long day....and we were ready to play games! Amanda, Dallin & Brett with the Settlers of Catan set-up. Call us nerds if you want, but this is really the best game EVER!!
----DAY 2----
We all just wanted to hang out and relax which worked out perfectly...it truly was a vacation! The mornings we spent on the beach and afternoons at the pool! Here's a shot of Emri's first time ever in the ocean! Happy as a clam!
Emri, Boston & Tate
Beach Bums For Life!
E loved chasing these little birds along the shoreline, though she was never quite fast enough to catch one!
Our hotel had a large pool, small pool, several hot tubs, a lazy river, and 2 separate kiddie areas! What more could you ask for? Tate, Dallin, Brett & E floating their troubles away!
My brave girl....
We enjoyed dinner out most nights. Thorny's Steakhouse was a great recommendation from a friend! Super kid friendly (hello, a TV w/ cartoons at every table....genius) and yummy food!
Oh, and here's my child applying her "mabe-up" (makeup) with the butter for her roll. That goes great on the complexion :)
----Day 3----
We bought some body boards and gave them a shot.....soooo fun (unless you didn't wait long enough, then the waves would trash you and you'd get a huge mouthful of nasty sea water...not that I'm speaking from experience or anything! ha!)
Amanda and I riding it out...
Sadly I didn't get any pics of the big boys body boarding....they went out early one morning and I wasn't there.... the only time I saw them was through a video camera. Hopefully I can get some video uploaded.
A view of our hotel....and Emri takin' a little break at the umbrella.
I was so impressed by Boston (3) and Tate (6)...they were so stinkin cute on the body boards!
Ahhhh, the sound of ocean waves crashing is tranquilizing.
----Day4----
We let Emri have a try on the body board....
she thought it was great being towed around....and then a wave got her and she was done!
My sexy man :)
Every afternoon (usually after naps) we'd play at the pools
Amanda and I enjoyed our "girl time" by the pool with yummy drinks each day while the kids and dads napped! Perfect!
Jami and Amanda
E and Mom
Just our APPETIZER! haha! sooooo yummy!
The balloon man on stiltz. He kinda freaked Emri out...
And she still wasn't a fan even after he made her a giraffe!
One last late night of Settlers, junk food, and Pepsi Max (we seriously got like 8 of these for free at Pizza Hut)! I have to say that I finally won a game on our last night...and it only took UNDER 1 hour from start to finish! I totally hosed them!
----Day 5----
Packing up :( Emri saying goodbye to the ocean. Every morning she'd wake up saying "beach" and want us to open up the curtains so she could see outside. Such her momma's girl!
Our 10.5 hour drive turned into about 14 hrs due to an awful road block/accident of a semi-truck hauling cattle that tipped over in West Virginia. This picture is pretty much what we saw for 2 hours...and we only went 6 miles. Definitely a downer way to end a great vacation! We were for sure more than ready to be home! Thank goodness for walkie-talkies to keep us entertained with our traveling buddies!
