VACATION!!!!

We FINALLY got to go on a real vacation a couple of weeks ago! We went to Myrtle Beach with Grandpa, Aunt Gina and Uncle Heath. Grandpa took Hayden with him on Saturday for the 6 hour drive and we came with the baby on Sunday (of course we had to stop a bunch with her). When we got there around 8 on Sunday it was high tide so there was only a little bit of beach. But the next morning it was low tide and the below picture was the amount of beach we saw!

You can actually see the line where the tide got up to near the tents.

Family picture time!

Trying on Mama's sunglasses on the way. They kept her occupied for a little bit anyway.

One day we walked to the Cherry Grove Pier and rented a fishing pole and bought some bait. After about 10 minutes, Hayden caught a fish! The guy next to us was pretty peeved because he had been there for a couple of hours and had only caught fish bait. So, we gave him the fish. A little while later I caught a fish and then Dave caught one! Poor Grandpa didn't catch anything and he's the one that goes fishing all of the time. Hayden LOVED picking on him for that.

"Iceman" with his fish.

Livee was pretty interested in the fish. Especially after a quick snooze in her stroller on the pier.

That night after dinner, we had to go play putt-putt. We discovered last year that Hayden really enjoys it and we spotted a great place to play called "The Black Pearl" as soon as we hit the beach. As a side note, Livee was sooooooo good while we played that the people in front of us even commented on it! She is such a patient little thing and enjoys watching everyone else so much.

So glad we didn't get kicked out for this illegal maneuver!

Mr. GQ - fashionable as always.

On the Black Pearl. Aaaarrrghhhh! Notice Livee's golf ball. She didn't let go of it all night.

On Thursday our little family decided to visit Alligator Adventure on our own. It is home to the world's largest crocodile, snakes, frogs, birds, turtles, alligators (of course), and lots of other critters. We got there early enough to avoid the crowds and heat. It was still super muggy, though, so we were sweating by the time we got to the second exhibit. They had a mister spraying water not too far into the park and that helped to alleviate the heat a bit. The park is connected to a bigger area called Barefoot Landing, which is where Dave and I went to the House of Blues on Monday night to celebrate our 7th anniversary (big thanks to Grandpa and Aunt Gina for watching the kiddies for us!). Anyway, after we left the park we decided to grab lunch at one of the restaurants at the Landing. At this point the storm clouds were rolling in and we were booking it to find a place quickly. We got inside just in time! It POURED for at least 3 hours. We ate lunch, went to an ice cream parlor, and then got totally soaked while running for the van. Livee never cried! She thought running in the rain was really fun. Did I mention that it was flooding as we ran for the van? The water was up to my calves. By the time we got back to the condor (as Hayden called it), we were soooooo ready for our movie afternoon. Of course it dried up just as the movie was starting, but we ignored the sunshine anyway and stayed in.

The albino alligators were really fascinating! You can see one on the left through the fence.

Livee enjoyed herself, I think. This was our spot for feeding time. They fed the alligators like they were dogs! They held up pieces of chicken until the alligator they wanted to feed would come up enough out of the water and then they threw it in its mouth. It would not be my dream job, to say the least.

It's King Julian and Hayden as one of the penguins!

On Friday, Aunt Gina and Uncle Heath headed home to Orlando so we got some Grandpa time all to ourselves. We went down to the pool and beach for a while and went to a local restaurant that night. The food was delicious! After dinner, we went to play putt putt at Molten Mountain. Hayden actually got scared when the volcano started rumbling. It was kinda funny when he tried to run away!

We packed up Saturday morning and headed home. We stopped at a tourist trap on the way and bought some t-shirts for me, Dave, and Hayden and a hat for Livee. Hayden also got a balloon helicopter and Livee got a placemat with her name on it. We got home Saturday evening and unpacked everything. We went to church Sunday morning and then had VBS Sunday night thru Wednesday night, so the housework has been neglected a bit. But I hope to be back on par next week. And then Hayden starts back to school on the 5th and his birthday is the 7th!

Only 1 1/2 weeks of summer left. :(