Beach House

Sam showing off the room he shared with Emma for a few days.

The kitchen where a lot of yummy meals were made (none by me, YEAH!). I promise I did my fair share of the clean up though.

Ella in our bedroom.

The backyard

The beach house!

I have so many pics and memories from our vacation that I am breaking the posts up into categories. Hope I do not bore you all but it was a trip to remember. I thought I would start with the beach house. You never know exactly what you are going to get when you pick a house on-line but it was even better than I thought. The best part I think was the super short walk to the beach so people could come and go as the pleased. The house was the perfect size, very nice and had nice features like a room to play games, an outdoor kitchen area and the most important a nice pool. The kids ended up loving the little whirlpool and it was a perfect spot for Aiden and Ella to play or to hold Emma and Sam when the big boys were playing fireball.

Going to Carolina (South Carolina That Is)

Aiden loved watching the planes.

The kids and me on the pier in Charleston

Grandma and Ella in Charleston.

We rented a beach house in Hilton Head, South Carolina this last week and went for a family vacation. Almost everyone flew out of Kansas City which is usually an easy, quick experience. This time it was not. After arriving at the airport over an hour ahead of time we were still in line when we heard the announcement that our plane was boarding. I got to experience the running through the airport not sure if you are going to make your flight. It was not an experience that I want to repeat. Then in Nashville we watched from inside as our luggage sat on the runway in the middle of a thunderstorm.

Although the day got off to a stressful start it ended well. The kids all did well on the flights and on our delay in Nashville. We made it to Charleston on time and our house had a dryer to dry some of our wet belongings. We even got to spend a little time in Charleston before heading south to Hilton Head.

Zoo Time

Sam feeding the giraffes

Ella and Mommy all aboard the train

Sam enjoying the train ride

Ella has really been into reading non-fiction animal books this summer so I thought we would take a trip to the local zoo to see some of the animals we have been reading about in person. Sam has always enjoyed trips to the zoo and we finally got a day that wasn't incredibly hot. They enjoyed seeing all the animals and riding the train. I think there favorite was a parrot that when you would talk to it, it would say hello.

M, I, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, I

Sitting in the Gulf!

No beach chairs? No problem, just make your own in the sand!

Basketball at the hotel

We had a short trip this weekend to Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The kids did a wonderful job on the drive and we got to spend some great time together as a family. The drive was filled with many movies, too many bathroom stops, and a few exciting alphabet games.

The hotel had a pool and tennis court/basketball court that were big hits. We got plenty of use out of them all. John, Sam and I enjoyed some competitive games of PIG and did we ever let Sam win... of course not because that would mean John or I would have to lose to each other. We each one a game and had to have a third game so someone could be declared the victor.

We also made a trip down to the beach. The kids enjoyed playing in the sand but the water was very warm and the waves were disappointing. I would say that if I made the trip just for the beach we would have been disappointed. Luckily, we will get plenty of good beach time in a few weeks. The highlight of the beach though was a beautiful shell I found that I was going to pick up for Ella except the crab I didn't know was still inside had a different idea. The kids enjoyed watching the shell while John tried to coax the crab back out so the could watch him walk. It kept them entertained for quite a while.

Summer on the Courts

Most of our Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings this summer will be spent on the tennis courts. Ella is excited because she is old enough to start lessons this year. The staff at Highland is amazing. They make learning tennis fun and make every kid feel like the next Federer, Nadal, Williams or whomever your favorite tennis star may be.

Sam has really improved from last summer and has even won a few of the contests his class has on the courts. He wants to go early every day to practice and visit with his coaches. There is no problem getting them both up and ready every morning.

My Boy of Summer

Sam decided to try out baseball this summer. There was a group of boys from his school that were all playing together and he wanted to play too. He is at a bit of a disadvantage since many of the boys in his league have been playing for years but he is starting to understand how the game is played and is really enjoying himself. I think it is great for him to play with the kids in his class and he is making some better friendships while having fun.

Field Day

Getting ready for ring toss!

Lunchtime!

Perfect form for the water balloon toss.

Before the last day of school each year is field day at Hickory Hills. The kids spend all morning playing games and have a total blast. Ella and I went around 10 to watch Sam and his class participate in some of the activities and to join him for lunch. They were all having a great time! Ella wanted to jump in there on all the games, it is so hard to just watch. She was happy when she got to go down the big inflatable slide with Sam's class.