Myrtle Beach and Barefoot Landing

Here's P, digging for oysters.  He'd wait for a wave to wash up, and then as it went back out to sea, he'd watch for air bubbles in the sand.  Then he'd dig, and dig, and... dig some more.  He didn't find any oysters, but he did have fun!

C "helped" him dig... for a minute or two.  Then he was back to running around the beach.  C's not much for sitting still most of the time.

C is one for "surfing", though, thanks to Merliah Summers, star of the blockbusters Barbie in a Mermaid Tale and Barbie in a Mermaid Tale 2: A Fairy Tail Adventure.

This is the best family picture we got.  Yay!  We're all in one picture.  Hopefully in our next family photo I'll be wearing something a bit more flattering than a bathing suit.  I'm just keeping it real, here, people.

Here's C lounging by the pool in his mermaid tail towel.  I forgot to mention in my last post about his tail towel that you can throw that puppy right into the washer and dryer.  So easy, and Mama E likes easy.

No lounging for P!  He headed for the infinity pool at the resort this time around - no zero entry pools necessary for this guy.

We headed in for lunch after our swim, and then we cleaned up and went to check out Barefoot Landing.  We enjoyed some delicious ice cream for an afternoon snack.

P wanted to check out the "pirate store", and on our way back to the car, he saw these stocks.  I'm not sure what she did, but apparently Amanda "made a bad choice".  Whoops.  She didn't stay locked up long, fortunately.

After our walk through the shops, we headed home for dinner and a relaxing evening in the condo.

Myrtle Beach and Pirates Voyage

All of us were eager to hit the beach for our first full day of sun, sand and salt water!  P headed straight out into the waves with me.

C stayed closer to shore, although he wasn't afraid to get wet either.

Both of the boys were eager to clean up after the beach in the jacuzzi, although P quickly renamed it the "silly tub".  Silly boy!

One of the special activities we planned was a trip to Pirates Voyage, a dinner show in the area.  Pirates Voyage used to be Dixie Stampede, but Dolly put millions of dollars into renovating this bad boy.  Now instead of a rodeo competition between the North and the South, the Ruby Pirates and the Sapphire Pirates battle it out in diving and swimming competitions, with the help of some friendly sea lions.  There's a hunt for buried treasure, and there are live mermaids.

I packed the boys some (partially handmade) pirate costumes, and after getting dressed for our night out on the town, we were off!

The boys were both excited to arrive - P for the pirates, and C for the mermaids.

Many of you know about P's love of face paint.  We talked it over with the boys, and P agreed that he would rather do the pirate package here than take up his time with it at Disney World, since he didn't need to do it twice.  (We'll see if that's still what he thinks when we arrive at the Magic Kingdom later this summer.)

Of course, monkey see, monkey do, so C wanted to get his face painted as well... although he wanted the mermaid package.  (Other than the face paint, the packages are the same - pirates and mermaids both get a flag for their team, a bandanna in their team's color, an earring, and an eyepatch.)

I may be a tad biased, but this video of C's face as he sees a mermaid decoration hanging on the wall is adorable, if I do say so myself.

Both of the boys did a great job of holding still for their "makeovers".  (Not that I'm surprised - I'll hold still so someone can do something nice for me, too.  If you'd like to test out my theory, come on over and clean my floors.  I promise to sit really still while you do it.)

At last, a pirate and a mermaid emerged!  (You don't need to tell C this, but thanks to the Jack Sparrow's makeup artists, I think he looks like a pirate.)

P was so excited and full of energy he could barely hold still for the pre show.

C decided to rest up before dinner.

The show was great, and we all had a good time.  When it was over, the pirate captain stayed for high fives and photogaphs.  He told the boys to make silly pirate faces for this picture.

If we return to the area while the boys are still into pirates, this is an attraction I'll look up again!

Off to the beach!

During our (loooooooooong) drive to the beach, we made a stop at McLeod's Farm.  It was nice to get out and stretch our legs a bit, and we picked up some delicious fresh fruit for our vacation.

P also showed off his tractor driving skills.

C, P, and I took advantage of a well-placed photo op.

When we arrived at the beach, we unloaded, ate a quick dinner, and headed to the pool!

C didn't want to spend much time in the water the first night, mainly because he was so excited about wearing his merman tail towel.  (He kept saying, "Mommy, I need to get in the water.  This is my tail, so it has to get wet!")  We purchased his towel from Kiki through her Etsy shop, and he loves loves loves it.  The towel is soft and thick, and very durable.  I wish I had a better picture of him in it, but he hardly ever sits still!  Even though he walked all over the pool and beachy areas in it, it still looks great.  (It has a loop on the end of the tail and a hook at the top of the tail so the tail can stay clean and dry, but C would have none of that.  He was adamant that the tail drag along behind him "like a real tail", but despite handling the rough nature of a three and a half year old boy, the tail has held up wonderfully.)  Kiki was so easy to work with, too!  I'm guessing this is the first "merboy" she's made a tail for, but she adapted her design and had my order ready quickly.  (She didn't ask me to say any of this, people, I'm just that pleased with her product.  So if you're in the market for something like this, I'd recommend you check out her shop.)

P was ready to head straight into the water.  I was glad to see how much he remembered from last summer's swimming lessons.  He didn't hold still for long, either, but Amanda did manage to get a picture of him in the lazy river with Daddy A.

Our visit to the pool helped the boys fall asleep quickly, but it had them super excited about our week at the beach!

Dora, Diego, P, and C

Among our other summer adventures, we made a quick stop at Tweetsie with our friend Amanda to see Dora and Diego.  Timewise, it wasn't the smartest move - P, C, and I got back from Fredericksburg on a Thursday afternoon, went to Tweetsie on Friday, and then left for a week at the beach (after Daddy A got home late Friday night) on Saturday before lunch.  HOWEVER, it was so worth it to me.  Of the three days Dora and Diego were visiting, it was the only day we could make it, and C had asked if we could try to see Dora this year.  The boys had a great time!

We got to Tweetsie around the time it opened, and headed straight to the Hacienda where we scored front row seats for the show.  The boys colored in "magic pen" paint books and patiently waited for the show to start.  Immediately after the performance, the four of us got in line to wait for Dora and Diego to come back from their break for hugs and photographs.  (It's a good thing Amanda was with us, because after we waited in line for about 15 minutes, P and C both said they HAD to go to the bathroom NOW.  The line was crazy long by then, and the characters were about five minutes from coming out to meet and greet, and they only stay out for twenty minutes, which means we would have missed them if we had to go to the back of the line because it was over twenty minutes worth of photos long, and I might have gone crazy if Amanda hadn't been there to hold our place in line.)  She was there, she did hold our place in line, and here is OUR PHOTO:

I love how P tends to put his arm around C protectively.  It's not just in photos - these two really have the attitude that the world is a less scary and "'more awesome" place with your brother around.  :)

After all of that waiting, the boys waited some more - completely by choice - to get their faces painted with a small picture of Swiper the Fox.  And then they were off!

There were several inflatables for the kids to play in, and they both did some sliding and some jumping and the obstacle course.  I was impressed with their skills.  P and C were both able to make it through the obstacle course independently.

After all of that playing, we decided to head to - you guessed it - Chic-fil-a for lunch.  This is where the story gets anticlimactic.  It started to rain, and it looked like it was going to stay rainy, so we decided since we have season passes and had a trip to pack for, we'd just head down the mountain.  With the aforementioned trip, that decision was fortuitous.  Although the boys were slightly disappointed, they got over it quickly and we headed home to rest up and pack up for the beach!

Happy Fourth of July!

From our family to yours, Happy Fourth!  If you're celebrating the birthday of America today, we hope you have lots of fun with family and friends!

double your fun

I've mentioned more than once that P and C are good friends.  That they do lots of things together by choice.  Both of them tell me on a regular basis that they like to do things "with each other 'cause it's more fun".  Folks, today I offer you photographic evidence.

a partial listing of things that are more fun to do with your brother 

1.  eat popsicles and play in the swimming pool

2.  lounge after playing in the swimming pool

3.  Collect natural materials from the yard to make "eggs" and a "nest".  Sit with your "eggs" until they hatch.  Take care of your "babies".

4.  Rest.  (ie, Pretend to rest/sleep when Mom says it is rest/bed time.  Hope this works long enough for her to leave the room so you can then actually wrestle all over the bed, rather than resting/sleeping.)

a car wash and a trip to Carl's

Kings Dominion

While we were in Fredericksburg, we decided to spend one day at Kings Dominion.  The boys were very excited.  They started off with some of the smaller rides...

...but it didn't take long at all for P to proclaim that roller coasters were "awesome".  C was pretty fearless (as usual) too, and if he had been tall enough to ride more things I'm pretty sure he would have seized the opportunity.

We took in the Charlie Brown pirate show, and P was one of the lucky four volunteers that were chosen from the audience to help Lucy swab the deck.

P convinced Grandma Paige to let him get his face painted for a "special treat".  He was happy to model his shark.

By this point in the afternoon, C had elected to take his regularly scheduled nap... jut not in his regularly scheduled place.  :)

We took in the Dinosaurs Alive! exhibit.  The whole experience was cool, but when we got to the hands-on fossil excavation area, the boys thought that was the cat's meow and then some.

C woke up while P was digging and joined in the fun.  I wholeheartedly believe that we could have stayed in that play area for several hours.  The adults got hungry, through, and the time got later, so we moved on.

C was awake when we passed the face painting station this time, and at his request we stopped so he could get a shark "like P".

We had a BLAST at Kings Dominion.  C chattered all the way home, but both of the boys (and mama) slept well that night!

Happy Father's Day!

Since Daddy A was out of town, we spent Father's Day with my dad.  The boys and I went to church with my parents, and I always enjoy worshiping at the church where I grew up.  I am incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful church family - until I went to college Trinity was the only church I had ever regularly attended.

The boys did a little tree climbing in the church yard after the service, and although not these exact trees, that was something my friends and I used to do as well.

My sister and brother in law came over and we all went to lunch to celebrate Father's Day.  Don't they look cute in these pictures?  My sister takes the best pictures - seriously, I never look at a picture of her where she looks like she just rolled out of bed or is having a bad hair day... and if you've hung out in our corner of cyberspace for long, you know that pictures of me are much more, ahem, realistic looking.

It was Tiffany's idea to take some shots of Dad with his daughters and grandsons.  Considering the number of subjects and their ages, I thought these came out really well.


P tired of posing first, but luckily C had Ariel nearby and she was willing to stand in.

I am so fortunate to have a wonderful dad, and to be married to a man who is a wonderful dad to our sons!