Oak Island Beach Trip

We just got back from 6 wonderful days at the beach! We spent the first half of the week with just the 4 of us in Oak Island and the 2nd part of the week in Myrtle Beach with Daniel's mom. I removed the outtakes of shut eyes and blurs which left me with 240 usuable pictures! No one can ever say I didn't document these kids lives!

 

I'm going to break these pictures up into 2 post, Oak Island and Myrtle Beach.

 

In Oak Island, we did a whole lot of resting, sleeping and swimming. If you've ever been to Oak Island, you know there isn't a whole lot of things to do BUT the beaches are beautiful and the waves are perfect for body surfing, a hobby Parker grew quite fond of.

 

We got there around dinner time on Sunday, dropped our bags off and took a scooter ride to "walk on the beach"

I don't know what I was thinking because our "walk on the beach" turned into "swimming in our clothes".... and a cold scooter ride home!

After dance party in the outdoor shower, a family tradition at the beach house, we hit the sack early, expecting rough nights. The kids don't always sleep so great outside of our house BUT we were SO wrong (in oak island, that is!).... they slept AMAZINGLY well and we were up and ready to hit the beach the next morning!

 

Avery fed the seagulls most of our snacks to lure them in and then chased them away. Cruel.... but endless entertainment.

 

Parker ran straight into the ocean, supervised by Daniel. The waves were big but broke closely to the shore, perfect for toddler body surfing. Parker's body surfing closely resembled drowning so, no worries, one of us was always with him. He had the BEST time!





 

I love spending time with this sweet boy!

And this precious girl! (who will be wearing tutu bathing suits until she's 18 if I have anything to do with it!)

 

We buried Avery in the sand... best way to keep a ginger from burning!

We spent most of the day floating over the waves just past where they break. The kids loved floating in their puddle jumpers over the waves. Getting to that place was A LOT of work!

After a fun day at the beach, the kids just couldn't make the 5 house walk home!

Thanks for a great vacay, Oak Island! Next up! Myrtle Beach!

Oak Island - May Beach Trip

Last week the kids and I packed up and headed to the beach with my parents. They rented a house in Oak Island, NC a few weeks throughout the year and last week happened to be one of them. We were sure we'd have high 70's/low 80's and beautiful beach weather.... but... we got low/mid 60's and clouds. Boo. But, one thing is for sure, regardless of the weather, my kids will wear bathing suits and play in the sand, blue lips and all. Thankfully, we did get some sunny moments here and there and I got my fix of sandy toes and umbrella drinks. Daniel was supposed to meet us Thursday and stay through Sunday but since it was so windy and calling for rain, we just headed home to warmer weather and our own beds.

Waterwheel fun.... Best $1.50 I've spent in a long time.

We played on swings and scouted out places in the movie Safe Haven (filmed in Southport next to Oak Island). Sadly, I did not see Josh Duhamel.

We took the ferry to Fort Fisher and went to the NC aquarium. It is beautiful and we really enjoyed our time there.  Funny note about this picture.... my dad is smiling.... at an alligator trying to attack the lady cleaning its habitat and the other lady with a broom trying to keep it away from her. Probably not the safest way to clean glass... just sayin'.

No vacation would be complete without ice cream! Side note.... did that sedan park on the bumper of the SUV?! I just noticed that!

Playing at the park in Southport.

This crazy girl wanted to swim SO badly but the water was breathtakingly cold!

Chasing waves is a super fun game!

I love this iPhone picture of Avery!

A framer for sure!

Just us, some seagulls and a fisherman (from the town daniel grew up in! What are the odds?!)

 

A fisherman near us would call us over every time he caught something so the kids could touch it.

A hammerhead shark! It was pretty cool. I actually touched it and it felt like sand paper.

 

The pictures uploaded in a weird order but we're gonna roll with it. Despite the not so beachy weather, the kids had a wonderful time and I came back relaxed. Oak Island is a bit sleeper than I'm used to (I'm a Hilton Head snob) but I couldn't say nicer things about the residents of Oak Island and Southport. They are geniunely sweet people. It's a safe and clean beach that we look forward to going back to in late June. Fingers crossed for mid- 80's with a slight breeze! :)

Questions I'm pondering

Why does this child not sleep for more than 20 minutes without someone touching her? 

Seriously, ya'll. She'll sleep longer, but you have to be laying next to her to rub her head or back right when she wakes up to get her back to sleep... or hold her.  I can spend over an hour trying to get her sleep and she'll nap for around 20 minutes. It's just a phase, right? I hope so! It's a good thing that she's a cutie!

Why can't Parker say his own name? 

He is the most well mannered child. He says "please" and "thank you." He knows Avery's name, all of our family members names(except Kelly) and most animals... but CANNOT (or WILL NOT) say "PARKER!" It drives me nuts! I really wanted him to be able to say his name before he goes to preschool. So instead, I'm sending him with a monogrammed backpack, lunchbox and closet full or appliqued/monogrammed shirts. Sigh.

Should I make my own baby food or buy it?

 I always bought Earth's Best baby food for Parker. I stocked up any time I found it on sale at the store so I usually bought it at $.50-$.75 a jar depending on the size. I will definitely use some of these again for Avery such as when we're out for meals or for fruits and veggies too high in nitrates, or gross ones I don't buy for myself. Here's my dilemma... my desire to be super mom makes me feel like I should try to make my own food. I tried today. I made pears and peaches and I've gotta say, I'm not really convinced it's that much cheaper, if at all. It wasn't hard to do but I'm wavering between the convenience of opening a can of organic baby food or the satisfaction of knowing I prepared Avery's food from local farmer's market produce myself. Mamas... help me out? Anyone have strong opinions one way or the other?

Are these two going to cooperate for family beach pictures in 2 weeks?

I sure hope so! I'm dying for AWESOME family pictures! So much so that I hired a photographer to take them! I just felt so strongly that we needed nice sunset, matching outfit, beach pictures! Clearly, as you can see above, I'm not too fantastic at getting them myself! Yes, I was hoping up and down, laughing, making duck noises and asking "what's on my head?" and this is still the best I got.... Avery, eating Parker's foot and Parker playing with his juice box straw.. ah... real life. I so badly want a not real life shot where they're both smiling at the same time, looking at the camera, with no stains on their matching seersucker crab outfits, sitting in sand. Is that too much to ask?

Why is Parker so suddenly into Cars, Toy Story and Dora?

Goodbye Thomas, hello Dora, Toy Story and Lightning McQueen. I'm currently still tolerating the shows themselves pretty well... but the "stuff." Let me tell you about marketing... those boogers are smart. My son is currently sleeping with a Woody doll (that he tucks in), a plastic Woody figurine, a shake n go Lightning McQueen, AND... drumroll... a can of Campbell's Soup that has Woody on it, a box of Kraft Mac n Cheese that has Car's characters on it and a soup label I pulled off his dinner with Dora.... and 3 ducks. I'm not sure what grabs Parker's attention so much with these 3 shows but he's in love... and so are the marketers of these characters. NOTE: he will NEVER wear these characters and of that, I am certain! He can sleep with as many boxes of Car's mac n cheese he wants but he will. not. EVER. wear ANYTHING. with them on it!

Will the dishwasher installer ACTUALLY be here between 10-10:30am?

Is that not the most amazing time frame EVER from an installation company?! I was thrilled! I've been without a dishwasher for 2 weeks... and it's been a LONG two weeks! When Best Buy called me today to give me my time frame, I asked them to tell me again. What? No 4 hour window? If this is the case... I'll buy every appliance I ever need from Best Buy! 

I am pondering many other things... will Daniel's seersucker shorts I ordered online fit? Eeek, I hope so,.. no time to buy another pair before the pictures! Why do random women I don't know ask me if the coffee I'm buying is for me? Why yes... see the 2 year old crying on the floor and the baby attached to me... yes, the coffee is for me... and yes.. I'm nursing. Poor old woman probably went home and called DSS on me. Will Parker's preschool teacher like him? Is he going to cry when I leave him on his 1st day? At the rate we're going, Avery isn't going to sleep through the night until she's 14. Is there anything I can do at this age to help her? Or just accept some kids aren't great sleepers? Le sigh.

Man, I have a lot of questions!

There are; however, things I do know. I am loved. I am giving it my best. I don't have all of the answers.  I am happy. I love my family. I love my life. I am blessed.

Sullivan's Island

I am SUPER DUPER sleepy so this will be quick but I wanted to upload some pictures from our mini beach vacay! My friend, Anna and I took Parker, Lily and Avery to Sullivan's Island on Tuesday and Wednesday. We spent the night at my children's godparent's (Dean and Tabitha's) house and then got up the next morning and headed to the beach! It didn't take much arm twisting to get Tabitha to watch Avery for me so I could focus on Parker for a bit!

Ready for the waves!

Taking his ducks for a swim

Look! I exist! I finally remembered to jump in a picture!

We found a tide pool so Parker's mallard duckie didn't get swept away

I L-O-V-E these pictures of Parker and Lily holding hands!

Parker wore these glasses the whole time we were at the beach. I thought it was precious!

Smitten! If they go married, would these not be the cutest pictures for their wedding DVD!

Weekend Recap

Good news... Parker is alive and thriving! The annual girl's beach trip was a huge success and Daniel and Parker made due at home for the weekend! I made it the whole weekend without a single shed tear for my little man and managed to keep my phone calls to a reasonable every 4 or 5 hours.

It's super late and I'll revisit this topic tomorrow but here's a few highlights/lowlights:

*Daniel took Parker to church and dressed him all by himself (even though I set out a church outfit). Daniel's outfit of choice for Parker you ask? A Blue and white Polo romper (an outfit in itself), buttoned ALL the way to the neck (how did you breathe little man?), with... wait for it.... brown corduroy pants (uber hot!). I asked Daniel if it felt weird stuffing the legs of the romper into the extremely thick winter pants but he swears he thought it was a onesie. I'm 100% sure Parker hasn't worn a onesie in at least 8 months but hey.... I what do I know. ha ha

*Hot Dogs equate to a balanced meal.... every meal... who needs veggies when you have turkey dogs? Bless Daniel's heart, today Parker ate broccoli, carrots, fiber and blueberries in attempts to offset his massive intake of processed foods and sodium.

*Did you know being a stay at home dad ONLY means playing? It's amazing! I want that job! Apparently cleaning, straightening, laundry, dishes, etc are NOT part of a stay at home dad's tasks. How cool is that.... except if you're the stay at home mom who gets to clean it up. We had to have a little chatsky about that! I love my boys but WHEW are they messy! At least they're supportive of my girl's weekends! I guess a "close to condemnable house" is a small price to pay for a much needed girl's weekend!

*Do people actually take those old timey photos seriously? Umm... yes... the photographer does. Apparently, asking to dress in the rebel flag and lay on a bar with a shotgun is offensive to some. Kidding... we thought it was a super good idea at midnight though.

*I was meant to drive a big ass truck. I rocked the socks off that king cab silverado all weekend stuffed with 7 cuties!

*Staying at home and playing silly games with your girlfriends is WAY more fun than going out... at least it is now... which I believe means we're old. I don't care, it was fun, MONSTER TRUCKERS! (I just love you, Erin Reid)

*Nothing in the WHOLE WORLD beats seeing your child for the 1st time after being away and hearing that sweet sound "MOMM-E!!!" His face was so tasty. I made out with it. Man did I miss him!

Pictures to come... tomorrow (hopefully)! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend!