Family Beach Trip, Part 1

Brian was on vacation last week, so we decided to take the kids to Myrtle Beach for our first ever family vacation!  Since Nathan was born, all our trips with one or both kids have been to visit family, so we decided it was about time to make some great memories with just the four of us. We had beautiful weather, a great three bedroom condo, wonderful pools at the resort and yummy food.  The only downside to the whole trip was the fussy, clingy, teething Sarah-bear.  (Deja vu for a teething baby at the beach!)

We got to the beach Wednesday afternoon (following a harrowing car ride with fussy Sarah).  After unpacking while Sarah took a nap, we changed right into our swimsuits and explored the multiple pools at our resort.  First up was the kids pool that had a submarine and lots of water sprayers.  Since it was shaded, it was slightly too chilly to be perfect.  Next we tried the heated pool under the hotel and there we hit the jackpot!  That ended up being our go-to pool for most of the rest of the trip.  After spending as long as possible in the pool, we headed back to the room for some dinner and then back out for a walk on the beach.  I had just envisioned a nice stroll so we didn't put on our suits, but Nathan was super excited about the ocean and quickly got his shorts soaked playing in the waves (video to come).  Sarah and I went back to the room to put her to bed, but Nathan wanted to stay and play some more - and the guys ended up getting drenched!

The three full days we spent at the beach all followed a similar pattern.  We got up every morning, quickly ate breakfast, and went straight out for a walk on the beach.

(Sarah likes to make funny faces and grind her teeth.  I'm not sure if its just a teething thing, or if she's getting used to the teeth she already has.  But this week she added three (one lower, two upper) to the four she cut during the family reunion at Myrtle.)

Our morning walks ended with Sarah and me going back to the room, where Sarah took a nap and Mommy got some quiet alone time.  Nathan and Daddy spent the mornings playing in the hot pool, or the bubbly pools (the hot tubs), the lazy river and/or the kids pool.

Then we spent some time hanging out in the room until lunch and nap time.  We all enjoyed some glorious naps during our stay!  After naps, it was time to go to the beach!  There was lots of playing in the sand, some playing in the ocean, always topped off with another dip in the hot pool.  After that came dinner, bedtime for the kids and some down-time for Mom and Dad before we hit the sack, ready to start all over in the morning.

More pictures, videos and details to come!  (And below is Sarah almost falling asleep in the carrier on our morning walk.)