Hilton Head Island Trip May 2008

Mimi, Kelli, and I took the girls this past week to Hilton Head Island so that they could get their first view of the ocean. I think the other adults on the trip would definitely agree that the long, long car ride there was worth it the minute the little ones put their feet in the sand at the beach for the very first time. There were lots of giggles, squeals of delight, and four soaked girls by the time we headed back to the condo to unpack that first night.

We pretty much knew it was going to be an amazing trip because the week before when we were discussing when to go Ella asked if there would be a playground with a sandbox at the beach.... a sandbox!?! Needless to say, we were as bummed as Daddy that he couldn't go with us, but now we have huge incentive for going again!

We stayed at Janice and Tom's beautiful condo about a half a mile from the beach just behind the Crown Plaza Resort. We rented bikes with kiddie trailers that held 2 girls each. They loved the bikes almost as much as the water, but I didn't manage to take any pictures of the bike set up or the condo. I'll do better next time!

We spent our mornings on the beach, afternoons napping, resting, and biking, late afternoons back at the beach, and in the evenings we crashed. The girls were all completely fearless where the ocean was concerned. They would lie down in the water waiting for the waves to come up and hit them. They ran into the water and when waves would start to come up they would run from them screaming, "water- chase- me!!!" with all their might. When they woke up the first thing Sarah said every time was "go play water".

They liked the sand too. We made castles, dug moats, hunted for perfect sea shells to bring home to Daddy, and carried gallons and gallons of ocean water to pour into holes we dug in the sand.

We usually enjoyed our morning snacks out on the beach. The girls had Capri Sun drinks for the first time on our second afternoon there, and as a result did not fall asleep that night until well after 9pm... after we put them down at 6:30pm due to a bad case of the early crankies. The fruit, crackers, and yogurt they ate at the beach didn't seem to cause any problems (other than attracting a flock of birds one morning) so we stuck with those snacks for the rest of the time. However, the Carpi Sun's were good for the only group shot I got of all four girls the whole time we were there.... except they were so cold everyone ended up with a funny face!

We usually traveled to and from the beach in style in Mimi's work wagon that we hauled there from home on the top of my Expedition. We seriously looked like the Clampets driving down the interstate with the wagon and 3 pack-n-plays strapped to the top of my vehicle! All we were missing was the granny in a rocking chair on top. Sarah preferred to push the wagon and then ride in one of the bike trailers back to the condo... we got tons of comments from others on the beach while transitioning to and from our spot in the sand via the wagon.

One morning we headed out after breakfast on the bikes throughout the sub-division in search of a playground. We found one and played for a while. It wasn't long, however, before they were all saying "go play water", so that is exactly what we did.

The sun and sand made Maggie so tired she tried to take a little nap in the surf on our last day there. I was tired enough to lie down right there with her, but it was definitely a "good" tired!

Overall, our first beach trip was amazing. The girls all loved the water, sand, bikes, and basically everything about the place. The only downside was the drive there and back, but that should get better as they get older, **gulp**, I hope!