A Week At The Beach!

The family and I flew to Raleigh, NC then rented a car and drove 5 hours to Kiawah Island, SC.  It was a combined total travel time of 16 hours, plus we lost 2 hours in the transit!  Wow!  Were we ever tired, but grateful to be able to visit my parents at their "beach house" for awhile.  Living in Utah is wonderful, but there isn't a beach for many miles!  We got spoiled living in Jax and driving less than 10 minutes to get to Atlantic Beach whenever we wanted!  The kids did well over the long trip.  I was so thankful to have Andy with us for the longest leg of our trip.  I can't imagine having to do the long flying, multiple stops AND driving all by myself with the munchkins!

The first thing the kids wanted to do the next morning was to go swim in the ocean.  Sissy was still scared of the waves this year...why?  I have no idea!  She's not afraid of much, but the waves freak her out.  Don't know if it's the sound or the movement.  Once she's out beyond where they are breaking, she's content to swim and splash around.  No playing along the shoreline for her though.  Riley was like a fish!  He was chest deep and we couldn't get him out!  He swam the ENTIRE time we were there!  He loved it!  I think he really misses living near the beach.

Checking out the ocean with her Pappy

Deciding she's not too thrilled with the waves

Riley couldn't get enough of the water and waves!

The boys jumping waves

Don't even think about putting me down in that water Pappy!

We rented bikes and spent the rest of our time cruising around the island.  Riley loved going for long rides.  We have to get him conditioned so we can take long family rides here in Utah.  We're going to get him a new bike very soon so it's easier for him to ride longer - his current bike is too small and tires him out too quickly.

Riding on the beach is such a relaxing activity...as long as you are riding with the wind at your back!

Riley and Nanny riding along the shore

We ate dinner one night at The Sanctuary, outside by the pool.  For those of you who don't know, The Sanctuary is the resort of all resorts.  It's beautiful and classy!  It is the ultimate in luxury!  What a lovely evening and it was perfect for the kids because they could be loud, spill, etc. and no one cared!  Afterwards we snapped some family photos and then headed out to see the sunset at The Ocean Course which is where they held the '07 Senior PGA and will hold the 2012 PGA Championship.  It's literally along side the ocean and the setting is gorgeous!  We got there right as the sun was setting.  What a beautiful view!

Checking out her big brother in the gardens at The Sanctuary

My parents and the grandkids

Have I mentioned how beautiful the gardens are at The Sanctuary?

Lounging on the porch

My handsome little man

Walking out to the beach, hand in hand

After 37 years of marriage!

Daddy and his little Princess

Me and my two precious kids!

Needed a new family shot

Check out the big wad of Tootsie Roll in her left cheek!  Yes, it's called bribery!

Had to let him have a "silly" pic after all that hard work of smiling!

Catching the last rays of sun from a beautiful day at the Ocean Course

My tired little girl.  I love to snuggle with her.

Getting some love from her Nanny

Andy flew back to SLC out of Charleston, SC on Sunday morning so he was only there with us 4 days.  We did manage to go on a date while we were with my parents.  We considered driving into Charleston for the night, but ended up finding an awesome BBQ place on the way there instead.  It was a dive of a joint, but aren't those the best places anyway?  $11 all you can eat buffet including SWEET TEA and dessert!  We were sold!  The place is called JB's Smokeshack and it looks like a shack!  But the food was DELICIOUS!  Their pulled pork and brisket were to die for!  They have been "Judged the Best of the Best in America by the National BBQ News" and suggested as "the place to go eat" by the New York Times.  Since we live in Utah, really good BBQ is hard to find.  Another thing we got spoiled with while living in Jax!  But what a nice treat to go on a date and eat our favorite foods!

We had a great time at the beach and were sad to leave.  It was hot and humid, but surprisingly it didn't bother me as much as I anticipated.  Guessing it's because I haven't lived in Utah during the summer yet.  Boy did my hair love coming back to the dry climate though!

A Couple of Ideas for "Dad's Day"

A friend asked me for ideas for Father's Day...Well, I already decided that Andy is getting a new riding jersey for Father's Day this year.  He could really use a new once since his are old and faded and he's been riding more and more.  We will actually be away over Father's Day so with all the craziness of school being over, packing, parties, etc, we'll probably celebrate when the kids and I return from our trip east.  There are a few ideas I've been sitting on for awhile...things I've seen during my blog stalking hours (aka naptime).  So here are some things to stir your creative juices!

These would be cute for a dad so he could see just how big his kids hand are getting

This poem would be sweet with some of your child's footprints:

I wish I remembered where I snagged this photo below so I could give credit where credit is due...but I love the idea of spelling out their name with the kids holding the letters.  This could work for one kid or multiples.  I've considered having Little Man hold a "D", Sissy hold an "A" and tie a "D" around the dog's neck!

Hope these help some of you come up with something creative for dear old Dad!

Crazy Weather

We had our first thunderstorm of the season last night.  The sky was incredible so I did my best to capture it:

This photo was taken about 8pm last night.  This is our view to the east.  The view over South Mt. (which would be to the right in this picture) was dark.  The view in the photos below is to the west of our house where the storm was located.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Notice the gas station where this sign is posted?

Have Activities, Ready To Travel

I had seen an idea for activity books on one of the craft blogs I stalk, I mean follow.  I had posted about it HERE.  I thought it would be the perfect companion for our trip back east this summer.

I finally finished the books for the kids - and just in time!  I found WASHABLE dry erase markers and an eraser at Walmart!  I was so excited because you and I both know that Sissy will somehow manage to color all over herself as well as the pages!

I used plastic folders and cut out the letters from vinyl with my Cricut.

These are examples of the coloring pages from Sissy's book.  I printed out pages from the internet or photocopied them from coloring books onto card stock to make them a little more durable.  The pages were then inserted to page protectors and then placed into the folder tabs.

Little Man's book is a little different.  I gave him an index of all the pages in his book so we can check them off as he completes them.  If he can complete the entire book by the time we arrive back in the good ol' Salt Lake Valley, then I promised him a trip to Frogurt - his new favorite place for cold treats (they don't have Rita's here or we'd be going there instead!)

Here are just a sampling of the pages I included in his book:

Color by numbers, letters or words, dot to dot by 2's or 5's

Coloring pages of his favorite animals, movies or cartoons, worksheets from a grade one workbook to review or expand upon concepts he has already learned

Had to include the cars for his Pappy to see!

I created two BINGO sheets of things he may see while on the airplane, like a baby, a cloud, mountains, peanuts, etc.

And what would a good activity book be without some Tic Tac Toe and Hangman!

I'm hoping that these books help to ward off the boredom they will experience as we fly across the country this summer.  The batteries in the portable DVD player will only last so long!  Did I happen to mention that I didn't buy a seat for Sissy?  Thankfully Andy will be able to travel with us on the way there and I will only have to survive it solo on the way home!