The time has finally come for our first family beach vacation. It seemed like it took FOREVER to get here, and I guess that is normal when you book in November. Our friends go to this beach, Holden Beach NC. It is about 40 miles north of Myrtle Beach. A lot of families. A lot less touristy attractions, just the beach. It was awesome. A vacation we came back from feeling refreshed. Not like we needed another vacation.

We left Morgantown on Friday the 10th. We knew we were going to take our time, stop lots and let Sean run around. I even did some planning and downloaded Geocaches to our Garmin to find along the way. We love caching. I don’t know why we don’t do it more often. It took us 6 1/2 hours to do what should have taken four.  Ha ha. But we had a happy baby. So it was all good. Stopped at an Embassy Suites in Winston-Salem NC.

Finding our first cache…. And exploring some puddles.

A tiny micro-cache.

Little man is getting too big. He loves to dip his fries and suck off the ketchup. Gross. But he is so sweet.

Getting to our beach house. It was awesome. Five bedrooms, 3 had king beds, all had their own bathrooms. And there was an elevator!! Kids were in heaven.

Our neighbors, Jo and Charlie, who told us about the beach, were able to come during the same time! That was pretty cool. We hung out at the beach a bit and they were able to tell us the “cool” places to go.

Of course we had to go check out the beach. There was a storm coming in and it was awesome. Waves were huge. It really was neat.

That night we had a killer thunder and lightening storm as well. We were a little worried that our entire week was going to be rained out, but that was our only time with any type of bad weather….

Early Sunday, Marcus and I went to Myrtle Beach to pick up our company. His sisters Sam and Missy were able to come vacation with us. We were super excited to see them. Had been a year since we had seen Sam and Missy hadn’t even met Sean yet.

We got back to the house and drug them to the beach. After leaving Las Vegas at 9:00 pm, and getting into Myrtle at 9:00 am, they were a little tired. But were troopers.

Sean and Marissa feeding each other. How cute are they?

Sam and Sean and Missy and Sean

I really love this picture.

Holden Beach is a Sea Turtle Haven/Protected area. They have dunes that line the beach that are roped off. This is where the turtle lay their eggs. While walking the beach, you will randomly see red ribbon tied, with a metal cage in the sand. Like on the Nicolas Sparks movie, The Last Song. While we were walking the beach one night, we saw a group of people by one of the roped off areas. The nest of turtles had hatched the night before and the turtle protection people were digging thru the nest for any stragglers. They found one! He was so tiny and cute!!

They had a ditch-path that they let him walk into the ocean on. It really was pretty neat.

I am completely cheesy.

Kenna doing cartwheels.

We walked to the pier. It was a lot farther away than it looked! But Kenna found a Conch Shell along the way, so it was totally worth it. Do you know how hard it is to find conch shells?? Seriously.

Under the Boardwalk.

More time hanging at the beach. Sean really loved his Aunt Missy. They bonded. I think her always having food nearby helped with that. Wink Wink.

Kids and Marcus trying out the boogie boarding skills. They got pretty good by the end of the week.

And Miss Riss and Sam. I kept telling Sam she didn’t have to haul the 8 year old leach around. Ha ha. Sam loved it. Marissa had missed her.

Seriously the best baby. Napped on the beach.

Brady got buried…then the tide started coming up. Ha! He was too funny.

Next was Missy’s turn. I am surprised she could breath under all that sand! It was funny to watch her try to get out tho…

Marissa and Emily. Best Friends…even at the beach!

Brady. Poor kid looked at low tide all week for a stinking sand dollar. We bought on at the gift shop. He was totally happy with that. Should have just bought it at the beginning of the week. Would have saved the poor kid hours of time!!

Mermaids! Missy and Kenna!

Napping at the beach….

Sean LOVES shoes. I think he is destined to be a shoe collector…like his daddy.

We buried our fish.

Then laughed as they tried to get out. “Good Luck Sean”

Sean is definitely a daddy's boy. I love them.

More boogie boarding and a fist pump when made it to the beach… She kills me.

I loved low tide. It was a lot of fun to be able to let Sean walk around and explore.

Digging in these little holes. Trying to find out what was making them. We later learned that they are “sand crabs”. Look a lot like hermit crabs. Kids liked digging them up. Poor, traumatized crabs…

This cute Labra doodle, Fergus, that visited.

We attempted some beach family photos before heading to Myrtle Beach for the day….

Broadway at the Beach. Marcus and the kids did some speed boat action….

Time spent hanging out at the house…. So relaxing!

More time at the beach…. This time, geared up with Skim Boards and Fish Nets.

Almost down…and saved by dad.

Sean liked throwing things…shells, binkies. Whatever was handy.

Kenna and Brady spent 4 hours making this Sand Sofa. It turned out really neat!!

Who needs TV when you have this view??

Kenna discovered that high tide is unkind to the Sand Sofa. She was so sad.

Snuggling on the couch…

Snoozing away.

We took Sam and Missy to airport Thursday evening. We had a great time with them and cant wait to see them again!!

We spent our last day shopping in gift shops and hanging on the beach. This time, the Petersons were there as well!! Jo and Kenna were catching fish.

They even caught several!!

Skim Boarding.

Even Marissa took a turn!

Nice wipeout, B.

Kenna and Emily

Digging for muscles and sand crabs…

Our House!! (and Marissa )

On our last night, we went and got ice cream with the Petersons. It was a great way to end our vacation!! We had a blast and can’t wait to go again!

We drove straight thru on the way home. Sean was a great little traveler. We stopped and grabbed a few easy caches along the way…

 

And hit some beach traffic.  Although, was only this patch, the rest was smooth sailing!

Home again. School started here on August 16. When planning our vacation in November, I was certain the third week in August would be safe, school wise. Nope. So the kids missed the first two days of school.

But was full school mode here on Sunday night! Kenna laid out her clothing choices…complete with accessories. Once Marcus picked (the coral top and jean capris) she said “Ehhh”. He then picked the middle outfit and she said “Ok!!”  She is funny.

McKenna 8th Grade.

Marissa. 3rd Grade.

Brady.  4th Grade

 

Today was strange. Kids went to school. I went to gym. Came home and Sean went down for nap and woke up 15 minutes before Kenna got home. Was quiet. Don’t worry. I did laundry. And this. Now to fill out beginning of school year paper work. Ahh!

Getting back into schedule will be nice. Brady is in football and soccer. Games should be starting soon. Before I know it, it will be Halloween. But man, I LOVE summer. I will miss it.

As always, come see us.