Isle of Palms Vacation

1 week, 2 pairs of sunglasses and 300 pictures later, we're home from vacation! We had a wonderful time at the beach this year and the weather couldn't have been any better. We had one storm while we were down there and it was late Sunday afternoon. Ana, Pops, and GUD (Great Uncle David) were a tremendous help with the kids. We took turns taking them back up to the house for naps/potty breaks.
When we got there on Saturday, we got the kids dressed and took them out to the beach. This was Emma's first trip to the beach and she loved it. She ate lots of sand, and drank lots of salty water! ;) She would crawl right into the crashing waves, and would laugh like crazy if they crashed right in her face. Andrew was of course in heaven. He battled the choppy ocean like a pro. Mary McLean did great on Saturday running in and out of the water.
On Sunday I had Mary Mac out with me and she was a little timid. A big wave came and I lifted her up so it wouldn't hit her. Unfortunately she wouldn't let go of my neck so it got both of us and I lost my sunglasses in the process. Well this was enough to turn her off of the water. She wouldn't go within 10 feet of it without screaming in protest. We spent Monday and Tuesday trying to get her ok with the water again, but she wasn't having it.
Wednesday night Marc and I were able to go to dinner by ourselves. We stopped at a shop on the way home and got everyone IOP T-shirts. We all put them on and headed out to the beach so my uncle could get some test shots of the kids before our "real" photo shoot Thursday night. It was high tide when we went down there and Mary McLean was not too happy about that. I sat down in a chair and she kept telling me that I needed to get up because the water was going to get my chair. The water was really frothy and bubbly at the shore line, so I pointed out all the bubbles to her. Andrew and I went out and started jumping on them to pop them. This was all she needed to get her nerve back up around the water. In no time at all she was out jumping the waves in her T-Shirt and shorts! We were so excited and she kept saying she was going to come back the next day and swim in her shirt. We hurried back to the house and put that shirt in the washing machine so it would be ready Thursday morning! ;)
Thursday morning we decided to take Andrew to Ft Moultrie on Sullivan's Island to see the cannons. To my surprise Mary Mac said she wanted to come too, so my mom, uncle, Marc, Andrew, Mary McLean and I all headed over to Sullivan's Island while Pops stayed with Emma so she could nap. Andrew was fascinated and I was so glad we had my uncle with us so he could give him the history lesson...I was a little rusty on my SC history! ;) After Ft Moultrie, we went back to the house and put our swimsuits on to head out to the beach. Mary Mac just wanted to wear her T-shirt, but I convinced her that it would be ok to wear her bathing suit underneath. She even made Emma wear hers too. Of course I lost my 2nd pair of sunglasses Thursday when I was diving into a wave, luckily Mary Mac didn't think anything of it this time. From then on, Mary Mac was in love with the ocean. Each time we went out she would be the first one in the water. I hate that it took her so long to become ok with it again, but I'm glad she is. My family and I are definately "beach" people and I love that all my children have grown to love it as much as I do!
In case you are looking at the pictures and wondering what all the digging in the yard is all about, it's Andrew and Mary Mac digging for buried treasure. Each day a special Pirate would stop by our house while we were out on the beach and leave a book for the kids to read. After reading the book, we would go looking for the magic "X" to find our treasure for that day. This pirate is very sneaky, we never were able to catch a peek of him!