Brad has been working a lot over the past two months, as it is the busiest time at the golf course where he works. He is also finishing up his last semester of college. Tonight is his last final exam and he will graduate on May 9. It has been a long and difficult road raising kids while he finishes school but it will all be worth it when I watch him walk across that stage. With all the upcoming excitement, a job search starting soon, and a baby due in July, I realized our chances of taking a summer vacation were slim. Brad had already taken the day off Friday and we were going to have a long weekend "staycation" since David tried to come early last Monday.
I was feeling great and my doctor gave me no restrictions at my last visit so I decided to surprise Brad with a 3-night stay in Mt. Pleasant, SC to celebrate his graduation. I booked a room right on the Isle of Palms Connector so we were 10 minutes from the IOP beach and 15-30 minutes from anywhere else we wanted to go (mainly restaurants). We left Thursday after he got off work and stopped in Orangeburg for supper. We got checked in around 8pm, unpacked, and went to bed. Our room was upgraded to an executive suite and was the biggest hotel room I've ever stayed in. The couch pulled out so we had 3 beds total and the boys each had their own bed. The room was very clean and had a huge wardrobe, dresser, tv, microwave, and fridge. We will definitely be staying there again!
The first night was pretty rough with both boys waking up several times because we were in a new place. Keegan had a fever through the night. He was sick for almost our entire beach vacation in St. Augustine, FL last year. We prayed he would feel better and he did in the morning. We still propped him up on Tylenol for a few hours but that seemed to do the trick.
Friday morning we went down for breakfast and coffee and headed to the beach. The weather was absolutely perfect all weekend. The first two days we would go downstairs, have breakfast, go back up and get ready to head to the beach, spend a few hours on the beach, go get lunch and head back to the room for a nap. Then after naptime we would have a snack and head back out to the beach for another few hours. I am so pleased with how much time we were able to spend on the beach playing with the boys and making memories. We flew kites, played in the sand, played in the water, and soaked up the sun. Brad bought me a chair so my bloated self could sit and relax.
Here are some pictures from Friday and Saturday:
Checkout on Sunday wasn't til 12 so we decided to pack up the night before have one last morning on the beach. We got a full two hours in before we had to go back and shower and check out. We headed over to the Tanger Outlets for lunch and a little shopping before coming home. Keegan was so exhausted he slept on the way to the outlets and straight through lunch.
The food was fantastic. I packed lots of snacks, most of which we brought back home with us. Our hotel had continental breakfast and for lunch Friday we grabbed a Little Cesar's lunch deal. The boys didn't eat much because they were exhausted from the beach and ready for a nap. Friday night we went to Tsunami, one of our favorite Japanese restaurants, and had hibachi for supper. After Tsunami, we stopped into the Bi Lo next door and grabbed a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts for dessert. Saturday's lunch was Chick Fil A (always delicious). Saturday night we went to Hyman's Seafood for supper. We ate so fast I didn't even have time to snap a picture of our delicious food. After Hyman's Brad dropped me off at Market Street Sweets to grab a few of my favorite pralines. I did manage to snap one of my BBQ nachos from our Jim-N-Nicks lunch on Sunday (see below). After shopping, we stopped by Starbucks and Great American Cookies for coffee and dessert. Let's just say after this weekend, I'll be watching what I eat all week!
This will be our last family vacation as a family of four before David arrives. Vacationing with "older" kids is great. I didn't have to worry about a diaper bag or packing diapers, I didn't take a pack n play or cot because they were both big enough to sleep on a bed, and we had very few crying episodes. I won't have a vacation like this again for a few years so I made sure to note all the "luxuries". :)
There are many good times to come in the next few months: our sixth anniversary, Brad's graduation, both the boy's birthdays, and David's birthday! I still have tons to do before he is born and the list seems to keep growing. Only two and a half months to get everything in order but today I'm taking the entire day to rest from our wonderful, busy weekend. Goodbye for now!
With love,
Hannah Elise
