Just some last pictures from Myrtle Beach

  

Illegal dumping?

Huntington Beach State Park

While we were in Myrtle Beach, we decided to take a little day trip to Huntington Beach State Park.  We always go to Myrtle Beach because it is the cheapest beach city around, but we do not love the crowds and commercialization that jumps out at you everywhere you turn.  We wanted to get away from all of that, and Huntington Beach was perfect.  Just perfect.  I didn’t take any pictures at the beach, because we had a lot to carry anyway (including a baby) and I am paranoid about my nice camera getting sand in it, but I wish I could have made the effort.  It was so smooth and white, and natural looking.  Just gorgeous.  It wasn’t crowded and Gabe and I found our best seashells of our trip there. 

Before we hit the beach, we toured, Atalaya, which was winter home of the Huntingtons, and sits inside the state park.  The walls are pretty much all that is left, but it was interesting to see Moorish-inspired architecture on the coast of South Carolina.

There was also an educational center where the kids got to touch a stingray. 

All of it was great, but we almost wished that we just went straight to the beautiful beach.  It was our best beach day and it got cut short when some storms rolled in. 

This a view of the marshland on the way out of the park.

Ripley’s Aquarium

Just a few pictures from Ripley’s Aquarium last week.  It was super crowded, but there were definitely some beautiful sea-life to be seen.  The boys liked most of it, especially Ollie.  We went on this moving sidewalk through a tunnel that had sharks, and Gabe did not like that too much.  He would crouch down and duck his head when the sharks came too close. 
They had a huge shark exhibit with a line long enough to persuade us not to go.  However, we did catch a sneak peak of a mermaid from their (weird) mermaid show.




So, what did I think of Ripley’s Aquarium? Glad we got the tickets for free or it definitely would have felt like a waste of money (it’s expensive for what it is).

A “walk” on the beach last Thursday

 
“Let’s talk a walk on the beach this evening, boys.”

 

“But we aren’t going to wear swimsuits, so no getting in the water.”

  

                   

Ha. Ha. Ha.

Medieval Times – courtesy of Sheraton Vacation Ownership

So, we did it again.  We went to a timeshare presentation.  We hadn’t really planned to do one this trip, but about an hour away from Myrtle Beach, Carina started fussing, and we decided to pull into one of the many “visitor information centers” along the way to feed the boys free popcorn and soda while I nursed her.  I sat in the car and Chad moseyed in with the boys just to see what they would offer us.  He came back out and said they would give the whole family tickets to Medieval Times and Ripley’s Aquarium.  We knew the kids would love both of those things, so we signed up. 

Let me just say real quick, well…maybe not real quick because I am still seething a little….this was the worst timeshare experience I have had, and they have all been a bit miserable so that is really saying something.  Colin and Gabe went into their daycare center, so we just had Ollie and Carina with us.  Oliver was happy, though a little hyper, and Carina was happy for the first 2 hrs of our salesperson’s inane small talk mixed with incredibly condescending/combative questioning.

After 2 hrs, Carina started to fuss and I was not about to take a break to feed her because I know they pause everything if one spouse leaves the room.  I tried to let our saleslady know we needed to wrap it up (for all timeshares you agree to a 90 minute presentation, so she was already well over), but by this point we had told her, point-blank, that there was nothing they could offer us to get us to buy a timeshare, so she was unhappy with us and getting snarky.  She was stubbornly going through all their offers, with Carina crying full force.  I stood up next to the table, as she went through each and every line, to try and bounce Carina, and she even had the gall to tell me I needed to be sitting down.  I sat down, and Carina got hysterical.  I couldn’t even hear what the saleslady was saying, and Carina started doing the whole gulping-for-air hiccup-sob. My mama bear side come out.  I blurted out “I’m done.I am just done. I CANNOT let her cry like this.”  The saleslady started to say something about needing to go through everything and then someone else would come over to talk to us, and I said, “NO. I am done.  We are finished.”  I swear to you, I was as polite as I could possibly be (I know she is trying to make a living and they have certain tactics they are supposed to use), and as she left us with someone else I told her very sincerely that I hoped she would have a better day.  But by that point we were at 2 1/2 hrs and my baby needed someone to stand up for her.

I also got the most ridiculous comment from an salesman who was walking by (they all talk to you to let you know how friendly their company is).  He said, “Oh, you have four boys, huh?” And we said, “Nope, three boys…the baby is a girl.” And he said, “Well, you dress her like a boy!”  What was she wearing, you ask?  A white onesie with pink roses on it, a white skirt, and she had white and pink blanket with her.  ??????

(Let me just say I know that some people might think it is weird to go to timeshare presentations when we have NO intention to buy, just to get the gifts, but trust me, they know what we are doing.  They make it very clear that our only obligation to is listen to what they have to say.  And the fact that they are willing to give so many people just like us as much as they do shows you how much money they are making off of those few who do end up buying)

Okay, so enough ranting.  We went to Medieval Times on Thursday.  Colin and Gabe had a great time.  Their favorite parts were the food (and eating it with their hands), especially the huge piece of chicken, and the fighting at the end.  They both really paid attention the whole time and Gabe loved booing the bad knight. Oliver?  He hates loud noise, and covered his ears for all but about five minutes of the whole thing.  We humored him and hand fed him his food and provided a straw for him to sip his soup.  As long as he was willing to stay in the room and be calm, it was  a small price to pay.  Carina slept, nursed, and tried to get a carnation from the red and yell0w knight.  How could he turn her down?

 

It was a fun night and the boys are already talking about “the next time that we go to Medieval Times.”  Yeah, we will have to see about that.

Before I move on….

Some pictures from my sister Ashley’s visit a couple of weeks ago

Rae’s birthday party

  

  

Saying goodbye

 

I think I might have the most gorgeous nieces and nephews on the planet.

Like a school girl

I always had a thing for athletes.  Not sports (no sirree), but athletes, yes.  All my crushes were on boys who played one sport or another well. I even have a journal entry written in elementary school about playing soccer against one of those crushes and “accidently” running into him.   

I had sworn off crushes by my freshman year in high school, but when Chad arrived on the scene, playing baseball, soccer and football, my heart did a little thump.  After we started dating, I would sit in the stands and hear comments all around me about what a great player he was, and my face would burn a little, and my heart would do a double thump.

14 years  later, and he is playing in a soccer league again.  The kids and I went to watch him last Thursday. Holding our little doll in my arms, the boys running around behind me, I heard one of the other players say, “Chad is playing well today.”

Blush. Thump thump. 16 all over again.

School Shopping

I still remember my mom taking me on a special shopping trip for clothes before I started kindergarten. I took Colin on a similar trip when he started (man, that boy was so little and cute in that post!), and last Friday was Gabe’s turn.  I took all the kids, but Gabe got to decide where we would eat breakfast to gear up.  This was definitely the highlight of the trip – not the shopping.  He immediately chose IHOP.  We have never been there, but I think he has seen commercials for their funnel cakes.  He was so excited to get them.  

Do you see all of Gabe’s food?!  Don’t worry, he was splitting it with me and we didn’t even finish it.   And yes, Oliver chose mac’ and cheese for breakfast.  That is SO Ollie.  When his Grandpa Coleman was visiting, he thought it was hilarious that Ollie often requested a “meat sandwich” for breakfast, and just this morning Ollie requested leftover spaghetti for breakfast.

Colin got the “Breakfast Special” and bet me that he could eat it all.  About a quarter of the way through the pancakes he started moaning that he was getting soooo full.  Amid many a joke about “Man Vs Food” my very-sensible boys gave up and we took a lot of leftovers home.

The shopping started out fun.  Gabe chose a very sensible black backpack and a black lunch bag “to go with it.”  Oliver strutted around with a backpack on, telling people he was going to school. Colin kept track of everything we needed.  But school shopping for two kids at Walmart on the first day of tax free weekend?  It got old pretty quickly.  We stuck with it,and I think I found everything on their list expect white erasers.  We will go shoe shopping sometime soon and I will make sure I have gotten enough for their uniforms, but I think we are pretty set.

While we were shopping, it started thundering and then pouring outside.  We were hoping it would clear up before we made our exit, but it was still going strong after we bought everything.  I considered leaving Colin with the kids right inside the door while I ran for the car, but wasn’t comfortable with that…and then I realized…wait, it is still pretty warm, none of us are going to get cold or anything, our school supplies are all in bags, and HELLO, these are boys.  We made a run for it, laughing the whole time (Carina was covered in her carseat). 

Oliver doesn’t like thunder. Can you tell?

Here is a little sampling from the school supply list.  The teachers will also send out another list when we get their class assignment.  I have all of this stuff sitting in my computer room.

• Kindergarten

2 – plastic pocket folders with 3 prongs (labeled with name)

4 – 125 count boxes of tissues (plain tissues – no antiviral or lotion added!)

6– 80 count baby wipes boxes

20 - Small Elmer's glue sticks (this brand only)

1 – Kinder mat (for resting)

1 – Modeling Clay

3-500 sheet pkg. of copier paper

1-pack of white erasers / Hi-Polymer Pentel (this brand only)

2– pack of construction paper (not bounded) colors sorted

1- pack of yellow 2HB pencils (12)

1-Kindergarten Appropriate Size backpack - no wheels!

• 3rd Grade

6 -- marble composition books

1 -- 150 sheets filler paper (wide rule)

1 – pencil pouch (please not pencil boxes)

2 – set of colored pencils (for English and for classroom)

1 – 5” pointed Fiskar scissors 3 -- glue sticks

3 -- bags of #2 pencils 2 -- erasers

1 -- pencil sharpener with container

2 -- box of tissues 1 – 80 ct. baby wipes

1 -- plastic pocket folder (any color for English)

1 -- dry erase board (small enough to fit in desk)

2 -- dry erase board markers

1 – rag/towel/old sock for cleaning dry erase board

3 – 500 sheets copier paper

1 – ruler with both cm and inches

1 – backpack (please do not send rolling book bags)

1 – refillable, reusable, plastic water bottle with a sport cap

1 –box of Ziploc bags (Quart size only for last names A-L)

1 –box of Ziploc bags (Gallon size only for last names M-Z)

German, Japanese, and Chinese students only:

3 -- plastic pocket folders (green, red, blue)

 

How about all of you?  Anyone have to do school supply shopping?  Do your kids have pretty similar lists?

Gabe’s first loose teeth

Last Friday night we were getting ready for bed, and the boys were, once again, best friends.  When it is time for sleep, all the day’s conflicts are forgotten  as they unite against Mom and Dad in a hyper, last-ditch battle to stay awake.  Colin was on the top bunk, Gabe was on the bottom bunk, and was apparently trying to pull Colin’s blanket down with his teeth, when he let out a cry of pain.  I went over to investigate, and found that not only were his two bottom teeth loose, the adult ones were already cutting through behind them.  Tears were immediately replaced by giddy Gabe grins.

Gabe has been so excited to lose his first teeth, an excitement that had only been building since his cousin Elizabeth, who is four months younger, beat him out a couple of weeks ago.

He had plenty of time the next day to show off his lose teeth at Rae’s birthday party, and the next evening, the first one came out while we were having dinner at my parent’s.  Exciting times!  The second one then came out yesterday.                 

                 

Two teeth gone and kindergarten later this month.  (sigh)

In other Gabe news, he is selling homemade balls (made of masking tape). Any takers?

          

Keepin’ It Real Wednesday

 

Yesterday we stopped by my parent’s house to say goodbye to my sister Ashley, who had been visiting with her family from Missouri.  I brought my camera to snap some pictures of Carina with her cousin Claire, who is one month younger than her.  We said our goodbyes and went home, where we had a fairly uneventful afternoon – rest time and a trip to the pool.  As I was getting out of the pool, I realized my arms felt very weak holding Carina.  Then my whole body started to ache.  Within a couple of hours I was laying in bed, aching all over with the chills and some other “womanly” pains. Mastitis. Oy.

I went to bed early only to be woken by a very fussy baby.  Her nose was so stuffed up that she couldn’t catch her breath lying down.  We shuffled around the darkhouse, looking for the bulb syringe, and she screamed as I cleared it out.  It wasn’t enough though, and I ended on the recliner downstairs so that she could sleep upright.  Me with my achy body, her with her stuffy nose, waking up sweaty every couple of hours to nurse and reposition ourselves.  After one such session, I lay awake, listening to her wet breathing, and these pictures kept skating across my mind.

 

I had laughed as I lay Claire on top of Carina and snapped away, but in my sleeplessness last night, all I could picture were the germs oozing off of Carina to Claire. 

  Sorry Ashley!  Here’s to hoping Claire is immune to the results of her Aunt’s foolish photography whims and fancies.