Myrtle Beach 2011

Hannah and Owen took their first family vacation to Myrtle Beach.  We left on Saturday, August 13th and returned on Friday, August 20th.  I was worried about how they would do on such a long car trip, but they were great!  They only fussed when they got hungry for lunch-we stopped at a Wendy's for about an hour to feed them and ourselves then loaded back up in the car during a thunderstorm to get back on the road.  Traffic was heavy going down there-we left around 9am and walked into our condo around 4:30/5pm.  We stopped one other time as we got into Myrtle Beach for diaper changes and a bottle.  Hannah and Owen were content to sleep and look out of the window.  We upgraded them to their new car seats for the trip which I think helped a lot because they were better able to see each other and see out of the window.  Plus they like sitting up more and were getting frustrated having to sit in such a reclined position in the infant carrier.  In addition, Owen had truly outgrown the height limit of the infant seat.  (It was sad to pack them up though-our babies are growing so fast).

We stayed in a 4 bedroom oceanfront condo unit in North Myrtle Beach.  We vacationed with Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Troy and Aunt Vic, and Aunt Vic's family (her parents-Mary Beth and Ray and her younger brother, Nathan).  Hannah and Owen were supposed to sleep in the cribs we rented and share a room with us.  The first night was great, but the second night was rough.  Hannah woke up at 4:30am and refused to go back to sleep.  She woke everyone else up early enough to see the sunrise-they were thrilled!  Actually, everyone was very understanding and were happy to watch the sun come up with us.  So by Monday night Hannah and Owen had a room of their own and Chris and I slept on an air mattress (which we had put in the car just in case) in the living room.  There is never a dull moment when babies are involved!  In order to make this happen we had to take apart the king size bed and stack the mattresses up against the wall to have enough room to get them some space in between their cribs.  I wish I had a taken a picture!  They did sleep a little better, but not like they do at home of course.  Naps were much shorter and one of them woke up each morning around 5am and then went back to sleep in my arms while I sat in a chair until their normal wake up time around 7am.  I hoped things would be just like at home, but I was fully prepared for them not to be and otherwise they did great coping with so many changes in their environment.  I must not forget to mention the power outage they slept through on Sunday night and the "balcony fire" that the fire department responded to on the 10th floor that turned out the be a candle!

Hannah loved the beach!  She is definitely our thrill seeker.  The faster and taller the waves were the more she lauged when stading at the edge of the water.  She would lay on her belly in the sand at the edge of the water and loved playing with the wet mucky sand.  She also tried to eat several good handfuls!  We spent about 3 hours each day out on the beach with them in between naps.  Sometimes we would go back in the late afternoon/evening too.  Each day they ate their lunch on the beach while sitting on their blanket.  They were very content playing on their blanket and walking down to the water's edge.  I thought for sure I'd be chasing them all over the place, but they were so good!  It helped that Owen did not like the sand.  Normally he crawls all over the place exploring and checking things out, but on the beach as soon as his hand hit the sand he would sit back up and get back to the middle of the blanket.  He also would not crawl at the waters edge or in the tidal pools they played in each day.  Some days he liked the water and other days he didn't.  When I would try to stand him up so the water could tickle his toes he would often stick his legs straight out in the air and refuse to put them down.  Funny, boy!

Hannah loved playing in the water with her Aunt Vic!

 

 Where are Hannah's feet?

 What is this stuff?

 Hannah and Owen loved the tidal pools. 

Chris put up the umbrella in one so they could play in the shade.

 Owen with Grandma and Grandpa

 Check out his feet-they are propped up out of the sand!

 Here come the waves!

Hannah says, "It's okay Owen...the water is pretty fun."

 Owen has warmed up to the water.

Aunt Vic with Owen and Uncle Troy with Hannah

Hannah and Owen enjoyed having so many people play and interact with.  They enjoyed keeping everyone entertained.  We enjoyed lunch out at Margaritaville and dinner with friends at Caraba's.  Chris and I were able to get out a couple nights too (even though our "dates" consisted of driving around Myrtle Beach sight seeing and getting ice cream).  We also enjoyed a couple of late evenings on the beach and balcony. 

 Owen tips one back at Margaritaville

We learned a lot during this vacation-I never anticipated how long it would take to get two babies lathered up with sunscreen, dressed in their swim suits, and out onto the beach.  It was an exhausting process, but we loved every minute of it.  After a week of fun in the sun and sand and some sleepless nights we decided to leave on Friday night and drive home.  We left around 8pm with Hannah and Owen in their pj's and got home around 1am.  We didn't have to stop at all and we carried them, sleeping, into the house and laid them in their cribs where they slept soundly until 7am the next morning.  During our trip I often thought back to being in Myrtle Beach last year when I was pregnant with them...how time flies and things change!  I can't wait to see what next year will be like with 2 toddlers!