Blogging at the Beach Volume 1

What a better way to share our vacation fun than blogging about it in REAL time! :)
We are at Hilton Head Island, SC this week.  We LOVE it here, this is our second time to return, it feels like our home away from home.  The first time we came was when we had only Noah, who was 21 months old.  That vacation was VERY special to us, it provided the break we needed from almost two years of feeling like our home away from home was doctor's offices.  It was seriously the point at which my soul was restored and I knew everything would be okay.  So this place holds a special place in our hearts.
The trip here was great.  Jason and I love road trips, we connect on the drive and although it's filled with tons of stops for the kiddos, the moments in between are much needed soul connecting.  We left Friday at around 4 pm.  Elijah and Ava drifted right off to sleep and we decided to use this time to let Noah just "be still".  No movies, music, or video games.  He does great with stillness, no complaining.  I just wish I could see the thoughts going on in that sweet little head.  I also wanted him to be able to listen since I knew we'd be praying before long. 
And that's exactly what happened, after talking about some current life, some of the heart issues, other people in our lives, and our vacation, we began to just pray to set the tone for this week.  It was amazing, a super great time of fellowship with our awesome Father.  I just LOVE Him so much and know He loves me too.  Like I told my friend Missy the other day, it feels like the face of God is right in my face smiling all the time.  Amazing feeling.  If you are reading this and think God is anything other than good and loving, testing or trying you, I challenge you to give Him a chance to prove differently.  He LOVES you so so so much and just wants an awesome relationship, no strings attached.  Okay, okay I'll stop by sermon now. lol
So the drive was fairly good, it took us 10 hours to make an 8 hour trip.  We had planned to drive half way, spend the night and then drive the rest of the way on Saturday since we couldn't check in until 4 pm.  But an awesome blessing happened instead.  I called the condo owners to see if there was any chance it would be okay to check in early on Saturday since we planned on arriving around noon.  She said the family who was here last week had left a day early, so we could check in anytime on FRIDAY!  So we drove straight through and got here at 4 am on Saturday instead of 4 pm, a whole extra 12 hours, thank you Lord! :)  The boys awoke as we pulled in and went crazy running through the condo checking it all out.  Noah was so cute, and Eli just repeated everything he said.  "cation"(Noah's version of vacation) had begun.  I was afraid they'd never go back to sleep, and it did take them a long time, but eventually they dozed off.  Ava and I were out in about 2 seconds!
We rested up and then set out to grocery shop and get things we need for the week ahead.  There is a Fresh Market here, kind of like a smaller version of Whole Foods, so I was REALLY excited to check it out.  We ate lunch at a neat little New York style Deli and did our shopping.  Fresh Market was awesome!  But they didn't have everything I needed so we headed on to Publix.  We don't have a Publix where we live, but I used to shop there in Florida a lot so I was also excited to go to that store.  I know, I am dweeb for loving grocery shopping, but I do.  Jason sat with the nappers in the car while I ran in.  OMG, it was INSANE in there.  Everyone was beginning their week I guess, seriously it was a mad house, so my love for grocery shopping wasn't so great at this moment.  And first let me clarify, that I have nothing against northerners, lol, but it was like New Jersey and New York up in Publix.  It was hilarious!  They are so loud and descriptive about everything they are doing.  If they go to pick up a watermelon, it goes a little something like this, "I am going to pick out a nice juicy watermelon.  Don't you think watermelon will go great with cereal and fresh berries in the morning?  Do you think Bob will enjoy it?  Oh, here's a nice one, let's get this one.  Look at how nice this is."  Ha ha ha!! They are so loud and descriptive, I love it!  So here I am, quiet southern girl, smiling at everyone and getting some weird looks for smiling, and striking up conversations at the Deli counter with a bunch of well-to-do northerners ordering insane amounts of Boar's Head meat...I mean like 6 pounds of deli meat and cheese!!!  Hilarious!!  They are super nice once you start the conversation, it was a great people watching experience but took WAY.TOO.LONG! 
So we get back to the condo, or "combo" as Noah calls it, lol, and unload the goods.  Jason can't wait to get to the beach, so we get load Ava into her stroller and head for the ocean.  Oh the ocean, a piece of heaven on Earth.  So relaxing.  We didn't put swim suits on anyone because for some reason we thought it was about to get dark and we didn't want to do the whole "swimming" thing.  Just go play in the sand and breathe in the salty air.  HA HA HA, what were we thinking?!?!  Two little boys run straight for the first tide pool they see and waller in it like little pigs!!  No reservations on what they are wearing, lol.  Noah introduced Thomas the train to the sand and was so happy to finally be at the beach, he was singing his own little song.

We spent about an hour there and decided to head back to make dinner.
We clean everyone up and as I'm showering, I decide pizza sounds good.  So we ordered pizza and played games for a while.  Jason laid down with the boys and dozed off himself.  Then he came and laid down with sweet girl, and I had to take a picture, it was too cute.  After some time online and straightening up, I decided to get some much needed sleep too.

I woke up the earliest today, which basically NEVER happens.  I LOVE to sleep in, but decided I don't want to waste my morning opportunity of some free time everyday this week, so I got up and made a pot of amazing coffee we bought at Fresh Market, White Chocolate Raspberry Beret.  Noah got up about 30 minutes later and then Jason and Elijah, Ava was the last to open her eyes, she's just like me, loves to sleep in the morning hours.

Good Morning!! My new favorite picture!

We had fresh blueberries, pancakes, and eggs for breakfast here at the condo.  It is so cool to be able to cook a lot of our meals, as eating out is an EVENT with three little ones, shew, I get tired just thinking about it!! We do have a few places we plan to go eat out at, but for the most part, eating will happen here at the "combo."

The boys got all suited up for swimming about a hour ago, but had to come back about 10 minutes later because it started thundering. 

The weather forcast looks pretty rainy this week.  So far though, we have been blessed with some good weather when the forcast shows constant rain.  No rain yesterday or early this morning.  As long as we have some outdoor time each day, it is all good.  Spending good quality family time together is what this vacation is all about...indoors or outdoors.  So that is all for today, I'm going to go spend time with my beautiful family.  Love ya'll.