North Myrtle Beach Trip 2014

"The voice of the sea speaks to the soul." -Unknown

Earlier this month we took our annual North Myrtle Beach trip!  We were there for 5 days/4 nights and had a great time!  Joseph's demeanor was much improved from the fussiness he experienced on last year's trip, so this trip was much less exhausting.  He refused to sleep in his pack-and-play and ended up cosleeping with us every night, but we still managed to get some good rest.  Overall it was a wonderful vacation!

We stopped on the way at Sparky's in Marion, SC.  Our usual diaper change/restroom break.  I am convinced more and more each trip that Sparky's is one of the tackiest and hottest places in America, and we always end up doing a diaper change on the back of the car, but nevertheless, it's our family tradition, and we are attached to it.  :-)

Joseph loved the ocean, so long as he had the safety of mommy or daddy right there with him...

Most days it was pretty but we had one misty, moisty, overcast day...BUT either way we managed to hit the beach every single day.  For two of the days we were there, there was a regional lifeguard competition going on.  There were beach lifeguards present from Virginia Beach VA all the way to the northern beaches of Florida (Atlantic side).  It was so fun to watch (and also explains the large trailers and equipment in some of the photos)..

We spent some great time on our balcony, including watching a storm roll in, laughing as Joseph went in and out in his jammies while playing with his toy truck, and watched the "super moon" on our last evening...

Joseph also, of course, enjoyed the pool...

We met our friends, Heather, Andrew, and Samuel, for dinner.  They were on vacation the same week as us, and it was sooooooo fun to get together with them outside of NC!  So glad we were able to hang out!!! (And I've said this before, but for some reason I am in love with the contrast of Samuel and Joseph when they get together - Samuel's dark eyes, dark hair, and olive skin next to Joseph's blue eyes, blond hair, and fair skin...for whatever reason I just think the two of them next to each other is the ultimate in cuteness!)

And Joseph had is first amusement ride at Barefoot Landing...first with daddy, then with me (he liked riding with daddy best, though)....

On our last night at the beach, we decided we needed a final celebration.  So we went to Key West Crazy in Little River, which has become my favorite restaurant on the Grand Strand after going there the past two years!  It is right on the river/inlet, and it is so fun to eat on the covered deck and watch the boats.  We all had a good time, and the food was fabulous!

We followed Key West Crazy with a quick trip over to Calabash to go to Callahan's Gift Shop, one of our usual stops.  Joseph cooperated for the picture with daddy outside of the gift shop, but was pretty restless by the time it got to mommy...

Our official "last hurrah!" of our trip was a walk on the beach that evening, during which Joseph promptly fell asleep.  He was a very tried toddler!!!

Such great memories with my two guys!  Thankful for a wonderful vacation!!!

Independence Day 2014

"Freedom is never given, it is won." -Unknown

Fourth of July this year brought with it the usual patriotic activities PLUS Joseph's first haircut!  Here is a look at our activities:

We went to the Greensboro parade downtown, where Joseph LOVED watching everything!

We decided our favorite parade entries were...

The Guilford County Republican Party (YAY for being Conservative!!!)

Chick-fil-a (Christian principles, good food, and cute cows...what more could one want?!)

The Revolutionary-era drum and fife corp

Camping World (because we love Marcus Lemonis and "The Profit."

The fire truck (because what little boy doesn't love a fire truck?)

A larger-than-life dancing hotdog, who came over to give Joseph a high-five!

And of course Uncle Sam on stilts!

And for some reason I felt compelled to take a picture of the Lincoln Financial Building across the street, just because I've always thought it was pretty...

After the parade, we walked around the Fun Fourth celebration for a while, then stopped off at Natty's Greene's for lunch.  What could be better than eating lunch, on July 4th, in a restaurant named after a local Revolutionary War hero, where you and your husband had your first date almost 6 years ago?  Joseph had a lot of fun just playing at the table while we waited for our food...

That evening, we went to my grandmother's house to have a cookout with her and with my parents (hotdogs, baked beans, watermelon - typical all-American fare!).  After we ate, Joseph celebrated a major milestone...his first haircut!  It was getting entirely too long, especially in the back, so we decided to let my mom trim him up.  I shoved cookie cake, blue dye #1 and all (a rare treat for Joseph), into his mouth to try to keep him still while she trimmed.  It was quite an adventure but turned out looking really cute!

After dinner, David and I let Joseph stay up 2 hours past bedtime in order to see the fireworks.  No pics of that, but we had a great time watching the show, and Joseph loved it!

Hope everyone had a great 4th!!!