Finishing Off Vacation

We finished off our time in Hilton Head with a trip to the movies, with some kite flying, a few more trips to the beach, tons of yummy dinners, and even a dolphin cruise.  It was a great, great trip... kind of hard to be home!

Beach fun

Grant trying to spy dolphins on the cruise (we saw tons!)...

My favorite memory: several mornings the kids and I woke up and headed to the beach before sunrise. And every morning, we were greeted with little tidal pools for discovery.  One morning, it was perfect!  We found four jellyfish, the largest horseshoe crab known to man, a giant sea slug alive in a conch shell and a live starfish.  The kids were beside themselves with happiness.  The next morning (when the whole gang, including grandparents came too), we didn't find anything, so it made that really early morning when a momma and her two eldest took a walk extra special!

Trent... enough said....

I took a similar picture when we were in Hilton Head three years ago (Grace hadn't even been home a year!)...

THEN

And NOW...

Time flies too quickly for this momma, and I will NEVER regret making life-long memories with my kids. These are the things they will remember... 

HHI, round 3

Today, we skipped the beach in favor of miniature golf, naps, swimming in the pool, and eating an embarrassing amount of chicken wings and ice cream.  That is what I call a good day!  Tomorrow--Savannah (with a stop at a Paula Dean buffet, y'all) before another beach day on Thursday!  A great vacation in the making...

Hilton Head, Day 1.5

Yesterday, we pulled into Hilton Head after a 14 hour drive at 6:45 in the morning (the over night drive is priceless).  We slept, shopped, had some serious whining from exhaustion, had a great dinner (Grant is now a fan of raw oysters and scallops), ran by the beach for a quick walk, and fell fast asleep very early.

Pic from dinner (Old Oyster Bar)

This morning, we were up early and ready to hit the beach.  We got there, dropped our gear, and this is how I found Bret for the next TWO HOURS (he was asleep before even taking off his shoes)!

At one point, I offered a family our boogie boards on loan, and the lady asked me where she should return them... to which I had to say, "See that man sleeping in the distance... "  Here's my favorite sleeping pic: 

As expected, the kids loved the beach, and as expected, Trent did not!

Now, we're back in the super sized condo, showered, napping and gearing up for a night on the town! More to come!

Almost Beach Bound

We're busying ourselves with cleaning and packing for our week at the beach, but until then, we've tackled a few more items on our bucket list!

Sleep in a tent

Do a 100 piece puzzle (actually 172 pieces)

 Shoot bbguns at targets

Have a pj movie day

Master a new Board Game (complete with Grant's victory pose, which he insisted I include, and don't you just love the completed drywall look in the background... sad part: it's an improvement!)

Balloon Animals (well, balloon hats in this picture)

Learn five REAL jokes



We hope to knock a few more out at the beach, so stay tuned for some more pics!

Schtuff

We took possession of our old house (back from the tenants) today, and we hope to have it up on the market on June 17.  There is quite a bit of work to do to get it ready, but thankfully, we have a contractor-- because in about five days, we're headed to the coast!

Even as we gear up for vacation, we're still ticking off items from our bucket list.

Play with sidewalk chalk...

Learn hopscotch (which I actually taught them incorrectly before realizing it well into the middle of the game)

And give away 10 toys...

Make snake bubbles

More to come... much, much more!

A Few of the List Down

It wasn't a glamorous start to our Bucket List, but we've made some progress even this morning!

We've made our souvenir jars.

We made our paper airplanes...

 (Grace's airplane is called The Dragon; Grant's is the world record holder design!)

We found some great garage sale finds!  The kids found some magnet thingys and a playmobil set.  And, I found FOR FREE some retro paperdoll sets.  The Yogi Bear one sold last month on ebay for $110, so needless to say, those suckers are up on ebay already!  A solid treasure!

More bucket list items to come in the next 60 days!

Summer Bucket List

Grant has ONE more day of school, and with the hopes of some serious intentional parenting this summer, we've created a family summer bucket list.

We have two months to finish our list!  If you're in the area, come join us for any or all of our many adventures... 100 of them--hopefully!

·         Create a summer keepsake jar

·         Go on a hike

·         Go on a geocaching adventure

·         Go on a picnic

·         Go on a nature scavenger hunt

·         Play in a park

·         Visit the ornithology center

·         Make and eat a s’more

·         Visit a waterpark

·         Visit a state park

·         Visit a military museum

·         Visit an art museum

·         Visit a cemetery

·         Take swim lessons

·         Visit elderly friends

·         Take cookies to the fire station

·         Visit the library

·         Finish sticker book

·         Have a family water fight

·         Learn to play hopscotch

·         Take a bike ride

·         Go fishing

·         Do a cannonball off a diving board

·         Study an animal (G1: colossal squid   ;G2: penguin)

·         Study someone in the Bible (David)

·         Study a country (G1: India; G2: China)

·         Study a state (South Carolina)

·         Study a president (George Washington)

·         Visit Daddy at work

·         Go to the movies

·         Go to a Lowe’s workshop

·         Fly a kite

·         Build a sandcastle

·         Make sun tea

·         Make our own soap

·         Go to a craft workshop

·         Discover a new fruit you like

·         Eat a fish taco

·         Go on a carnival ride

·         Make the best paper airplane

·         Stomp in a creek

·         Play miniature golf

·         Make pully/bucket for upper deck

·         Master a new board game

·         Learn to play German uno

·         Do a color by numbers

·         Sleep in a tent

·         Make a care package for a soldier

·         Make and play with sidewalk chalk

·         Make an outdoor obstacle course

·         Wash a car

·         Go to a farmers’ market

·         Go to a splash pad

·         Paint a picture

·         Find a treasure at a garage sale

·         Make and play with playdough

·         Catch a firefly

·         Make our own popsicles

·         Find and make a pet rock

·         Play with a cardboard box

·         Learn 5 real jokes

·         Collect shells

·         Play with shaving cream

·         Make something in the kitchen all on your own

·         Learn 10 words in a different language

·         Put on a puppet show

·         Carve names into a tree

·         Make a fairy house for the woods

·         Listen to a book on cd

·         Make a homemade instrument

·         Go on a boat ride

·         Go bowling

·         Learn to make balloon animals

·         Build something with nails and wood

·         Make homemade ice cream

·         Watch fireworks

·         Swim in a lake

·         Swim in the ocean

·         Read chapter books as a family

·         Go to a drive in movie

·         Help with a remodeling project

·         Learn a classic camp song

·         Buy a new toy

·         Find 10 toys to give away

·         Build a wind chime

·         Make root beer floats

·         Make a bird feeder

·         Complete a maze book

·         Throw pennies into a fountain

·         Shoot bb guns at targets

·         Learn to sew a button

·         Do a whole load of laundry on your own

·         Make snake or mega bubbles

·         Have a pajama and movie day

·         Make homemade salsa

·         Do a 100 piece puzzle

·         Make our own crayons

·         Learn to play marbles

·         Make giant sling shot

·         Learn how to read a map

BRING ON THE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!