We Have Returned!

Well the vacation was great. We got off to a bit of a rough start but in the end it turned out perfect. Saturday we all piled into the Mini-Van and headed to Long Island to stay with Aunt Tiff, Uncle Ian, and Cousin Liam. Every inch and crevice of the van was packed with stuff. Abigail and Oliver in the far back, Charlotte in the middle row, and mom and dad upfront. After about 3 hours mom was in the middle with Charlotte who was crying, Abigail was in the front seat petrified of something that made noise in the back, and Oliver was still in the back panting because he gets car sick. Then the rain started. Then the accidents backed up the roads in Connecticut. What should take 5 hours took more like 8. Of course it felt like 10. Dad and Mom were starting to really DREAD the 10 hour ride the following day to North Carolina.

We had a great nights sleep and at 5am we awoke to pile in the car yet again. Tiff in one car with Liam, the rest of us in the minivan trying to keep up with her. And we thought people in Boston drove fast?? Long island has to have the worst and fastest drivers in the world. It started at 5:30am with Tiff blowing a red light because it was taking too long. We followed of course.

The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful. It was really not bad. We stopped a few times to eat, let the dogs pee, change diapers, etc. Dad was able to take a bottle with frozen milk in it and sit it on the dashboard defroster and BAM instant thawed and heated milk! He is so smart! We did break the law a few times by pulling Charlotte out of her car seat and holding her for 10 minutes or so while we drove.Let me change that Dad didn't do it while he drove, mom did it while Dad drove. We only did it a couple of times and dad was VERY careful. It did give Charlotte a needed stretch to keep going.
GET ME OUT OF THIS CAR!

At about 4:30pm on Sunday we arrived at Nanny and Grampys house in NC. Their new house is absolutely beautiful and they thought of every little detail. It's right on the creek and has amazing views. The sunset pictures below are from their backyard.
On Monday we went into "town" in Oriental to have lunch and walk around. Dad and Grampy got the boat ready and put it in the water and took a little cruise on the water. Then dad and Grampy went for a little spin on the ATV to see the rest of the new property.




Tuesday morning Mom and Dad piled back into the minivan again. This time to drive the 4 hours south to Myrtle Beach. Actually Surfside beach but its next to Myrtle Beach so we will leave it at that. This drive went really well and once we got there we went straight to the beach! Charlotte's first beach visit! She didn't get to see too much of it since she was in her stroller most of the time. After the beach we hit one of the outdoor malls in Myrtle Beach for a little shopping. We bought Charlotte a spider that plays "itsy bitsy spider". Silly but we had to buy her something fun for being so good.

Pappa cooked dinner and had it ready for us when we got back. We had homemade tacos. They were amazing as usual. Dad ate 7 of them. I wont tell you how many mom ate but it was more than 2. She loves them. After dinner Caitey read Charlotte a bedtime story. She even held her by herself! Caitey is getting so big. Dad remembers holding her when she was just a baby. To think they grow that fast is really sad. After Charlotte was sleeping, Caitey showed Mom her Hermit Crab collection. She has 15. Mom didn't like any of them. Mom does not like Hermit Crabs. Mom is PETRIFIED of Hermit Crabs.

Wednesday morning we left to drive back to NC. Again, uneventful car ride. Although Mom and Dad did find out that there are two Route 17's in Wilmington NC. One is for trucks and one is not. We thought the "truck" route would be shorter. It was not. Once we got back to NC we did a whole lot of relaxing in the sun. It was very nice.

Thursday we did more relaxing. We also went out on the boat with Abigail and Oliver. As usual Abigail was a chicken. Oliver LOVED it.

Friday morning Ian flew in from NY and then we all went out on the boat. He actually flew in on Thursday night but got stuck in Charlotte NC (no relation). Damn US AIR. Charlotte loved the boat ride. She even got to drive the boat!!

Saturday we all went to Beaufort NC on the water. Us boys went into New Bern first and had breakfast together while the girls got ready at home with the kids. Once we got to Beaufort the guys took care of the kids while the girls ate lunch. We did a little shopping and just had a great time.
When we got back the boys went out again to hit the local raw bar for some beer and oysters.

Sunday was Easter. More sun. More fun...and of course Easter Baskets!!!! Thank you for our Easter baskets! Abigail and Oliver went swimming. Up and down the property they would run...just chasing each other....around and around until they got too hot then they would run into the river and swim! then back out to do it all again. They did this almost every day but on Sunday we really let them run and run and run to wear them out.

Monday we left to head home!