Days

Birthday, Mother's Day, and Vacation days. They all sort of go together. In not particular order: Maeve turned 1, Shelby enjoyed Mothers day number 3, and we went to Myrtle Beach for vacation. That's the update in a nutshell. If you want to save time, skip to the pictures at the bottom.

Obviously you are still reading which means you want some details. I can't blame you. Pictures with no context are just pictures. Let's start with vacation. We have been planning on packing the minivan up with bags of clothes, tons of movies, McDonalds, and screaming kids to head to Myrtle Beach to visit Grammy, Pappa, auntie Julie, and cousin Caitey (and a dog named freckles, a dog named snickers, a bird named rainbow, and a hermit crab). I'm not sure of his name. I'm pretty sure he is nameless. However the 16 hour driving nightmare was averted when we found cheapo tickets on Spirit Airlines online. The trade off for a 2 hour flight instead of a 16 hour drive? Flights from Boston instead of Manchester and a flight to Myrtle Beach at 5am and flight home at 10pm. Ugh.

A bird named rainbow. Maeve loved him. She pulled his tail feathers and he pooped.

We arrived in Myrtle Beach at 7:30am after waking up at 2:15am. The girls did great. Of course Charlotte was wide awake from the second she hit the car to the airport, babbling about everything and nothing. Babble at 3am is really quite hysterical. Needless to say Charlotte and Maeve were very excited to see Grammy and Pappa who met us at the airport. Once we arrive the rest of the trip is really just a blur. In order to save you an hour of reading, I have condensed the trip for you into highlights of each day. If you want more details just ask.

Day 1 - Saturday Arrival. Arrival day was May 2nd. It also happened to be Maeve's 1st Birthday. Dad took her to the beach for her birthday while mom was napping. She loved it. We also went to the Blessing of the Inlet festival with Pappa and saw Caitey perform in a rendition of the musical Annie. We were starving. The hotdog stand sold out of hotdogs. Dad had a pulled bbq pork sandwich that was the best he ever had. Charlotte loved it too. Mom finally got a hotdog. We bought tickets at the festival for Charlotte to play in the bouncy houses. Because of the swine flu, you had to sanitize your hands going in and coming out of the bouncy house things. Crazy. We went back to Grammy and Pappa's house and swam in the pool before dinner and cake. Charlotte loves Caitey. Maeve turned 1 at 6:35pm. She had cake and made a mess. She is now no longer a baby which makes mom very sad. Mom got mad at dad for not taking a picture of Mom & Maeve at exactly 6:35pm. He offered to change the clock back which just agrivated mom even more. We all slept at Grammy and Pappas house. Charlotte on the top bunk. Mom and Dad on the bottom bunk. Maeve in a pack and play.

Charlotte swimming in the pool. Maeve loved it!


Someone loves the water!


Get this kid some swimmies


Guess who is now 1 year old!


No longer an infant.








Nice cake. Of course the girls wanted to add sprinkles. Lots and lots of sprinkles.


Sprinkleicous



Yes this is a shot of the watch that started the fight with mom. Just past 6:35pm on Saturday May 2nd...wait...my watch says May 1st. Damn leap year throws off the calendar!





Day 2. Sunday. We went to the beach and loved it. The weather was warm and sunny. Dad caught a little fish in the tidal pool with his bare hands. He put it in a bucket to show mom and some how it must have fallen out. Charlotte saw a jellyfish. We checked into the resort and were pleased to find out we had a two bedroom suite. We played at the pools at the resort with auntie Julie and cousin Caitey.

Loving the beach

Charlotte also loves the beach.


Maeve playing in the sand.

Someone is not afraid to just run into the waves. Hello? If she realized there really are sharks in that ocean she would not be running towards it.

Charlotte loved making sand castles with Caitey. She still asks us every day when she is going to see her again

Maeve enjoying the view.

Dad and Maeve having fun in the sun.

Lots of little tidal pools to play in.

This was before she shoved her face into the wet sand. This kid is all about sticking her face in the sand.

Maeve enjoying her time alone.

Day 3. Monday. The amusement park was closed. So we went to Krispy Creme and got fresh hot donuts. Charlotte loved them. Maeve napped. Beach again. Grammy came with us. We went to Broadway at the Beach to ride the kids rides with Julie and Caitey. Charlotte bungee jumped. Maeve loved seeing and feeding the baby ducks. Charlotte was glued to Caitey all day and had her first "sleepover" at Caitey's house.

Charlotte with Caitey at Broadway at the Beach.

Dont worry Caitey, your friends will never see you were riding the kiddie rides. Check out Maeves big grin.

Thinking she is really driving. Not quite dear. Not till you are 25.


Getting strapped in for some high bouncing fun.

She is going to join the circus.

She literally maxed out how high she could go.

Caitey doing a backflip. Show off!

The girls found some baby ducks. Mom duck jumped into the water and left the babies crying. We had to wait until all the babies jumped into the water with mom before we could leave. So sensitive these girls are.

Yes Charlotte and Caitey love each other. Such great cousins.

Day 4. Tuesday. Dad picked up Charlotte from Caitey's house. She had the best time ever and came home with a new dress, a nightlight, stick on earrings, strawberry shortcake, and a whole bunch of other girlie things. We went to Alligator Adventure. Grammy met us at Barefoot landing to shop. Julie and Caitey came over to babysit Tuesday night so mom and dad could go to dinner. We ate at the City Bar Restaurant and loved every second of it.

Charlotte reading the map at Alligator Adventure. She thinks she's Dora the Explorer.

It didn't take long to spot these guys. Gators EVERYWHERE!

They look harmless.

A baby eating tortoise. Not really. They are herbivores.

No Charlotte, you can not ride the turtle. And how many times do I have to tell you its a Tortoise not a turtle.

Charlotte saw this bronze statue and loved it. Notice they both have pigtails and overalls.

Sure Charlotte, you can help walk the alligator.

Yes, you do look like her. Only shorter.

Charlotte loved this thing. She talked to the little girl like she was real.

The coolest alligator we have ever seen. His name is Bob. I wonder why.

Here is Bob. Now we know where the name came from. He was born this way and would have died in the wild. Here he is happy and has his own alligator house.

After Alligator Adventure, we found Grammy shopping. She bought her way to Charlotte's heart with a chocolate ice cream.

Thank you for my ice cream Grammy!

The girls on the carosel.

Day 5. Wednesday. Grammy came over to babysit Maeve while mom, dad, and Charlotte went to see Le Cirque Grande. It was beautiful out and while the show was good, dad wished he was at the pool instead. Nanny and Grampa stopped by on their way to a wedding in Atlanta. We all went to dinner together (Nanny, Grampa, Grammy, Pappa, Auntie Julie, Cousin Caitey, Mom, Dad, Charlotte, and Maeve). The girls were so well behaved it was amazing. Dinner was great.



Day 6. Thursday. The last day of vacation in Myrtle Beach. It was rainy. We went to the Aquarium. Then it cleared up. We went to Grammy and Pappas house and hit the beach. Julie pulled Caitey out of school early so she could come with us. Pappa had a cookout for us with lamb, pork, & chicken. Maeve played with rainbow the bird. The girls were exhausted and continued to stay exhausted until our 10pm flight home. Maeve screamed the first hour of the flight as she fought sleeping. Charlotte was out like a light. We arrived home at 2:30am Friday.

Ripleys Aquarium. Everyone else in Myrtle Beach comes here when it rains too. Packed.

Im not sure how a kangaroo fits into an aquarium but it was here. Strange I know.

Enjoying the view all around. Tons of sharks.

Hey look, another shark above our heads!

Maeve liked the glasses at the gift shop. However we didnt buy them for her.

That about sums up our vacation. We had a great time and the girls truly loved seeing their Grammy, Pappa, Auntie Julie, and Cousin Caitey. We can't wait for another trip! Ok, we can wait a little while after dealing with those flights, but not too long.