After jumping through hoops, running through obstacles and dodging curve balls...our time was finally here! But not until we were packed & loaded in the car...and out of Roanoke, did we stop holding our breath. It seemed as though things have not been going our way for a while, but everyone needs a break, away from stress, material things and the hustle & bustle of everyday life. And to have one whole week with just family time...well, it's priceless!
Are We There Yet?!
I stopped at the Dollar Store on Friday to stock up on travel snacks and items for the girls surprise travel bags hoping this would occupy them for 6 hours. They were excited about their coloring/activity books, mini stuffed unicorns & puppy dogs, fruit snacks, books, paper/magnet dolls, etc. And after about 3 hours into the trip, it was, "Are we there yeeeet?!"...sound familiar?
Now that I have a slightly larger vehicle, the girls decided there was room for 'momma in the middle'... in the backseat that is. Oh dear. After many attempts at convincing them that I wouldn't fit, I gave in. Yep, if we were to wreck, pretty sure the backseat girls wouldn't move an inch! Wedged in & after daddy bought another adapter that worked for their DVD player, it was Max & Ruby and Barbie all the way..."cause every girl is a princess, some just have fancy crowns."
Meeting Jesus...
In every sense of the title ...many people were getting ready for their judgement day! We finally arrived to Oceans One Resort in Myrtle Beach & after 20mins of waiting with 2 little anxious girls in the car while Chris went in to pay for our room...here he comes...with steam rolling out of his ears...red faced...ugh, now what?!
To make a long story short, we decided to take cash, buy Visa gift cards at Kroger, using our points card on double points week to help save on Kroger gas...which worked, but...the cashier in Roanoke said the cards went through & we shouldn't have any problems using them at the beach/hotel. You know what! She was WRONG! Yep, not accepted at hotels, spas, bars, etc. & something about auto charge for gratuity ...that's all I heard until I shut everything off except the ocean waves. Luckily ...it's good to know people(hotel owner) and to count to 10 before reacting.
The owner was nice enough...as well as the manager at the Myrtle Beach Kroger for contacting Visa & fix the problem. Turns out we still lost about $150, but we were at the beach, in an ocean front room, with our little family ...
Which leads to the second "Meeting Jesus" talk. After our family discussion on "no kids on the balcony without adult supervision" Hailey asked "why?" Me: "because we are 14 floors up and if you or Lindsey slip through the rails, climb over them or decide that all the sudden you can fly...you will go to meet Jesus!"
Hailey: "Really?!"
Not the response I was after, but glad she's excited about meeting Jesus some day.
After checking out the view from the balcony, Hailey says, "Mom, if Lindsey or I jumped or fell from here, you could just run down the stairs and catch us. Plus, it's just sand down there." Apparently the Jesus talk didn't do it. But I like the fact that she sees me as a supermom that's physically fit enough to run down 14 flights of stairs to catch a 60 or 27lb flying object!
And just when things were looking better, guess what. Momma got MAD!! If you know me, I don't go anywhere without my camera. Well, I brought it...without the memory card! Guess these beach pictures will have to be cell phone quality ...geez!
It was finally time to relax and get this vacation started...Mani's & Pedi's was Hailey's first request, then a walk on the beach! It was a little windy our first day, but overall great weather the whole week...sunny & in the 80's!
It felt like a little deja vu in the beginning with Lindsey. She wasn't so sure about the sand(my texture kid) or the ocean...even though she was waving back at the waves. Hailey loves to comfort her little sis, so she gave her hugs and tried to hold her while Lindsey yelled, "Oh No! Here comes...!" She eventually got used to the water & sand...
Just like our first day last year...Lindsey enjoyed the ocean breeze and the sound of the waves....ahh, nap time.
After we got settled in, Chris decided to take Hailey on a date to family kingdom while I relaxed with a book and Lindsey slept. She came back so excited saying, "Guess what Mom?! I rode the Ferris wheel and the logs in the water...we even went up and down two bumps and I wasn't even scared! Are you so proud of me?!"
We were so very impressed with Hailey's brave spirit & wanting to learn to be a better swimmer! She began the week in her float only to progress without it...in the "big pool"...swimming the length of the pool, jumping in & learning tricks like forward flips under the water. She met many new friends ...we liked the girl ones...the boy, not so much.
And as for Lindsey, she is a fearless pool fish! Yelling "Again! Again!" to jump in from the side of the pool, trying to swim, swimming in her float & even going under the water at the count of 3 while mimicking me holding my breath...afterwards, wiping her face yelling "I did it!"
Our first night, we got to watch fireworks over the ocean! Lindsey didn't care much for them as she clung to my neck, but we were able to watch from our balcony as they set them off from the pier.
Chickens, Crackers & Water Weapons...
After tons of enjoyable time in the "salt water" pool, we coaxed the girls toward to beach. Hailey enjoyed getting out in the ocean this year and jumping in the waves with me...she got knocked down a few times, but there was nothing but a smile on her face followed by, "I'm okay mom...getting wet is part of the fun, right?" Oh, she is growing up way too fast!
And we need to thank Nani for the salt water weapon that got me good in the face! Yes, Hailey enjoyed the use of her water gun, so along with her "daddy's girl" instinct, I was doomed. It also came into good use with washing our feet off and building sand castles with daddy.
As the days went on, Lindsey was the talk of the town, especially her interest in chasing the seagulls and other beach birds, calling out, "come here baby chickens!" And yes, I captured this on video...had to. Once the sand became too hot for her little racing feet, Chris brought some crackers down to feed the "baby chickens" luring them closer to her.
Unfortunately, There were a few jellyfish attacks...apparrently Hurricane Issac pushed them down the coast. We never understood exactly the type of jellyfish, but at first everyone thought they were 'Box Jellyfish' which are very dangerous. We also learned from the lifeguards that if someone gets stung, take them back into the salt water, rub sand on the site and then pour vinegar on the site asap...interesting, makes sense. Luckily, we didn't have to do that!
The Salt Water Weapon
Lindsey says, "Come here baby chicken!"
Hailey loves her daddy...and they are two peas in a pod!
Poor Lindsey was getting bored...glad I brought the toys!
The Blue/JellyFish Warning Flag
We took a few walks on the beach to collect seashells. Lindsey didn't quite understand and was trying to pick up every single shell she saw and throw it back into the ocean while singing the "Clean Up" song. I tried to salvage the "good" ones and a nice old man decided to give us a few of his shells too....
Never a dull moment...
We walked to the pier so the girls could see the ocean from a different perspective. Not many fishermen were having luck, but did show us the catch of the day, which was flounder. I guess I have never seen a real flounder before?! I had no idea it only has 1 eye, swims on his side and has teeth...interesting. Hailey thought she found a sharks tooth and gave it to one of the pier clerks as a gift. He thought it was probably a fish scale, gross...but was pleased with her generosity and kept it anyway. It was sooo humid, and we were ready to get back to the water, but first we decided to get the girls some ice cream...what were we thinking?! What. A. Mess!
Funny. Lindsey looks like she knows what to do...then hits it the wrong way and cheers for herself. Who's keeping score though, we weren't! She had fun playing her own rules...
Ready for our Night Beach Walk...
Hailey with her glow in the dark princess wand...
Lindsey enjoyed it too...
Here's a few pictures of Hailey swimming without her float.
Ahh, Calabash...I love you! What a great all you can eat buffet, full of every kind of food imaginable! Chris stayed at the Crab leg table and Hailey had her first taste of a crab legs and scallops and loved it! Lindsey & I taste tested multiple things and enjoyed watching Chris attempt to break open the giant oysters, lol! I was a bit nervous though...they did not have an insurance policy if he accidently amputated his fingers ...
love Hailey's face in this one...
Can you believe, after all that eatin', we came back to our room and the kids wanted to go out for a night swim....thank goodness it's a salt water pool...to help us float!
Can you say..."Too much salt water!" I had the bright(apparrently not)idea to add some bodywash to their bath water plus turned the jets on to help clean off all that salt...left the bathroom for a few mins...
not thinking...
but they were having the times of their little lives...even though Hailey suggested, "um, mom...you might want to turn those things off!" Let's see, we made bubble beauty crowns, bubble castles, bubble catepillars, blew the bubbles and pretended that there were fairies trapped in the bubbles, so we had to pop them...good thing I have girls, right?!
Luckily, about an hour later...the bubbles were gone and Hailey says.."mom, can we do that every night?" Ha!
The next morning, Lindsey decided she was going to brave the...whatever kind of pool it was...kiddie pool? It had multiple buckets that would fill up with water, then dump & splash, as well as waterfalls. Yeah, that didn't last long...
We spent part of the day at Ripley's Aquarium, but first...the Carousel was a must! Hailey picked out the "most beautiful" horse with tons of flowers and gold. She named her, Rosa.
And as for Lindsey...she spotted the tigers & lions and "rooaarred" the whole time, until it was her turn to ride. She chose the lion...until the music started and he began to move...then she chose me!
So we quickly sat in one of the seats on the carousel and enjoyed the breeze.
The Aquarium is always a hit. Both girls started their search for Nemo and according to Lindsey, every fish was, "awe, so cute! I hold em'?" Okay, so not every fish...I don't think she said that about the sharks or the eels.
Hailey was also on a search for the "live" mermaid that they were advertising...and she found her! Hailey has a new best friend, sorry folks... and when it was time to say goodbye, it was a hug and a kiss from Hailey and Lindsey blew her kisses. That was cool!
Hailey was on cloud 9 and after gift shop shopping, she was ready to return to the beach!
Here's a few more shots of Hailey swimming & some of her friends that she wanted pictures with.
Hailey's newest favorite trick...a flip.
Hailey thought it was so cool that she met a girl named Lindsey. They became good friends.
Lindsey actually started saying, "I wanna go home..." She was ready to say goodbye to all of the nice people that we met, as well as her furry friends that greeted her on our balcony.
Poor Hailey had a real hard time saying goodbye and shed many tears. It's always so hard to leave...but I'm so glad she had that good of a time on vacation!
Until next time Myrtle Beach....
Are We There Yet?!
I stopped at the Dollar Store on Friday to stock up on travel snacks and items for the girls surprise travel bags hoping this would occupy them for 6 hours. They were excited about their coloring/activity books, mini stuffed unicorns & puppy dogs, fruit snacks, books, paper/magnet dolls, etc. And after about 3 hours into the trip, it was, "Are we there yeeeet?!"...sound familiar?
Now that I have a slightly larger vehicle, the girls decided there was room for 'momma in the middle'... in the backseat that is. Oh dear. After many attempts at convincing them that I wouldn't fit, I gave in. Yep, if we were to wreck, pretty sure the backseat girls wouldn't move an inch! Wedged in & after daddy bought another adapter that worked for their DVD player, it was Max & Ruby and Barbie all the way..."cause every girl is a princess, some just have fancy crowns."
Meeting Jesus...
In every sense of the title ...many people were getting ready for their judgement day! We finally arrived to Oceans One Resort in Myrtle Beach & after 20mins of waiting with 2 little anxious girls in the car while Chris went in to pay for our room...here he comes...with steam rolling out of his ears...red faced...ugh, now what?!
To make a long story short, we decided to take cash, buy Visa gift cards at Kroger, using our points card on double points week to help save on Kroger gas...which worked, but...the cashier in Roanoke said the cards went through & we shouldn't have any problems using them at the beach/hotel. You know what! She was WRONG! Yep, not accepted at hotels, spas, bars, etc. & something about auto charge for gratuity ...that's all I heard until I shut everything off except the ocean waves. Luckily ...it's good to know people(hotel owner) and to count to 10 before reacting.
The owner was nice enough...as well as the manager at the Myrtle Beach Kroger for contacting Visa & fix the problem. Turns out we still lost about $150, but we were at the beach, in an ocean front room, with our little family ...
Which leads to the second "Meeting Jesus" talk. After our family discussion on "no kids on the balcony without adult supervision" Hailey asked "why?" Me: "because we are 14 floors up and if you or Lindsey slip through the rails, climb over them or decide that all the sudden you can fly...you will go to meet Jesus!"
Hailey: "Really?!"
Not the response I was after, but glad she's excited about meeting Jesus some day.
After checking out the view from the balcony, Hailey says, "Mom, if Lindsey or I jumped or fell from here, you could just run down the stairs and catch us. Plus, it's just sand down there." Apparently the Jesus talk didn't do it. But I like the fact that she sees me as a supermom that's physically fit enough to run down 14 flights of stairs to catch a 60 or 27lb flying object!
And just when things were looking better, guess what. Momma got MAD!! If you know me, I don't go anywhere without my camera. Well, I brought it...without the memory card! Guess these beach pictures will have to be cell phone quality ...geez!
It was finally time to relax and get this vacation started...Mani's & Pedi's was Hailey's first request, then a walk on the beach! It was a little windy our first day, but overall great weather the whole week...sunny & in the 80's!
It felt like a little deja vu in the beginning with Lindsey. She wasn't so sure about the sand(my texture kid) or the ocean...even though she was waving back at the waves. Hailey loves to comfort her little sis, so she gave her hugs and tried to hold her while Lindsey yelled, "Oh No! Here comes...!" She eventually got used to the water & sand...
Just like our first day last year...Lindsey enjoyed the ocean breeze and the sound of the waves....ahh, nap time.
After we got settled in, Chris decided to take Hailey on a date to family kingdom while I relaxed with a book and Lindsey slept. She came back so excited saying, "Guess what Mom?! I rode the Ferris wheel and the logs in the water...we even went up and down two bumps and I wasn't even scared! Are you so proud of me?!"
We were so very impressed with Hailey's brave spirit & wanting to learn to be a better swimmer! She began the week in her float only to progress without it...in the "big pool"...swimming the length of the pool, jumping in & learning tricks like forward flips under the water. She met many new friends ...we liked the girl ones...the boy, not so much.
And as for Lindsey, she is a fearless pool fish! Yelling "Again! Again!" to jump in from the side of the pool, trying to swim, swimming in her float & even going under the water at the count of 3 while mimicking me holding my breath...afterwards, wiping her face yelling "I did it!"
Our first night, we got to watch fireworks over the ocean! Lindsey didn't care much for them as she clung to my neck, but we were able to watch from our balcony as they set them off from the pier.
Chickens, Crackers & Water Weapons...
After tons of enjoyable time in the "salt water" pool, we coaxed the girls toward to beach. Hailey enjoyed getting out in the ocean this year and jumping in the waves with me...she got knocked down a few times, but there was nothing but a smile on her face followed by, "I'm okay mom...getting wet is part of the fun, right?" Oh, she is growing up way too fast!
And we need to thank Nani for the salt water weapon that got me good in the face! Yes, Hailey enjoyed the use of her water gun, so along with her "daddy's girl" instinct, I was doomed. It also came into good use with washing our feet off and building sand castles with daddy.
As the days went on, Lindsey was the talk of the town, especially her interest in chasing the seagulls and other beach birds, calling out, "come here baby chickens!" And yes, I captured this on video...had to. Once the sand became too hot for her little racing feet, Chris brought some crackers down to feed the "baby chickens" luring them closer to her.
Unfortunately, There were a few jellyfish attacks...apparrently Hurricane Issac pushed them down the coast. We never understood exactly the type of jellyfish, but at first everyone thought they were 'Box Jellyfish' which are very dangerous. We also learned from the lifeguards that if someone gets stung, take them back into the salt water, rub sand on the site and then pour vinegar on the site asap...interesting, makes sense. Luckily, we didn't have to do that!
The Salt Water Weapon
Lindsey says, "Come here baby chicken!"
Hailey loves her daddy...and they are two peas in a pod!
Poor Lindsey was getting bored...glad I brought the toys!
The Blue/JellyFish Warning Flag
We took a few walks on the beach to collect seashells. Lindsey didn't quite understand and was trying to pick up every single shell she saw and throw it back into the ocean while singing the "Clean Up" song. I tried to salvage the "good" ones and a nice old man decided to give us a few of his shells too....
Never a dull moment...
We walked to the pier so the girls could see the ocean from a different perspective. Not many fishermen were having luck, but did show us the catch of the day, which was flounder. I guess I have never seen a real flounder before?! I had no idea it only has 1 eye, swims on his side and has teeth...interesting. Hailey thought she found a sharks tooth and gave it to one of the pier clerks as a gift. He thought it was probably a fish scale, gross...but was pleased with her generosity and kept it anyway. It was sooo humid, and we were ready to get back to the water, but first we decided to get the girls some ice cream...what were we thinking?! What. A. Mess!
Miniature Golf!
Funny. Lindsey looks like she knows what to do...then hits it the wrong way and cheers for herself. Who's keeping score though, we weren't! She had fun playing her own rules...
Hailey made a hole in one on the 1st hole! She's been practicing with Pop.
Ready for our Night Beach Walk...
Hailey with her glow in the dark princess wand...
The lazy river ride was Hailey favorite thing last year...she still loved it, but now that she is a better swimmer, she enjoyed the "big pool" more.
Lindsey enjoyed it too...
Here's a few pictures of Hailey swimming without her float.
Ahh, Calabash...I love you! What a great all you can eat buffet, full of every kind of food imaginable! Chris stayed at the Crab leg table and Hailey had her first taste of a crab legs and scallops and loved it! Lindsey & I taste tested multiple things and enjoyed watching Chris attempt to break open the giant oysters, lol! I was a bit nervous though...they did not have an insurance policy if he accidently amputated his fingers ...
love Hailey's face in this one...
Lindsey lovin' her strawberries and ice cream...
Can you believe, after all that eatin', we came back to our room and the kids wanted to go out for a night swim....thank goodness it's a salt water pool...to help us float!
Can you say..."Too much salt water!" I had the bright(apparrently not)idea to add some bodywash to their bath water plus turned the jets on to help clean off all that salt...left the bathroom for a few mins...
not thinking...
but they were having the times of their little lives...even though Hailey suggested, "um, mom...you might want to turn those things off!" Let's see, we made bubble beauty crowns, bubble castles, bubble catepillars, blew the bubbles and pretended that there were fairies trapped in the bubbles, so we had to pop them...good thing I have girls, right?!
Luckily, about an hour later...the bubbles were gone and Hailey says.."mom, can we do that every night?" Ha!
The next morning, Lindsey decided she was going to brave the...whatever kind of pool it was...kiddie pool? It had multiple buckets that would fill up with water, then dump & splash, as well as waterfalls. Yeah, that didn't last long...
We spent part of the day at Ripley's Aquarium, but first...the Carousel was a must! Hailey picked out the "most beautiful" horse with tons of flowers and gold. She named her, Rosa.
And as for Lindsey...she spotted the tigers & lions and "rooaarred" the whole time, until it was her turn to ride. She chose the lion...until the music started and he began to move...then she chose me!
So we quickly sat in one of the seats on the carousel and enjoyed the breeze.
The Aquarium is always a hit. Both girls started their search for Nemo and according to Lindsey, every fish was, "awe, so cute! I hold em'?" Okay, so not every fish...I don't think she said that about the sharks or the eels.
Hailey was also on a search for the "live" mermaid that they were advertising...and she found her! Hailey has a new best friend, sorry folks... and when it was time to say goodbye, it was a hug and a kiss from Hailey and Lindsey blew her kisses. That was cool!
Hailey was on cloud 9 and after gift shop shopping, she was ready to return to the beach!
Here's a few more shots of Hailey swimming & some of her friends that she wanted pictures with.
Hailey's newest favorite trick...a flip.
Hailey thought it was so cool that she met a girl named Lindsey. They became good friends.
Lindsey actually started saying, "I wanna go home..." She was ready to say goodbye to all of the nice people that we met, as well as her furry friends that greeted her on our balcony.
Poor Hailey had a real hard time saying goodbye and shed many tears. It's always so hard to leave...but I'm so glad she had that good of a time on vacation!
Until next time Myrtle Beach....
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