Our Annual Myrtle Beach Trip

Self sufficient
Originally uploaded by tracyg00

We just returned from a week in sunny Myrtle Beach. And, it was truly sunny for the entire week (except for 20 minutes of rain one day). We were originally going to drive there, but found some cheap tickets on Spirit Airlines, so we decided to fly. This year, the kids were completely self-sufficient. They had all of their own belongings in their own suitcases and rolled them through the airport all by themselves. It's amazing how much easier it was this year over last!

The kids hit the beach the first night:



Jake was a fan of that surf beginning on day one. Megan seemed to enjoy the pool a bit more. We kept busy with lots of activities. Obviously, the beach and pool were main attractions. But we also went miniature golfing.



We visited a water park (I have no pictures of that one) and both kids went down the big slides. Woo hoo! We went to the amusement park (I don't have pictures of that either because my battery died). Darin and I played golf and we had an all around good time.



Here are some beach and pool shots to sum up our trip:







And finally - a family photo:

She's 5!!!

Birthday Girl
Originally uploaded by tracyg00

Megan turned 5 on August 4th. She woke up in the morning and said, "Do I get to go to school today?" Apparently I had told her that you can go to kindergarten when you're 5. So, I told her that school starts in the fall. Now, every other day or so, she asks me if it's fall yet. I hope we experience this same sort of enthusiasm a few months from now when we have to be at school by 7:30am. She is not a morning person.

We had a very girly party last Saturday. Megan even made a sign for the door. If it's tough to see in this photo, it says "no boys allowed".



We had lunch at a fancy table with lots of flowers:



We painted flower pots with oil pastels and planted flowers:



And as a few of the girls were leaving, they said "Megan, your party was great". So funny.

Summer Water Fun

Splash!
Originally uploaded by tracyg00

We've had lots of water fun this summer. The backyard pool with the slide has been a big hit. It's our "go to" activity when we're not up for a big outing.







We head out to Montrose Beach when we've got more time on our hands. Jake is much easier to take to the beach this year than last. As soon as he hits the sand, his shoes come off and he runs for the water.



Megan is a beach girl too:



On this particular day, Uncle Jimmy joined us (since he's not working like much of the construction industry).



He was nice enough to buy them ice cream. Note to self - ice cream and sand do not mix.



We got home and went in the neighbor's Slip n' Slide to wash off before I'd let them into the house.