The Beach

Seeing as how today is the last day of August, what I consider the end of summer, I'm thinking I need to get this beach post out of the way - because a post about the beach during the month of September just seems wrong somehow. Now, a post about what I've learned after the first week of kindergarten (i.e. how much I hate the carpool line) that would be a good September post. But we'll save that one for another time.

The problem is I took about 82 thousand pictures (roughly) during those 5 days, and I'm having a hard time deciding which of those get some blog time. These thrilling pictures include my kids, sand, water, my kids, sand, water and so on. Unfortunately, I didn't really do a very good job of this, so here's about 81 thousand pictures (roughly) for your viewing pleasure.

So, if you're up for the challenge, let's get started. Shall we?

We arrived in Myrtle Beach around 3 o'clock on Sunday afternoon, along with everyone else on the entire beach. Seriously, the hotel was crammed full of people trying to check in, and finding an empty luggage cart was like hunting. We had to lie in wait for an unsuspecting traveler and swoop in before someone else got to the kill, I mean cart, before we did.


Once we checked in, unpacked, and surveyed the land, we headed out to the beach. Or, actually, we started out at the pool and the kiddie water attraction.

This attraction was one of the highlights of the hotel. It was, however, late enough in the afternoon that most of the area was shaded. The water was really cold, so we were off to the beach.

Grandma (or as Ben calls her, "Granmole"), Shawn and the kids. Check out Ben's new Spiderman shades. Cool, or what?


The kids got busy doing what all kids do at the beach - getting their swimsuits full of sand.

And I got busy taking pictures of everyone.

One thing I quickly realized. There are A LOT of people at Myrtle Beach, and taking a picture with ONLY the people in your family in the frame is impossible.

As you can see from the man growing out of Shawn's ear.

And the girl next to Claire's head.

And all the random legs and feet in this photo. I actually cropped out as much of the bodies as I could so that I could get a shot of our sand turtle.



Shawn took this one, so that we could get a shot of the hotel itself. You can see what I mean about all the people.

One of the absolute highlights of the trip was our trip to The Dixie Stampede. Shawn and I have been to the same attraction in Gatlinburg, and we thought the kids would really enjoy it. I mean, really, is anything better than watching horses, faux cowboys, pigs and chickens all while eating a pile of food with only your hands?

Everybody, STAMPEDE!!!


It was great, and to commemorate the event, Grandma bought the kids a souvenir. Yeehaw!

Claire's came complete with rhinestones and battery operated flashing lights. Now if that's not classy, I don't know what is.

Cowkids at the beach, a perfect vacation.




And then the next morning, we woke up and went back to the beach.

And the next night we visited the Boardwalk at the Beach, an enormous tourist trap. And, as tourists, we got trapped in all the bright lights, good restaurants, and cool stores.

This is one pooped little pal.



And the next day, back at the beach.

Again.

And, the next night . . . BOWLING!!!

How cute are those bowling feet - the little ones, I mean.

The bum parade.

And, the next day, again, back to the beach. Our last day, Claire had to wear a rash guard because her chest broke out in an itchy sun rash. Of course, she picks the one with a huge Myrtle Beach on the front. It was pink, that's all that mattered to her.

You like the cool foggy effect? Wish I could say I did it on purpose.

What a beach babe.

Momma and babe.

Sweet siblings (and random naked man in the background - please ignore).

Practicing for kindergarten. All set.



And no trip to the beach is complete without a visit to the local ice cream parlor right next door to the amusement park.

Or, maybe I should say that no trip to the beach is complete without at least one child getting incredibly upset over absolutely nothing.

High drama

Just look at those tears.

This one was all smiles though.

Yeah, ok, we're ready to go home.


All in all, it was a good trip. Like any vacation with small children, however, we were ready to go home at the end. The sleeping in one room thing never really works very well, and I, for one, was really tired of chewing sand.

I do think we'll be visiting a different beach next summer. The crowds were just a bit much for us, and, to make matters worse (and really, truly test the limits of Shawn's patience to which there really is an end), we sat in traffic for about three hours to travel the 30 minutes out of Myrtle Beach. Not fun.

So, till next time beach.

A B C-yah.