HHI 2010

This past Saturday the three of us returned from a week on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, where my family has been vacationing for as long as I can remember. We drove through the night to get there - a little tough on Mom and Dad, but worth it so the little man could sleep most of the way. We were met there by my parents (drove from Ohio), sister (flew from San Diego), brother and brother's girlfriend Kate (drove from Chicago via Indianapolis). Uncle George could not attend because he's still away at war. We all stayed in one big house that was walking distance to the beach and had its own pool. It was a great place - and once he adjusted, Sam actually slept quite well in the walk-in closet we turned into his crib room!

With so many adults in one house with only one little boy you can just imagine the kind of attention and spoiling he received. Uncle Matt actually set his alarm so he'd be sure to get in plenty of "Little Buddy" playtime before morning nap. Kate was constantly making him giggle with the silly games she came up with. And there was always someone to sneak him a cheez-it as they passed through the kitchen (ok, so all 8 of us were pretty much constantly snacking the entire week). He loved it all. He loved it so much that he couldn't stand to be held captive in our bedroom. The first two nights he woke up at random times DESPERATE to go back out to the living room to play with everyone. He just couldn't understand that everyone else was sleeping.

You might remember that Sam has been in the pool a good bit recently, so he was really comfortable on that front. This pool wasn't really ideal for him as there was no water shallower than 3 feet, but he had fun "jumping" off the side and climbing up the deck stairs.

The real fun was at the beach. I now wholeheartedly believe that God made beaches for little boys - the rest of us were just an afterthought. Sam ran in and out of the waves, up to the tide pools, back to the waves, this way and that. Running running, giggling all the way. I'm so thankful that it wasn't a crowded beach so we could let him do all this running! He even enjoyed letting the waves crash right into him and sticking his face in the water. He loved to pick up all of the wet sand, demolish the castles that my mom and I built for him, and climb in and out of the holes that Uncle Matt and Kate dug for him. And when he was finally low on energy, he enjoyed some long walks on the beach.

And I LOVED watching him take it all in. I loved that I had so many extra pairs of legs to help me chase him down. I loved that I good be in the pool while my little guy napped. I didn't even mind that I only read 3 pages on the entire trip.

We also managed to squeeze in some bike rides, putt-putting, a visit to the marina, and a trip up the lighthouse in Harbor town. We went out to eat several times. While this was actually a little exhausting with Sam in tow, he did enjoy the show at the Japanese steakhouse. Chris and I kind of rocked at the after-dinner board games :-) And we got to listen to a local children's performer named Greg Russell. Apparently he has been performing in Harbor Town for 34 year - my siblings and I went for the first time probably about 20 years ago. At the beginning of the show Greg asked who had attended as a child and was now returning as a parent vacationing with their own children - I was so excited to get to raise my hand!

All in all it was an awesome trip and I think everyone was sad to go our separate ways and head home. Its getting harder and harder to find a week that all of us can make it, but hopefully we'll have many more of these trips in the years to come!