We stayed to help clean up VBS for about an hour after it wrapped up at noon on Friday. Less than three hours later we were on the road to HHI. I think the Lord is trying to force me to become a quicker packer. Or a better planner - I organized and assembled all the kids' road trip activities for this trip in mid June because I knew that would be my last chance.
I think that our drive there must have been relatively uneventful this year because I really can't remember anything specific to tell you about it. We now have motion sickness patches that Sam wears and ziplock bags conveniently stashed just in case, but he didn't need them. They know what to expect now and are getting a bit better at entertaining themselves each year.
A smooth trip led us to arrive on the island in time for breakfast at Hilton Head Diner. Oreo Pancakes for everyone! Followed by the windiest beach experience I've ever had, although its amazing how much fun two kids can have with some now-empty to-go coffee cups. (I had towels and suits and sunscreen strategically placed in the car but couldn't make it work for the beach toys. How much do you want from me?!) Then it was our new traditional lunch at the Frosty Frog, by now we had 9 of our 13 on the island. A bit of time shopping and then we were able to get into our rental house. A total "bonus" vacation day (check-in isn't till 4)! I am so thankful that our children are now old enough to rock this kind of day, with lots of going and no home base aside from your car, which was our only base for about 24 hours.
Let the vacation begin! Can you believe we added two babies to the family since we were in the same place 13 months ago? So yes, there was a different dynamic to the week than in years passed. There were days when we had one of the 5 children sleeping for almost a straight 24 hours (yes, Elizabeth was 3 months old and naps every hour and a half, but still!). With two babies under 1 and a sick 4 year old, many were pleased as punch to hang around the house, pool and beach for most of the week. Ironic, since our foursome is just coming out of that stage and is ready to be out and about more again. Which is why we ended up dividing up more. No one attempted a 13-person bike ride, more like 4 at a time. Groups of 2-4 would meander to and from the beach over the course of a 4 hour period.
But at 6:45 on Monday evening we were ALL DRESSED AND READY at exactly the same time. For our professional photo shoot, the one that had been gifted to Gommy for her 60th birthday. And because the Lord is good, we had a picture of all 13 of us, and one of Gommy and Papa and the Grandkids - with no one crying and everyone looking at the camera - within the first 8 minutes. The rest was just bonus. (Pictures to come, I finally mailed the check for our order this week!)
We all made it out to dinner together exactly once, for our evening at Harbor Town. No one wanted to miss Crazy Crab. And oh the joy of watching my kiddos watch Greg Russel. He's been doing this as long as I've been alive. I can't imagine it can last much longer, but I hope he stays long enough that these evenings will be a memory for Annabelle as well as for Sam. And maybe even long enough that we can get a little cousin group to stand up and sing!
We also all made it to Putt Putt! I can't tell you the last time we went during the day, but this year everyone was ready for a beach break. And since Pirate's Cove practically shares a parking lot with The Diner, there was an obvious lunch choice built in.
On Friday night most of us made it to "The Place Where They Cook Right In Front Of You." We had discussed this at length with Annabelle ahead of time and honestly thought that we had a plan for her to duck and cover and the moment that the fire came. We clearly misunderstood each other. The child hid under the table from the moment our chef arrived until he left, and was pretty annoyed every time she glimpsed fire at another table (fortunately my new dry cleaner got all that grease out of her new dress). She ate nothing. Sam cleared his plate and loved every minute of the show. Chris and I both caught a tossed shrimp in our mouths, which does earn you a lot of points with your 6-year-old.
Beach walks and sandcastles, bike rides and swimming. Annabelle mastered her drip castle technique was frequently spotted in the pool all alone (completely supervised!) for over an hour while others and lunch and hung out. Sam swam and jumped and dug and piled. She slept most afternoons, except the one when we spotted her standing in the media room window looking down on us enjoying "adult time" at the pool. Creeper. He vegged with his tablet for his afternoon downtime.
On Thursday night Chris and Gommy and Papa and I tried to babysit for Elizabeth, Molly and Kyle. It started out fine, but honestly was a bit of a comedy of errors. I got E to fall asleep on me for exactly the prescribed amount of time, but struggled to get her to take her bottle. Putting her down for the night turned worse, much screaming at us. Until my mom brought her to me awhile later, all smiles. She was practically giddy as long as we let her be awake, screaming if she sensed we were trying to make her sleep. And she was awake when her parents got home. Babysitting fail. So while Gommy was helping E, I tended to Molly and Kyle. I bathed 3 children that night, none of which were my own. I followed the written bedtime instructions to a T, even allowed Molly some ice cream for swallowing her yucky medicine even though that wasn't on the note, figuring even if the 4 year old was pulling a fast one on me, that's what Aunts are for, right? Well she was doing fine, and then happy-go-lucky Kyle lost his mind. Hadn't seen him that upset all week. Nothing calmed him down.
Turns out that Elizabeth's sleep was on a downward spiral all week and Kyle was still on Pacific time and not at all ready for bed. Accordingly, I take no responsibility for our collective babysitting failures. Traveling with babies - I'm so happy to be playing the Aunt card on that one these days!
The kids moved from the bunk room to the media room mid week due to Molly's illness. They slept better that way. Sam caught the illness on the last night. It was a bummer because he ended up being sick for almost a week back home, but he also slept for all but about an hour and a half of our drive home!
And...Uncle George brought his Go Pro Camera
