To Kiawah!

We survived the long road trip relatively unscathed...and our prize? Lewis Barbecue! We met the Slossons there (who were living in Charleston for the summer) and ate ourselves sick. Literally. I could not eat dinner because my belly was still aching from stuffing so much meat in my face.

But man...that brisket!

Upon arriving, I realized the first thing I forgot...swim diapers! Poor Luke inflated quite quickly...

 

 

Sunday morning we woke up to the most perfect weather I have ever experienced at Kiawah. It was about 75 degrees, low humidity with a soft breeze...almost Fall-like conditions. In a place that you always expect to be stifling, it was a real treat. In July too!

So we took advantage of the amazing weather and went for a bike ride. Okay, Brian and Collins went for a bike ride, and I pushed Addie along on her tiny bike. Then we gave up and headed for the ocean...

where we were delighted to find tidal pools!

 

We also found shells...Addie was in heaven.

Then along came the other two in typical Kiawah fashion...

  

so the girls ran the beach, and I soaked up every moment of the perfect Sunday morning.

 

  

Back at the beach house our son was trying to crawl! He had gotten himself to move forward slightly before we left home, but it was on once we got to Kiawah. We put the ball out in front of him, and like it was no big deal, he crawled to get it. GO LUKE! I could not believe what I was seeing. Already crawling at seven months?!?

I'm so glad it happened at Kiawah where Brian, Mom, and Baba could see it. It was a neat milestone that I won't forget. And it wasn't like it happened once and then not again. He crawled all over that beach house that week...he was particularly fond of chasing after my phone!

 

He was also fond of standing frequently and using our hands to walk. What is with this boy? Why is he in such a hurry to walk?!?

Addie was cute scooting to the beach. She did her "tree" pose on the way there which we thought was funny...

but then again, Addie is usually pretty entertaining.

Beach vs pool? Think the pool won out this year with the girls, but they still had a good time exploring the beach...

 

 

Luke did not do well with beach time at Wrightsville, but I think that was because he was sick. Because he really did well at Kiawah! He surprised me by playing in the sand (i.e. eating the sand), sitting in the tidal pools, riding some waves with me, and playing in the beach chairs. He is such a good baby.

  

 

 

 

And then there was this magic moment where I captured all three of my children smiling at the same time!!! This will probably go down as one of my favorite pictures of them ever.

After a little while, they would wonder...can we go back to the pool now?

So this is where we would end up...

And for the record, the doughnut beverage floats did work!

 

 

When we weren't at the beach or the pool, chances are good that we were gaming...either Emoji Uno (go Addie), Rummikub (don't mess with Al), or a puzzle (did not realized I enjoyed doing this). Or doing some adult coloring. Or reading. Exciting stuff!

And of course there was biking because we had to work off all that food we ate...

And finally, guess who turned a year older while we were on vacation?!? We celebrated Mom's birthday with a cookout and Baba's banana split cake.

 

And the one picture my sister managed to snap while we there? Could not love it more.

We had a wonderful Kiawah vacation this year. I'll always remember the perfect weather, Luke crawling for the first time, so many great meals, and the fun we had just hanging out. It was a special trip!