Kiawah 2018

If that is a delicious plate of Lewis Barbecue then it must be time for a trip to Kiawah! Love our new lunch tradition in Charleston before heading out to the island. It is always SO good….

Let Kiawah 2018 commence! Baba and Luke are always so excited to spend a week together...

and Collins is always the first one to jump in the pool!

The moment your baby realizes he's going in with just a diaper because Mommy forgot his swim diapers..

and then his sister's reaction when I realize that not only did I forget the swim diapers but also ALL OF HIS BATHING SUITS! What in the world?!?

He's probably telling Baba what a dummy I am... :)

No worries, we'll just distract him with a bike ride...his first ever! We came up with a new bike strategy at Kiawah this year that we hoped would allow us to go on more and longer rides. Because riding bikes is honestly one of the most fun things to do there. So Luke went on the back of my bike (which he was hesitant about but quickly decided he loved)...

and Addie rode tandem! She was THRILLED!

And Collins rode a small adult bike which she loved. Our strategy worked...we were off to explore!

We ended up at the beach of course...

 He seriously cannot get any cuter...not even possible.

 Perfect meal to kick off our week in the low country...

Also having dinner...the deer down there were like squirrels are up here- they were everywhere!

First full day there...

the weather was very wishy-washy (as we discovered it would be all week).

Beautiful one minute and threatening the next...

 Love this series of pix...

 Group shot...

Bike ride to the lookout tower and Terrapin Island...

Could not keep this girl out of the pool...

unless we could convince her to hop on her bike.

My favorite part of our trip was everybody riding bikes together...

hunting for alligators...

and going on "night rides"! Once we figured out how exciting it was to set out at dusk, it quickly became a new thing to do each night after dinner.

The kids loved just playing at the beach house..

and here of course...

 so it was almost like pulling teeth to get them to go to the beach. I tried to remember when I was their age and how much I liked the pool, but I got frustrated trying to "make" them go to a fabulous beach!

Sensing the need to mix things up, I suggested going shelling at the end of the island. I remember doing that as a kid, and we would find whole huge conch shells. I thought it would blow the girls' minds if we could find some big shells like that.

It was a bit of a walk to the end (with lots of complaining from little people of course) but it was a lovely one...

Addie's reaction to finding an almost complete conch...

We finally made it to the end of Kiawah where you could spot Seabrook Island across the water. We came expecting to find lots of big shells, but had no such luck. 

 Our one grand prize of the day- one full conch!

But the biggest surprise of our expedition was not shell-related...it was something else we found in the water. Dolphins!! It was sort of a magical moment to look over and see dorsal fins rising up in and out of the water. Seeing them up close in their natural habitat was really special, and I'm so glad the kids got to see it!

Back at the camp, Luke was ready for a swim or bed?

I'm telling you the weather forecast each day was pretty bad...but we never knew whether or not to believe it. This time, we were pretty certain it was for real... 

 

 But honestly, the weather was only really bad a day or so. But that didn't stop us from getting out and exploring...

and luckily, Mimi had a scavenger hunt up her sleeve. 

And if it was raining, there were always books, puzzles, games, snacks (PB bars), and lots of silliness to entertain us...

But of course, the sun would come out again...and we were back out in the water or the sand or on the bikes having a big time.

It was a fabulous vacation from start to finish. One filled with laughs and time spent together that we are always so grateful to have!

I was so worried about how Luke would do on the long road trip...but this precious boy slept for an hour and a half and then watched his first ever show about trucks for a super long time. It was honestly a great road trip. Go figure!

Kiawah 2018 was a special one for sure!