For Easter this year, we went to Hilton Head with Tom and Rebekah and their family. I went overkill on the pictures because I am so far behind on blogging that it was easier for me to just upload all of the pictures that I took. I tried to edit them down, but was not very successful :) I also have the benefit of some of Rebekah's pictures...you can tell which ones are her's because the picture quality is so much better than mine in addition to her being a better photographer. The pictures are a little out of order.
-
We rented a house near the beach....all we had to do was to follow the path to the beach. Our house is the one in the middle.
We drove down on a Thursday and got there right around dinner time. We went down to the beach and it was so windy that it unnerved Dillan. I am not sure he ever got over that the rest of the trip because he had little interest in being down by the beach.
-
Tom and Rebekah and crew got there late that night. We woke up the next day walked around Sea Pines. And as Rebekah said in her blog...it was "interesting corralling all our kids...dodging cars and bikes."
The second part of the day was rainy and so we made these bunny race cars made out of swiss rolls, icing, and candy.
Then they played a game of old maid.
At the end of a long day...they watched a show.
As I mentioned, the pictures are a little of out order...earlier in the day we went down to the beach. It was pretty chilly and windy. Aiden and Jackson loved being down by the beach. Dillan came down and stood far away from the water by the sand dunes...but did not like it and we did not have much luck getting him to go back to the beach the rest of the trip. So I spent a lot of time up at the house with Dillan. So needless to say, I did not spend much time down by the beach.
As I said...Dillan in the sand dunes...far away from the water.
I think this is the closest he got...don't let the smile fool you :)
I brought these water spray things :) They always seem to be a crowd pleaser :)
I love Simon's technique :)
Jackson and Margaret hung out most of the trip.
Rebekah with sweet Camille...such a beautiful picture!
Saturday morning we got dressed and went to a nature preserve. I did not get many pictures because I was too busy trying to keep my kiddos out of the water and away from the alligators!!! Look closely above my head to see something swimming towards us in the water. Crazy!!! We actually saw quite a few alligators over the course of our visit.
Dillan and Simon both kind of do their own thing, but it was interesting to see that they would pair up occasionally. And even though Henry was the oldest...he was so sweet and played with Aiden a lot. We are so blessed to have such amazing friends / family!
When we first arrived at the house...there were several things that stressed me. 1) It had a pool and none of my kids know how to swim...enough said. 2) The house was not kid friendly...it had so many little breakable things and every table in the house was a glass surface and we had seven kids 6 and under...enough said. 3) There were stairs and I was worried about keeping Aiden safe because the main living area was at the top of the stairs....thankfully we found a gate and were able to address that concern pretty quickly.
-
Ok...now back to the pool. It was too expensive to heat the pool, but it was not that warm...so the water was very chilly. But Jackson, Henry, and Margaret braved the cold water. Jackson stuck to the side of the pool at first. At the time, he did not have much exposure to being in a pool. Because he still has a hole in his ear from tubes, we had not done swimming lessons yet (jump forward to the summer....he is taking swim lessons and LOVES it!).
Jackson venturing to the center of the pool with the support of 2 flotation devices!
Easter morning the boys looked through their baskets.
Note that Walt must have put Aiden to bed the night before...I am not sure why, but he never puts on matching tops / bottoms.
Our "church service" led by uncle Tom.
An attempt to get a picture of our 3 boys...my first time to dress them in matching outfits.
Disclaimer...I am stealing Rebekah's summary :)
-
"We got dressed and headed down to Harbor Town for an Egg Hunt and pictures with the Easter Bunny. Rode the trolley. By the time we got there (which wasn't too long after it started) the Easter Bunny was saying Adios, and the workers were just throwing eggs on the ground and our kids were following behind them picking the eggs up."
An attempt at a family picture
More beach time.
We love travelling with this fun and amazing family!!!
That night, Tom dyed Easter eggs while the kids watched...I love Rebekah's commitment to getting a good picture!
All I have to say is...WHOA!!!
Stomp rocket fun
Our last full down was beautiful! We went back to the harbor and walked around and play at the park.
More beach time.
These two had no desire to get in the pool, but both ended up falling in :( Simon was walking around the edge of the pool and fell in but managed to grab the side of the pool without going under...impressive! Dillan did not have the same luck. I had just come outside and told Walt that Dillan was getting too close to the edge and that someone needed to be right there with him....and splash! Fortunately Walt jumped in and handed him to me in a matter of seconds, but needless to say...pool time was over for Dillan. Poor guy was already hesitant about the water...this did not help! And I had recently read all these stories about dry drowning and was worried the rest of the day. Thankfully he was fine, but lets just say although I don't like to rush the boys growing up...I will be glad when they all know how to swim!
That night we went out for ice cream after dinner.
Like father, like son.
We came across this little spray area...much more Dillan's preference!
My kids do not sleep in the car...if they do fall asleep it is not for long because of the head bobbing while sleeping. I tried everything with Aiden on the way home to keep his head up, but with no luck! He woke up after 20 minutes.
This looks horrible I know...what were we thinking!!!!
Random belly shot
Jackson took soccer for the first time and loved it!
Walt was able to come to one of his practices, but it was raining.
Aiden LOVES stuffed animals!
Watching a show
We celebrated Walt's birthday early with a piñata, an Easter egg hunt, a picnic, balloons, and a birthday cake complete with ninja turtle plates! My little party planners went all out!
