We
took our first family vacation to the beach last week. We spent one
wonderful week in Hilton Head Island, SC. It was so nice to get away
from everything and
just have a week to relax and be together. My mom came for the entire
week and Pat’s mom joined us for a few days at the end of the week. We
all had a lot of fun and made so many good memories.
Evelyn loved the
beach and the ocean. The look on her face
when a wave first brushed her feet was incredible. She wanted to run
right into the waves – I literally had to hold her back. I loved seeing
her innocent amazement. As adults, we just don’t get to experience
this most of the time. I know too much about
the world and what could happen. I worried for her safely, but
Evie just wanted to jump right in those waves and splash. I think we
all need to be reminded of that innocent enjoyment more often.
Going
on vacation with a small child was definitely a change. Pat and I
discovered that our vacations for a while aren’t going to be about us
relaxing as much
as they are about running around after our kiddo. We enjoyed semi-lazy
days at the pool and the beach. Evelyn loved playing in the sand. She
didn’t like it when I buried her feet (I think she was worried that
they were gone forever!), but she had fun digging
with her shovel and fill her bucket with sand and salt water. She
loved putting her feet in the water, running from the waves and sitting
with her Kiki in the beach chair at the water’s edge. She spent time
exploring the beach with Grandma Rita and made
friends with a little boy who had caught a shrimp in the water. She’d
pick up small seashells, and then throw them back in the ocean. I told
her to give them back to the ocean in an effort to keep her from putting
them in her mouth, but inevitably Evie got
a taste of sand and salt water despite my efforts.
Pat
and I enjoyed a date night while my mom babysat. I enjoyed getting to
see some of Pat’s favorite places from when he lived there. I met a few
of his old
friends and enjoyed the dinner, drinks and adult conversation. It was
so nice to have Pat with us since he knew all of the good restaurants.
I’ve never been once to care much about when we eat while on vacation,
but we definitely enjoyed our dinners out
while in Hilton Head! I think my favorite was The Black Marlin. The
seafood was amazing and we even got some free appetizers courtesy of
Pat’s friend who co-owns the restaurant. Evie ate like champ all week.
She had new things like crab legs, shrimp, grouper
& flounder. Pat and I made a decision to stop ordering her kids
meals when we are out because they are all the same – corn dogs, mac
& cheese and spaghetti. We have started giving her bits of our
dinners instead and so far it’s worked out great! She likes
to try everything. Sometimes she spits it right back out, but if she
wants to try it , we let her. We want her to be an adventurous eater.
We
stayed in the Palmetto Dunes Plantation in a condo that sat on a lagoon
and was across the street from the beach. Our first day there we met
the lagoon’s resident
alligator, whom we affectionately named Peg as she only had three
legs. She made a beeline across the lagoon and stared at us while we
stood on the deck, but we never actually saw her get out of the water.
My mom didn’t believe me at first when I told her
that most lagoon and lakes in HHI had alligators so it was kind of
funny when once swam right up to the deck our first hour there! We met
up with one of Pat’s good friends Anthony and his family for dinner one
night. Of course it was at an Ohio State themed
pizza place owned by another one of Pat’s friends. We had a lot of fun. Anthony and his family
were so nice and his boys really seemed enthralled by Evie (and she was
by them too!). They kept each other entertained. I really enjoyed
getting together with people that had children because we don’t get to
do that often. They understood when our conversations
were interrupted constantly and didn’t mind the constant chatter, noise
and commotions that having children brings. I wish they lived closer
to us!
Coming
home (and back to reality) was hard. I enjoyed to time off work,
getting some extra sleep and spending a week with my family. I loved
getting to spend
time with my mom. It’s been a long time since I’ve had that much time
with her. I miss her a lot since I live in Columbus so it was really
nice. I am definitely looking forward to our next family vacation!
