We took our second family vacation this year to Hilton Head, South Carolina for some relaxing days in the sun, building castles in the sand and many, many competitive games of Sequence at night! Since we had not been there in years, our vacation buddies- Kim and Len, showed us the way around the island.
I was happily surprised that what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation, actually was... a relaxing vacation. With a 4 year old, 3 year old and a 16 month year old, you just never know how it will turn out- what if it rains everyday? What if the girls hate the water? What if we get sunburned the first day there and are miserable the rest of the trip? (I know this one from first hand experience- not fun!) Of course, none of my "what-if" worrying came to pass. The weather was gorgeous every single day, all of the girls swam like little fish, and no one got sunburned.
Our condo was perfect and right on the beach- the picture above is the view from our porch! There were 3 bedrooms which meant one for Kim and Len, one for Jason and I with Caitlin in her pack n play and Emmie and Ava shared a room. This was the first time that Ava slept in a big girl bed and luckily we had no falls! There was only one day when the girls got on each others nerves and there was some crying and some separating of Emmie and Ava (ya' know- typical girl stuff) but the rest of the time was a breeze.
The first morning there, the girls were excited and woke up early. We were all fed, dressed, sunscreen lathered and out on the beach by 9:30, which is way too early when you are on beach time :)
My sweet family- aren't I a lucky girl?
Caitlin was a bathing beauty- she loved the sand and even seemed to like the taste of it :)
Our Little Mermaid
We all had fun creating Ava's tail. Once it was completed, she stayed this way only long enough for a picture and then she was off!
The daddies are hard at work building some pretty awesome princess castles for the girls- they came complete with their own connecting moats... the only problem is, where are the princesses??
Caitlin proclaimed this one for herself- she earned the nickname of monster after she tore through, sat on, and smashed the castles
Emmie loved being an honorary big sister... I'm just saying! :)
Vogue and Elle- here she comes!
Posing in their bikinis- I see many Spring Break pictures looking exactly like this in their future!
One of the only times I made it in some pictures with the girls... I had to post it to actually prove I was on the trip! :) One of the pitfalls from having the camera attached to your face all the time!
My sweet girls- Caitlin is ready to get down and head to the beach!
I loved this cute bathing suit. It was Ava's- I am so happy we were able to use it again!
Enjoying some girl time
While we were at the beach, we spent some time at the pool everyday. Ava really improved her swimming skills and swam across the length of the pool all by herself. I was so impressed! She has come such a long way since the beginning of the summer...
The Lindros family enjoying some pool time together!
Ava loves hanging out with her Daddy in the pool- as you can tell, he is so much fun!
Making wishes in the fountain after eating yummy gelato!!
We wish for more gelato...
I tried to get a cute picture of the two girls together (I was thinking Christmas card photos), but this was the best I could get. On to plan B... :)
Kickboard fun!
Posing... and asking for some fruit snacks, I think :)
Midway through the week, the daddies went to play golf. When they got back, the girls wanted to play too! It was probably not the best idea to go right before dinner- it took forever to play through 18 holes and everyone was getting hungry. Ava could not understand why she wasn't supposed to just pick up her ball and walk it to the hole- it took her a while to catch on to the game. I will say, she did actually hit a legitimate hole in one (beginner's luck!!) only she thought that it was called a "homerun!" She has a lot of fun telling anyone that will ask about her homerun in golf!
Caitlin just had fun walking around on the greens and stealing the pretty balls:) Jason and Len won't be able to take their scores too seriously on this round!
Emmie was sitting pretty...
Again with the big sister thing... hint, hint you guys! :)
Taking a walk up to the general store for ice cream- you gotta love the beach where it is perfectly acceptable to eat ice cream several times a day, every day... when can we go back??
Taking a snack break
Emmie and Ava love
Caitlin was a daddy's girl walking on the beach
Kim and Len
Miss Independence
It's not a true beach trip until you chase a football into the water with your clothes on-
I don't think the sky looks real in this picture
This must be why she's a daddy's girl
Too tuckered out to smile!
On one of our last mornings there, we ventured out to Sunset Cafe to eat with the locals. The place was packed and we had to wait outside until our table was ready- Ava did not appreciate having her picture taken of the outfit she so proudly put together. Polka dots and giraffe prints... maybe she will start a new trend??
You have to pick your battles, folks... this is one I chose not to fight :)
Last day out on the beach together- Ava was brave enough to finally touch a sand dollar!
"bye, bye beach"
What an amazing week and memorable trip- we can't wait to go back next year!
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