Fourth of July
After our back-to-back trips, it was really nice to spend the 4th of July at home with our little family. We went to a Summer Dollar Movie in the morning (Small Foot), and then everyone took a nice nap before dinner at Culvers, dessert pizza, and fireworks in Hendersonville. We weren't sure how the fireworks show would work out, because some pretty severe storms passed through that evening, but it cleared off just in time!
Summer Garden
July was a hard month for us emotionally and physically, but our gardens and flowers were a bright spot that always made me smile.
Other July Pictures...
Jacob runs a tight ship in his room! Smokers will have to step outside!
Edisto Beach
Our week with my family at Edisto Beach is always one of my favorites of the whole year. An unexpected situation left us feeling emotionally and physically depleated the week before our trip, and in the days leading up to our departure I really didn't want to go. But hoped I would feel differently once we got there, and I did. It ended up being a restful, restorative week with the people we love, and who love us, the most.
We headed out early on Saturday morning and stopped about halfway to have a picnic lunch at a rest stop. (Lydia is suddenly all about pig-tails, which is just about the cutest thing ever!) We stopped at King's Market on our way on to the island and the kids got ice cream while I picked up tomato pie, blueberry cream cake, and fresh produce. After unloading the van, we headed down to check out the beach.
We ordered take-out from the Seafood Food Truck and ate on the beach while the kids played in the ocean.
We were really lucky to have great weather most of the week. We'd head down to the beach early to let the kids play before it got too hot. Except for Violette, they don't nap anymore, so when we'd come in at midday, they had quiet time and a movie before heading back out to the beach in the late afternoon or evening.
They had so much fun building sand castles, digging holes, taking beach walks, and playing in the water. Jacob would have stayed on the beach from sunrise until sunset if we let him! Lydia was also happy staying on the beach for more than 30 minutes at a time this year! Scott and I even got to sit in our chairs some this year! We've come a long way!
We were so excited to have Aunt Sarah's family a few houses down from ours this year! We had so much fun hanging out on the beach and sharing meals together. Lydia was so happy because Aunt Holly is a master braider and was able to make her braid dreams come true!
The highlight of the week was the night we got to see baby sea turtles making their way to the ocean! One evening after dinner we went down to the beach and saw a crowd gathered around a nest. The nest had hatched the night before, but the Turtle Patrol was digging it up count the eggs and to see if any babies remained. We got to watch about 7 little sea turtles find their way into the ocean. It was so cool!!!
We also finally made it to Botany Bay for a sunset this year! The kids had a fun adventure walk to the natural beach. The tide was out so we were able to see the "dinosaur trees" and the incredible shells that had washed up to shore. Such a fun night!
On our last night we headed out to the beach one last time, and got to see more baby sea turtles! They were digging up the nest directly in front of our house. Scott also got pooped on by a seagull! It was a fun end to a fun week!
Until next year, Edisto!
The kids had dentist appointments the week after we returned from our beach trip and both had excellent reports! We went to Chickfila afterwards to celebrate!
We also finally got some carrots! They weren't as good as our "crop" last year, but still exciting to pull!
And we were so sad to say goodbye to our favorite Storytime leader, Mr. Zack. He is starting a new job at a charter school in Fletcher. We will miss his silly stories!
