Yearly Trip Home~the Wonderful, the Beautiful, the Exquisite Myrtle Beach

Like every year, we went to spend a week with my sister at the beach; well, not on the beach, wouldn't that be heaven?!!! Rich didn't have time off, so I loaded all of our things, my four hoodlums, tons of snacks, a little potty, just in case (ended up being a life saver), and we headed on our way. It was an eventful trip complete with a potty stop at a rest area, a certain child with a small (very small) bladder sitting on the potty in heavy traffic (nowhere to pull over), a hungry, crying baby (had to pull off the road to stuff his mouth full of baby food), a cute six year old who showed his hiney to all that passed as he indiscreetly went potty on the side of the road, and a two year old screaming (we're talking devil cry screaming) for about 45 minutes of the trip. Needless to say, I was VERY happy to finally arrive at my sister's house! Once we arrived at Elizabeth, our week of fun could begin!

Our Week in Review:

Monday:
*made the trip
*Mama and Grandmama drove to Elizabeth's for the day to see the cuties and I
*went to get supper at Central Park (have to do that every trip, high school memories that must be relived)
*kids played with the dress up clothes Elizabeth had
*relaxed and spent time together

Tuesday:
*lazy morning-recovered from trip
*went shopping for clothing essentials for cuties (dresses for girls, uniforms for Braden)
*spent the day being entertained by my crazy children

Wednesday:
*went to spend the day with my daddy a.k.a. Granddaddy
*was overwhelmed by all the snacks and treats my dad bought for the kids (he has the candy spoiling thing down)
*ate sandwiches for lunch and got ready for beach
*realized that the weather was bad, and couldn't convince Elizabeth and Daddy to rush to the beach with me at the first sign of a break in the clouds
*Daddy sent us to Sam's to buy some movies for the kids
*made the executive decision to rush to the pool with the three oldest hoodlums as soon as the sun came out
*had a great time playing shark, watching the kids jump in the pool, and tried in earnest to soak in every laugh, every smile, and every moment, to later be played over and over in my memory
*went back to Daddy's, bathed the kids, got ready, and then Elizabeth, the hoodlums, and I sat down to a DELICIOUS (did I mention delicious) dinner of Spaghetti a la Daddy (NO ONE makes spaghetti sauce like Daddy)
*watched movies and spent time together (since that nasty, vile, loathsome rain ruined my dreams of frolicking in the sea and surf)

Thursday:
*went to see Space Chimps at the theater (gotta love the free summer movies)
*Elizabeth spoiled her nieces and nephews buying them the kids snack boxes filled with candy, popcorn, and drinks
*went to grab lunch at Pizza Inn (another trip down memory lane)
*swung by Allyson's firework store to load up on fireworks, walked out with a hermit crab as well (can you say, feel like a tourist!-kids love it )
*stopped by Children's Place Outlet to get a few more clothes for Brooke
*gave the sun the evil eye, due to the fact that it was shining brightly on the day we hadn't planned to go to the beach, hate that Murphy's Law (maybe I can hunt down that Murphy and give him a piece of my mind)
*headed back to Lib's for the evening

Friday:
*Mama arrives at Elizabeth's house
*went to the beach, went to the beach, went to the beach, went to the beach, Did I mention, I went to the beach?!!!!!!
*a determined spirit and a lot of prayer finally pay off
*on the beach we are pelted by sheets of rain, accosted by stinging sand, and blown around by the wind, grab the essential items (hoodlums being on the top of that list) and run for the van
*undeterred, we patiently wait in the van for the sun to again appear and for the vile rain to hide in fear of this Carolina Girl (who had it up to here with the rain!)
*once the sun appeared, we again returned to the beach for some sun in the fun
*Mama dropped my diaper bag camera into the ocean in an effort to save Emma, though it was a sad loss, I would much rather have my sweet Emma
*headed back to Elizabeth's house to get ready and wait for my stud to arrive (Rich came up for the weekend)
*All of us went out to eat and then went back to Elizabeth's

Saturday:
*got ready for the beach, the glorious beach
*headed to the beach, took a slight detour to go check out my mama's soon to be new beach house (HELLO, can't wait!)
*spent two fantastic hours at the beach as a family (I snapped feverishly with my old sad, pitiful camera; I had to capture every precious moment, multi-tasking all the way baby, nurse and snap, nurse and snap!)
*went back to Elizabeth's to bathe the cuties and get ready for my date (there was a hot stud who wanted to take me out to celebrate my birthday)
*Rich and I went out to eat at El Cerro Grande (more memory lane walking)
*went to see Harry Potter (had to see it again)

Sunday:
*went to church (LOVED getting to see old friends)
*went back to Elizabeth's for a birthday celebration courtesy of Elizabeth (enchiladas, Spanish rice, refried beans, tortilla chips, salsa, cake, and ice cream, DELICIOUS)
*began the arduous process of packing and loading up the van
*headed home
*returned home, unloaded the van, glanced at the luggage, and collapsed onto bed

"I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow."

(or the day after that, or the day after that...)

Now for your viewing pleasure, are some of the many pictures taken during our illustrious week in South Carolina.