Sweet Caroline{as}!

During the second week of August, we took a little trip to the Carolinas - both North and South. We had a great time!

The purpose of the trip was 2 fold. Wade needed to go to Charleston, South Carolina on business. I've always wanted to go to Charleston with him, but have never gotten the opportunity. This was my chance. :) Also, our sweet pals, the Heges, live in North Carolina and we jumped at the chance to spend some time with them!

When we planned the trip, Owen was 3 weeks old and the thought of traveling on an airplane and then driving across 2 states to 3 different cities with a 6 year old, a potty training 2 year old, and a nursing infant was enough to give me a panic attack. We ultimately made the decision to take Clayton and Owen with us, while Drew spent the week with Wade's parents' house at Grammie Camp.

I know. I'm the worst mother on the planet.

In hindsight, I'm not sure if that was a good decision or not. I was sooooo sad that my Drew wasn't with us. It just didn't seem right. I refused to call it a "vacation," because that just made me feel awful. So, we called it a "trip." It's all about semantics, y'all. On the other hand, Drew would have been pretty miserable keeping up the pace that we did. We spent lots of time driving from place to place and played really hard for 7 days straight. Drew still needs his nap in a big way, so it would have been tough for him. I don't know what I would choose if I had to do it again. :-/

I was lamenting the fact that my precious blond-haired boy wouldn't be with us to one of my friends. I was pouring my heart out to her about how terrible of a mother I felt like I was and how miserable I was going to be without him. She said, "Whatever. He probably feels bad for y'all that you don't get to spend the week at Grammie Camp." So true. Ha!

So... I have tons of pictures, but not a single "family picture." I refused to take a picture of all of us together without our Drew. That would just be wrong on so many levels.

We started the trip with our flight to Charleston. We flew on a teeny, tiny, tin can of an airplane. My anxiety was at a level 10. I was just certain that we were on the real life version of Oceanic Flight #815. Heaven, help me!

While I was contemplating breathing into the barf bag to prevent myself from hyperventilating, Clayton was thrilled at the prospect of playing his DS for MUCH longer than he is used to. He did take a brief pause from his videogaming during the safety briefing to say, "I hope we have a water landing. That would be so cool!"

I'm pretty sure that made my heart stop for a few seconds.

It's good to be 6.

Sweet Baby did great on his first plane ride! He slept the whole way. :)
We went to dinner at a "fancy" restaurant (these days, anything that doesn't have a playland is fancy to me!) when we got to Charleston. Clayton ordered duck. What 6 year old does that??? Wade made him promise to eat most of it, and he did. We let him pick a dessert as well. He chose a chocolate cake that ended up being like 45 layers tall. He was in heaven!
I didn't get any other pictures in Charleston, but it was beautiful. I loved all of the old, historic homes. There's something about those old houses that is so appealing to me - they all have a story to tell. So cool. I decided that I was going to add "live in a house that has a plaque next to the front door" to my bucket list. :)

After spending a night in Charleston, we packed up and went to Myrtle Beach. We spent 2 nights at the Dunes Village resort. It had won several awards for being a great family resort, so we decided to try it out. It was awesome! It had 2 indoor waterparks, several outdoor pools, mini golf, and tons of activities for kids.

This was the view from our balcony. So pretty...

I asked Clayton to smile for a picture and this is what I got. He's a regular cartoon character, that kid.
We went to the Ripley's Aquarium in Myrtle Beach. It was really neat!
They had one of those tunnels with fish all around you. I always think those things are so awesome, but the pictures never come out.

O was in heaven. I have a feeling that his Fisher Price aquarium isn't going to cut it anymore. Ha!

Fun Dad picked up the horseshoe crab so that Clayton could see them up close.

In case you are wondering (because I would be), that is hand sanitizer on his shirt. ;)

Classic Clayton pose... He said the jellyfish were stinging him. Ha!
Clayton loved the shark exhibit. No surprise there.

This was the coolest part to me. Baby Sharks growing in a "mermaid's purse."

I have a ton of pictures that look just like this. Owen was such a good traveler! He just slept, smiled, and cooed in his carseat most of the time. Sweet boy.

Our next stop was Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. We got to spend 3 nights with the Heges! It was so much fun! Our relationship with the Heges is so neat. We hadn't seen each other in 2 years (we've exchanged emails, phone calls, cards, and gifts in the interim, of course), but we just picked right up where we left off last. That's the mark of a great friendship, I'd say. :)

Owen went to the beach for the first time! He was such a good beach baby! He took 2-3 hour naps just laying on the beach. He's a beach bum, for sure!
The first day was cool (in the 70's) and overcast. Wade dug a hole in the sand and we swaddled Owen in a towel. He slept so good with the sound of the ocean in the background. I teased that he was making good use of God's white noise maker. :)
Clayton attempted boogie boarding, but didn't love it as much as he thought he would. He got taken out by a pretty big wave and decided that he wasn't a fan. The highlight of the beach for him was crabbing. He was pretty fond of the little critters. :)
I learned that going to the beach with a baby is all about the gear. We were staying at Will's parents' condo that is stocked with tons of baby equipment. Leslie's mom also lent us a few things. This tent was awesome.

Owen and Jack napping on the beach. Too cute.

Our wonderful hosts, the Hege Family - Will & Leslie, Anna, and Jack

We went to a great seafood dinner on our last night. Yum-O!

We had to get some beach pictures before we left.

Our 3 month old has found his legs. How is he big enough to do that???

Sandy Baby Feet - Is there anything cuter?

I love him a lot.

Sweet Daddy/Son Pic

I took this picture...

And immediately thought of this picture of the 2 year old version of Clayton. It's true - time really does fly when you are having fun.

Alas, it was time to go home.
The only thing that got me back on that shady aircraft was my deep desire to see my Drew. We were all soooo ready to see him! We went back and forth trying to call dibbs on who got to hug him first. I won, of course. :)