Myrtle Beach Trip

June 30 and July 1

I don't get on Facebook much anymore, but this particular day, I got online and noticed that Becky Miller and her husband were vacationing in Myrtle Beach. After a quick maps search, I realized that it was less than a four hour drive to see them. So, spur of the moment, we decided to drive down and see them! And it was so worth it! We packed the night before, loaded up the car, and made it to South Carolina by about three in the afternoon. (And of course, it took much longer than four hours with a lunch break and multiple bathroom break)s. But, the drive down wasn't really bad at all. The kids did an extremely good job in their car seats for so long that it makes me want to consider going on more road trips). Once arriving at North Myrtle Beach we quickly unloaded our luggage at the hotel, changed into our swimsuits, and headed over to the local "travel park" to see my dear, dear friends. Immediately upon greeting them we headed out to the beach and we couldn't get the kids to leave. These two are such water-babies that I couldn't find a way to convince them it was time to go home. Marco would get knocked over wave after wave and would sign "again" because he loved it so much. They both enjoyed playing with the sand toys and making Sand Castles. But most of all, they loved jumping the waves with either Mommy or Daddy.

And catching up with Becky was such an absolute pleasure. I almost immediately felt like I was home. The very best friends are the ones that, when you don't see them in ages, you pick right back up where you left off - and Becky is one of these people. She just has such a genuine personality and a heart made of gold. You feel warm and special every time she talks to you, like you are the only person that matters. When you leave a conversation, you are a better person for just having talked to her. So, leaving was extremely difficult. I wanted to spend the whole evening chatting and catching up and hearing how wonderful her family (especially her three grandchildren) were doing. 

I think that the Millers even got a kick out of how fun Lily and Marco were and how much they LOVED the water. When we finally made it back to their portable-trailer-hitch-home we decided our trip wouldn't be complete without a group photo to document how much we love the Miller family. Michal and I decided that the next time they are in Myrtle, we are going to make the journey down again. There is just something special about these two, that I wish everyone had a friend like this!

The next day, we were up early, and so we decided to hit the beach again before we had to check out of our hotel. We arrived at the beach around 9:00 am, stayed until about 11:00 and were able to check out by noon.

The kids immediately went running to the water and were elated that they got to spend the day again at the beach. 

They played so well together the whole time we were at the beach. We got out sandcastles, went hunting for seashells, and jumped waves in the ocean - and they couldn't get enough. We knew we had to eventually make our way back to the hotel, but it was sure hard because they were so good natured and full of joy.

Michal and I vouched that we need to make Beach trips a more regular occasion with these two. We need to make their childhood special and give them great memories - and that the beach is a must to our annual family bucket list.

Immediately upon returning home (after both children slept in the car for three hours and we made terrific timing) Lily jumped out of her car seat, ran straight upstairs with her seashells that Miss Becky gave her, and started to organize them. She is a little girl after my own heart and I love that this trip not only meant so much to me, but it meant so much to my children also.

Marco!

Marco, 

My sweet, sweet boy. 

I love you so much!

You are so easy going.

You are fearless.

You are eager to learn.

You have the best smile.

You are extremely handsome.

You are a Daddy's boy.

You love your big sister and want to do everything that she does.

You do not like to cuddle, but there are rare moments where you love to be held and snuggle close.

You love to be tickled.

You get into everything.

You never come when called.

You are such a talker and repeat yourself over and over until we acknowledge you.

You have such a zest and determination.

I am so happy you are a part of this family.

I love you so much!

Love,

Mommy

Marco goes to Nursery

It was kind of supposed to be a big secret - but Marco was permitted to go to Nursery about 6 weeks early. At church, once kids reach the age of 18 months, they have a type of daycare which allows parents to attend Sunday School and other various classes. This was huge for us because it meant we would finally get something out of church again. 

His first time dropping him off was a dream. He went right inside and played, didn't even notice that we were gone. The next two or three times weren't as much of the same story because he cried as he realized he was being abandoned.

However, we heard from his leaders that Lily took her "big sister" role very seriously and really watched out for Marco and made sure that he was okay and taken care of. She made sure he knew where all the toys were, how to sit at the "big table" for snack time, and made sure that he always had a friend to play with him. The leaders found it endearing, until all the other kids decided to become "older siblings" to Marco as well.

Now, things have smoothed out and, while he does cry for about the first 30 seconds after we leave him, whenever we spy on him - he is happily playing and thoroughly enjoying nursery with his classmates.

What I love the very most is that he is in their with Lily and she has been such a good helper to make sure that he is taken care of and that he is doing okay. She is such a wonderful big sister and we are so grateful that she was there to make this transition a hundred times easier.

Other June Photos

In May it seemed like I had a million things to write about that I didn't want to forget. For some reason, I must have been a better blogger about June activities because I only had three things that I couldn't "categorize" elsewhere.

1. One day when we got home from church (you can see Lily took the clips out of her hair when she was bored on the car ride home) little girl came upstairs found my pyrex pan holder we used from the "linger longer" activity, and when we took the plate out to clean it, she snatched it and filled it up. First she took it upstairs and put some of her big girl panties inside. Next she went into her playroom and filled it to the brim with toys (especially figurines) and whatever space was left over she fit snacks into the crevices. When we asked her what she was doing, she replied with, "I'm packing. I'm going to go visit Babcia in Poland." "Great," we said. And then we laughed with what she thought was important to go on a trip: underwear, toys, and snacks. She sure has her priorities straight.

2. A fast movement caught my eye one afternoon. I thought it was a lost dog, or maybe a stray cat - so I went outside to investigate. Upon coming closer to a neighbors house I realized that I had no idea what this creature was, but it made itself comfortable on the porch for over an hour. Curiosity killed my cat, and I researched what this mysterious animal was. Mostly, I just wanted to make sure it didn't come anywhere near us, and that if it did - it wasn't harmful. It ended up being a woodchuck (otherwise known as a groundhog, whistle pig, marmot, grass rat, and earth pig). The only concern about having one close by is that it can really dig up your yard and create huge pockets of holes that could be costly to repair. It is my first time ever running into one of these and now I feel so educated that I know what it is!

3. Michal and I had the opportunity to attend the Raleigh Temple one Saturday night. Anna came over to babysit for us - and did it for free because we were going to to the temple! It was an awesome evening and we were even asked to be the witness couple. I felt like a pretty lucky girl sitting across from this stud as we enjoyed dinner before heading back to Winston Salem.

Chick-Fil-A Tour

June 29, 2016

One "parkgroups" was set up to tour a Chick-Fil-A Restaurant. Since we love Chick-Fil-A we had to cash in on this opportunity and we headed over to meet up with some friends from church.

When we got there they had an activity table set up with kids to color. Until the tour was ready for us.

They had regulations that anyone under the age of five had to be carried throughout the backroom due to liability reasons. So Lily got hitched to my back and we went on our tour of the kitchen. We learned that their lemonade has three ingredients: sugar, lemons, and water. And that all their chicken is breaded and prepared fresh in the kitchen. Same with their potatoes, and salads. Essentially, everything is prepared fresh. It doesn't come in frozen and it isn't chalk full of nasty ingredients for you. This was a plus, and another reason why we love Chick-Fil-A.

That, and the fact that my kids enjoy their meals and their toys (or ice cream). So we stayed, enjoyed some lunch, and then went home. 

But don't worry - I'm sure that we were back the next week for some more chicken!