Spectacularly Ordinary Moments: Hilton Head

We were at Hilton Head over a month ago. So, yes, I am super behind on my blog, which unfortunately means that many of the little memories now escape me. To top it off, I hardly took any pictures during the trip to jog my memory. That being said, I do remember that I had a fantastic time with my little family and our extended family!

The fun began with the plane trip. When we were at the airport, I was hungry for breakfast, and Matt kept insisting that I should eat on the plane. I thought that was ridiculous. Why on earth would I eat on the plane? I'd never done that in the past. So I ordered myself some breakfast. Well, when we got on the plane, I understood why. He handed me his ticket and said, "This is for you. It looks like your seat is up here." He had bought me a first class ticket! I was so floored. I seriously thought it was a mistake. Unfortunately, I was so confused that I couldn't even properly show my gratitude until after the flight. The meal was great. The service was fantastic. And I loved having the extra space, especially since I had Madelyn on my lap.

When we arrived at the Surfwatch Resort, we met up with everyone for dinner. It was so nice to see Beth, Betty, Jim, Drew, Benjamin, and Daniel again. We had just barely seen Marc in Jersey City the week before, but, of course, it was also good to see him. Uncle Jake came the next day, and it was good to see the three brothers be together. After dinner, we walked out to the beach, and then we took the girls for a night swim in the pool next to our room. The lights in the pool changed colors, and everything was magical.

It was particularly fun to see Kirsten and Reagan play with Benjamin and Daniel. They were all old enough to actually be friends this year! Kirsten and Reagan have decided that Benjamin and Daniel are their favorite uncles. Benjamin was so sweet with Madelyn, too. He read to her and loved sitting next to her whenever he could
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Everyday we spent hours at the pool and the beach. Reagan saw Kirsten swimming, and she decided that she could do it, too. The amazing thing was that she could! Now we have two swimmers. Of course, we keep our eyes on them, so that they're always safe, but it was fun to see Kirsten and Reagan improve their skills over the course of the week. Even Madelyn enjoyed swimming and spent several hours in the pool during the week. She would splash and gasp with joy. It was so cute!

We also spent time building sand castles, getting hit by the surf, and looking for sea shells.

On Wednesday evening we went on a Dolphin tour boat ride, which was so beautiful. We didn't see lots of dolphins, but we did get to enjoy the breathtaking moments on the ocean before the sun set. It was so relaxing.

Unfortunately, Madelyn came down with a fever on Thursday. So, the two of us stayed in the hotel all day. It's hard for me to feel like I'm missing out on the fun. Honestly, I'm not extremely gracious about it, but I've gotten lots of practice as a mother. I flatter myself that there has been some improvement. Also, it's hard to have a baby be sick when I'm on vacation because I don't have all the usual trappings. It's just more stressful than when we're at home. Fortunately, her fever seemed to be gone the next day. So, while we continued to take it easy, I did feel like I could take her out of the hotel room. Also, since I knew she was doing better I felt more willing to leave her, and Matt and Jake each took a turn caring for her while, I played.

On our last full day, we went to the Harbor Town Lighthouse, which was really pretty. As we climbed the steps to the top, we got to read about the history of the lighthouse, and at the top, there was a nice view of the harbor. The girls got to pick out a souvenir at the gift shop, and I was a bit disappointed that they picked a Beanie Boo that they could have gotten anywhere. However, I'd promised them that they could get anything they wanted that cost less than ten dollars. So, there you go . . . at least they were happy, right? And that makes me happy, too.

After a fantastic week, we headed home and got back to the business of school and work, and hopefully, I'll be able to take the time to write about all of that soon.