The trip, the trip!

(for more pictures...as if you'd actually want to see more...check here.)

I had planned on writing out the trip journal style, but that is too long and too boring...and I stopped writing down what happened after Tuesday. Michael didn't sleep the best, so I spent my precious evening hours playing cards with my family instead of logging what had happened. So sue me. ;)

Here are my favorite cute kid things from the week:

---When we first arrived, I overheard Andrew telling Colin, "It's not just Lily and me now...we have a baby now too."

---Colin must have said a dozen time, "Hey, I think I'll call this baby Michael." Good idea, Colin!

---All 3 kids were chasing around our GORGEOUS rental house, and Andrew fell. While he was crying, Colin and Lily stopped. But apparently, Lily wanted to continue. She shoved Colin full in the chest and said, "Chase!" Colin looked a bit shocked...and I'm a bit worried about Tiger-Lily in school now. ;)

---Colin thought Lily was older that she is. She's only about 3 pounds lighter than him, a few inches shorter, and they wear the same size pants...so you can understand the confusion. He kept getting frustrated with her when she wouldn't talk to him or tell him they were best friends. Kate finally got through to him by explaining that she is a "Polywog"...the age designation at his daycare. He immediately understood and explained to the rest of us that "She's just a Pollywog."

---Lily fell in love with the beach as soon as she saw it. She was constantly calling out, "Bee-cha, Bee-cha" But she was a little confused...she thought the water was the beach. So as the waves would ebb away from her, she would call out, "C'mere Bee-cha, C'mere". Also, the "beach" only existed in her immediate area, so she would randomly call family members to come and enjoy her beach, "C'mere, Pepere, Bee-cha"

---Lily also loved riding bikes...if we weren't at the Bee-cha, she wanted to "Rahd Bahk". And as she went, she would yell, "Faster!" to Jeff. Little dare-devil.

---Lily actually loved everything. She woke up in the morning wanting to go to the "Bee-cha. Wah-wah. Birds." On the way to the beach, she'd see bike riders and say, 'Rahd Bahk!" Once on the beach she wanted to race, chase, and dig.

---Andrew did his normal 5 days to adjust and 2 days of super fun. He just hates water in his eyes, sand on his skin, being hot, etc etc. Poor guy just takes a while to get used to stuff. Unlike our Tiger-Lily.

---When a wave would hit Lily, she'd say, "Yea, BABY", like Austin Powers. Her brother taught her that.

I stopped keeping a log after Tuesday, because the kids were so tired and grumpy that there was nothing really cute to keep track of. We played HARD Sunday and Monday...perhaps too hard. They had re cooped by the last day at the beach, Friday. We had a long drive there and home (God Bless my parents), but the kids did really well, all things considered. Driving to SC from Philly is very different than driving from Ohio...mostly because you have to get past Washington DC. Icky traffic. Icky is the censored word.

Now we are trying to get the kiddos back into normal mode, while doing laundry and unpacking. Lily got used to sleeping in bed with people, and she cried for FOUR HOURS last night, wanting to "Peep peep Mommy Daddy bed" (sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed). Tonight she wanted to sleep in her twin bed set up in her room. That was really intended for guests...isn't it too early to switch her into a big girl bed? She is also requesting to use the potty all the time...but that's another post.

All in all, a fantastic vacation! I loved spending time with my sisters and their families. Everyone got along and was very considerate of other people...difficult when so many are under one roof. I only hope that they got the same impression from us and our rag-tag crew.