Sunday, June 20, 2010

The Annual Family Trip to Hilton Head!


Ahh... Hilton Head. The ocean...pool...bike rides...sand castles...alligators...perfect weather...nighttime storms...schools of Manta Rays...Uncle Marc fishing sharks...waverunners...birds...a house full of cousins...late night dinners...and lots of memories!

Every year the boys enjoy exploring the island even more! This year...Patrick loves the pool. Nate loves the ocean, and Ethan loves it all! It was so nice to let Ethan run around and explore the beach. He walked right into the ocean without hesitation.

Here's Patrick riding some waves with Evan, his cousin.

Nate couldn't get enough of the ocean! And thankfully, Memom loves going deep - so Nate had a great time jumping the waves with her.

Ethan is a true "daddy's boy." Nothing makes him smile more than the sight of daddy...except for the sight of the ocean while holding daddy's hand!

One of Ethan's favorite activities at home and on vacation is to lounge in a chair/couch/bed and hold onto a remote/phone/sippy cup. Here he is lounging on the beach - having a great time!
Our littlest surfer!
The boys had a great time playing with their cousins and uncles! Here is Uncle Joel playing football on the beach! Later, Uncle Joel and Uncle Marc each took them putt-putting. It was one of the first times for Nate to go putt-putting, and he loved it! He was very animated as he described the bumpy things his ball had to go over to get to the hole. Life is so good. The pool was where Patrick spent most of his time... with his beloved goggles. It cracks me up how the lenses distort his eyes - but he loves these things!

Katie was a huge help with Nate - especially in the pool.
One afternoon, I took the younger boys (Evan, Patrick, Ryan, Nate & Ethan) to Harbour Town to play at the playground and see the ships. Their favorite thing to do was to climb the tree! After playing, I thought it would be nice to walk the pier and see the lighthouse and ships... along the walk, the heat sunk in. The boys drank all the water I had and quickly lost energy... especially Nate!


Here's a pic of the boys on the pier... this is moments before Nate's final breakdown. According to Nate, his legs simply quit working. So... I carried Nate, Evan pushed the stroller and Patrick & Ryan shared the task of carrying my backpack. I'm sure we looked quite hysterical! After a not-so-quick trip to the restrooms, I rewarded them with ice cream. I love the photos of them sitting on the curb eating their treats. I know I will always enjoy this memory!


The last evening, we always take a few photos on the beach. So... here are my boys!

Patrick - Age 5 3/4
Nathaniel: Age 3 3/4
Ethan: Age 15 months

Our Family
The cousins photo... this one is always funny. By this time, they're pretty much over the photos. Ethan was crying, Nate was in "Nate world" playing with a stick from his lollipop and the others are starting to daze. It's a neat photo to look back on each year.



Colin (14), Ethan (1), Katie (12), Carolyn (9), Andrew (10), Evan (6), Rachel (7), Ryan (5), Patrick (5) & Nate (3)

Until next year... happy summer!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

We just visited Hilton Head for our first time this year! I have pics of my kids on that same tree in Harbour Town...they are such neat trees!