Goodbye, Hilton Head! {HHI Day 3 and 4}

Goodbye, Hilton Head!  And maybe goodbye, sanity on the way home...

But, Saturday was a full, fun day.  When it started to warm up a bit, we went for a walk through the neighborhood and on the beach.  Check out these little cuties:

Dad had asked me to bring down my camera and tripod to take some family pictures (Leah and Edwin have been married 4 years, and we don't have a single one of Dad and everyone).  Since it's been a while since I've used my tripod (errr...since I was pregnant with Wills), I wanted to do a few practice shots.  The best may have been when I hit on of the legs on my mad dash over and smashed my camera in the sand.  ;)  See why I wanted to practice?  :)

 

 

Judging by the light the other days, we decided it would be best to head out for pictures before dinner.  It was chilly since it was 5:00 p.m., but boy was the sunset gorgeous.  We were only out there for about 15 minutes, and everything was done with a tripod, but we got some pretty pictures.  I know it made Dad's birthday extra special!

 

  Next up was dinner at the Black Marlin to celebrate Dad's 61st birthday.  It was cute to see our cards say "Papaw" instead of just Dad.  As it was the rest of the weekend, you couldn't peel Harper off PaPaw's lap.  They're little birds of a feather.  We had a great meal, and I think Dad enjoyed getting money for his kayak equipment.  I can't believe he doesn't trust Leah and I to pick out just the right skirt/wetsuit/paddle/helmet, etc.  ;)

 

Dad's Birthday dinner at the Black Marlin, HHI

We finished off the weekend packing up and eating a huge breakfast at the Hilton Head Diner.  Harper had her first Hot Chocolate with Whipped Cream, and we pigged out on some pancakes, bacon, and home fries, and fueled up with coffee for the 7 hour ride home.

I convinced Sam to make a little pit stop on the ride home...

We picked up these chairs for our dining room, and I love how they turned out.  The "junior chairs" are my favorite because now the girlies don't need booster seats, they are at just the right height to eat at the table like big girls.

We made great time on the way home, until we stopped for gas in Ridgeway, about an hour from our house.  While stopping for gas, our Yukon managed to lock the doors with the keys and WILLA inside.  Yes, you read that right.  I had left the keys in the ignition (the car was off) and took Harper in to go to the bathroom while Sam pumped gas, and as I was stepping up on to the sidewalk, I heard our car beep and knew immediately it had locked.  With the keys and baby inside.  Thankfully, it was relatively warm and Wills was still buckled in her seat.  So, after a visit from the sheriff and a locksmith (and $40 later), we were back on our way.  I felt awful, but Willa wasn't horribly upset, since I just held up my phone for her to watch her favorite "Let It Go."

Hilton Head was so much fun-- can't wait to go back when the weather is warm!

Hello, Hilton Head Island! {HHI Day 1 and 2}

Why, hello, beautiful Hilton Head Island!  So great to see you (for me)!  So great to meet you (for Sam and the girls)!

We have traditionally (a.k.a. that is how it has worked out the last 5 or 6 years) gone to Dad's house for the second weekend in November to celebrate both his birthday and also Thanksgiving with him, since we have traveled to Mom's over the actual Holiday. 

After a visit there in early October, Dad suggested we do a long weekend on HHI instead of our usual visit to his house. We loved the idea of a little getaway and got to work rearranging schedules and requesting our vacation days to make it happen. We didn't know until Wednesday if Sam would be allowed to take off Thursday, so it was down to the wire on when we would leave. Since it is a 7 hour+ drive for us from Virginia (and since Willa is usually such a little terrorist in the car), Sam and I decided it may be best to leave late Wednesday after work and drive for a few hours rather than wake up on Thursday and immediately strap our energetic little women into a car. 

Sam did get off, and we did get out of town on Wednesday night.  Late.  So, I drove for three hours until we reached Rockingham, NC around midnight.  There aren't many places to stay there, but I used the hotwire app about twenty minutes before we got there to book a hotel with an indoor pool.  I figured if we still had another 4 hours in the car, it would be best to let them wear themselves out before we hit the road.  Indoor or not, there was no way I--or Sam--was getting in a pool in 45 degree weather.  Nooooo way.  So I watched from the side in my boots.  And boy did I have a lot to watch! 

Harper has continued with swim this fall, and one day she worked on diving with Miss Dayna, so I asked her if she would try to do a dive.  Just one time.  It had taken some convincing to get her to even jump in, so I thought she may need bribed to try the dive, but my brave little girl just walks over to edge and does THIS:

She blows my mind, that little wild child.  She's horrible at softball, but sweet girl can swim.  Here are a few more of her Daddy-induced antics:

My master plan worked, and the girlies were great for the last four hours of the trip.  

We met Dad, Donna, and Nik at the rental office, and Harper about lost her mind seeing Papaw ("who loves her Didi," according to her).  On the way from the rental office to the condo, she randomly asked if Papaw was our family.  I told her yes, of course.  And she said, "Good, so I'm allowed to kiss him."  haha!  She loves to shower her family with affection. 

It was still around 70 degree when we got there, so we walked to the beach almost immediately. They had a great time jumping in the surf and sticking their fingers down in the sand.  As usual, it took Wills a little time to like it.

 

 

  

 

Afterward, Harper and Nik even got in the (heated) outdoor pool while we were waiting on the Sweetens to arrive.  They had fun jumping in and racing.  Nik is so great with her-- patient and engaging.  He was like having a built-in babysitter

The next day, we enjoyed just lounging around the house since it was pretty chilly out-- a high of 50.  Boo!  Usually temperatures at HHI in November are low 70s/high 60s, but we had a major cold front for the time we were there.  That didn't stop us from going out that evening and doing a little shopping and a lot of eating.  I love that the girls got to try more fresh seafood! (says the mom that doesn't even eat seafood.  Cheers to my not-picky offspring.)  Here are a few pics from our fun together...