Hilton Head

Ah, those lazy days of summer are quickly slipping away. There's just something about the beach that takes me away from everything else but my kids. It was a hard time taking care of them by myself but that sacrifice was worth every moment I got to play with them and create lifetime memories. This picture is one of them.


And, lest anyone think they're perfect, this is what it came to after picture number 4. You can almost hear them. Dawson was thinking, "This is boring. Ooh sand! I'll throw some of it." Aiden agreed with him, "I'm tired of these cheesy photos. Let's see what happens if I hit Dawson when he throws the sand." And Mackenzie I'm sure was thinking, "That's right. I'm the princess. Why do I only have brothers?."


The place we stayed at was not only just a short walk from the beach but also from a very big, very nice pool. While there something momentous occurred. Aiden, who has feared getting his face wet all summer, decided on his own to start jumping in without me there to catch him. And this time, once was all it took on our first day there. The remainder of the time he was all about going UNDER the water.

Just for the record, I think this is one very cool photo.


You can see here that I'm not exaggerating. He was really swimming around and having a blast. "Mama, watch this! Mama lookit me! Mama you go under so I can look at you." It was quite miraculous.


Mackenzie had a new pair of goggles that she was really enjoying and wearing every time in the pool. And well, what can I say, monkey see, monkey do. Aiden and Dawson were both insistent on wearing some. I can't say that they worked at all but they sure loved them.

For my husband's sake I have to say that the goggles Dawson has on were purchased for Mackenzie. I do not buy my sons pink goggles. Nelson might take the boys away from me if I did.


One morning while I was sitting in a tidal pool something crawled across my leg. Being from Georgia, my first instinct was to wonder how a roach got into the ocean. Upon further inspection, I discovered it was a tiny crab. Mackenzie adopted the poor thing for the rest of the day.


Dawson, being the adventurer that he is, decided to take up surfing on this trip. I guess he figured he'd give it a try since he has surf boards on his suit.

Really though he loved the beach and had no fear of the waves, even after getting tumbled around by them on a few occasions. More than anything, he loved running through, splashing around and jumping in the little tidal pools that collected on the beach.

Pictures are a wonderful thing. And the beach, well it was great. But my kids, they're the GREATEST!