Well, today we came home from the best vacation ever. We didn't go on a cruise and it wasn't another Disney trip...we went to Oak Island, NC and stayed in my husband's grandparents' house. It was just my kids, my husband and me this time. The weather was perfect, not a drop of rain or a cloud in sight. There were no crowds and we even got to bring our dog :) It was just perfect. So, I won't forget anything, I'm going to write down what we did in this blog post. I have some great suggestions for places to go if you ever head over across the bridge into that sweet spot....I hope you enjoy :)
Wednesday, Day 1: We left our house around 3:00 and headed to Oak Island...we were over the moon excited. The only thing that went wrong was that I let Mollie take a nap before we left and she didn't sleep a wink the whole way there...that made for a long 4 hours, but with the help of Hap Palmer baby dvds, we made it! We ate junk food and didn't get in the bed until midnight, but it was ok...I mean, it's vacation, right? So, there are no bedtimes on vacations.
Thursday, Day 2: We got up and had breakfast at the beach house and then headed to the beach. Mollie was mesmerized by the sand and ocean and let me tell you, that baby has no fear. I mean, none. She runs straight to the water, unlike her brothers who used to scream if I got them anywhere near it when they were that age. It makes for a very tiring beach time, but it's worth it to see all of our kids so happy. I love it. I don't want it to ever end. We ate a late lunch at Bob's Dogs on the island. That is the best place in the world to get a meatloaf sandwich. Weird, I know, but it's so good. Little Will had his first one and almost ate the whole thing but then said, "Man vs. Food...Food wins!" and took the rest home in a box :) We made our trip to Walmart (of course) and got some junk...Mollie an Ariel barbie, Cole a spiderman and Little Will wanted to wait to get his prize at the beach shop. We always get the kids junk on trips. That's part of the fun :) I always remember my grandfather buying me barbies when he took me to the beach. So, I have to carry on the toy tradition. Little Will ended up getting a boogey board at Sands Beach shop that afternoon. We rode to Southport, NC to look around (it's so peaceful there) and then came home and the boys went back to the beach. Oh, I did find Jennelle Evans' (from Teen Mom 2) house on Oak Island. She lives pretty close to Will's grandparents...she had a new Camaro out front...kind of silly, but you know me, I had to see it. Will got carry-out fish and shrimp for dinner from Jones Seafood on the island....yum! GREAT DAY :)
Friday, Day 3: Our Calabash day...I love Calabash, NC. That is the neatest place ever. We got up early and went there for most of the day. We got there when the shops opened and looked around for a little bit. I took Mollie in the stroller and the boys went with Daddy. We met back up a little later and Will got me a Kamelon ring for our 13th anniversary (which is next week!). I was beyond surprised and nervous because stuff like that always makes me nervous. I picked out a beautiful silver ring with a sparkly center, which was actually called Carribean Wave. How perfect :) We ate lunch at Beck's in Calabash (thank you, thank you Kim Taylor for telling us about that place). I had the best crabcake sandwich of my life. The boys got fish sandwiches and Mollie had her first taste of fish... and loved it! She hated slaw though :) She gets that from her daddy, not me. I could eat slaw everyday of my life. We drove to Myrtle Beach after that and walked around Broadway at the Beach...really just to go to It's Sugar, of course. The boys always fill a bag with sugary, sour stuff. We drove back to Oak Island and I took a walk to Crazy Cake Chicks which is about a block from our house. I got a 6 cupcake special and brought them back to everyone...yum....red velvet...key lime....oh my goodness...We ended the night at Pizza Hut and more beach time and we took the kids to see the Oak Island lighthouse. Perfect day :)
Saturday, Day 4: Our Wilmington day....We got up early and made it to the first departure of the Southport Ferry at 10:45. So fun :) I remember riding that same ferry for the first time about 3 months after Will and I were engaged. I had never been on a ferry in my life. This was Mollie's first time. She loved it. Cole was a little scared of all the birds (He hates birds...gets it honest from me). He was ok after we went inside and on the opposite side where the birds weren't hovering. We got to Kure Beach and ate at the Kure Beach diner. We had hamburgers and corn nuggets...another yummy thing. Mollie had her first taste of cantelope and loved it. We then rode on to Wilmington and the boys went to see the U.S.S. North Carolina while Mollie and I went to Independence Mall...I couldn't get a stroller all around that ship :) The boys LOVED the ship and Mollie and I had some girl time.
I bought my first MAC lipstick in the color Creme de Nude (love it!) and went to Gymboree. One Chicfila cookie later, and we were back on the road and picking up the boys. We came home and then went on the beach (we saw tons of jellyfish that day!) and had leftovers at home for supper with ice cream. We went to the park on Oak Island and let the kids play...Mollie loved the swings. Cole learned how to slide down the super high pole on the playset. We watched the Queens Concert and ate more cupcakes from Crazy Cake Chicks. Another perfect day :)
Sunday, Day 5: Time to head home...ate breakfast at the Boathouse (yummy pancakes) and hit the road to come back to Lake Wylie. It was a great vacation. Nothing fancy...nothing that most people would write a blog about, but it was perfect to me. We were all together. We were all healthy. We were all smilin'. The air smelled salty and our bellies were full. We got up early and went to bed late. Mollie took 3 and half hour naps sometimes because the sun and sand wore her out. It was the best. I can't wait to go back and just think, summer just started :)
