Another Beach Trip in the Books!

We took our last beach trip as a family of four back in May at our favorite place Kiawah Island, SC!

The boys always have a great time, and this year Nolan was quite the swimmer. Not only do we visit the beach, but they have an amazing splash pad and several pools to enjoy. We pretty much were at the beach or the pool all day!

Until next year Kiawah!!!

Natalie

September Fall Fun!

It's been a crazy last few weeks!

I went to two concerts:

Kelly Clarkson:

Lady Antebellum:

 

Then we hit the beach:

 

And now I'm headed to Dallas!

It's been a traveling month full of fun! Nolan also swam underwater for the first time, started his first season of soccer with the YMCA, and went to the zoo with the grandparents.

Anyone else think 2015 is flying by?

Toes in the Sand, Wind in our Hair

Awww what a great time we had with the boys at the beach last week. Of course, it's not the same as vacationing without kids but as the boys age each time has become easier and easier!

This kid! Had a blast rolling pretty much in the sand and playing with his trucks.

We had some really good fresh seafood this time, and I even went to a spa for some relaxation and a pedicure!

This is supposed to be our one beach trip this year, but since we've returned I'm already craving a second one! We'll see...maybe a fall beach trip is in our future! I also have finished two books The Girl on the Train and The House of Riverton---both are must reads!

Happy Summer (almost) friends!

Natalie

Livin' the Beach Life

We usually take our vacations in the off seasons and usually in September. However we did take a beach vacation in May so I thought we were done for the year. We then decided last minute to another beach vacay, and I'm so glad we did!

We went to Hilton Head, SC and stayed in the Palmetto Dunes area. We ended up having good weather besides the first day which was awesome because sometimes you never know about September!

This was Nolan's second time to HH, Conley's first, and my fourth. Nolan really has become such a beach bum!

As always vacations with kids aren't the same as pre-kids, but we did have a great time minus a few tantrums here and there.

We really love the food in HH, and I cannot say enough about how awesome The Lucky Rooster was! The food and service was unbelieveable...I had the best shrimp and grits EVER!

When we sat down, the group sitting behind us (all middle aged adults) just rolled their eyes because we had two young kids.

Doesn't that make you want to just punch someone in the throat? I know it does for me. Seriously why can't people give a little grace to others? Anyhow, my boys were angels, so they really had no reasons to be jerks. The staff were wonderful and went at the perfect pace for a couple with kids.

We are back home now and happy to be back in our own beads but miss our toes in the sand!

Natalie

Back from the Beach

It's been a whirlwind of a May, as we traveled (the husband and I) to Chicago and then to the beaches of Tybee Island. Throw in a week before with the husband being in Germany for work the week before and you have a big traveling month!

We stayed five nights at the beach and had a great time. I never went to the beach as a little girl, so I love that I get to take the boys at this age. Nolan has been four times, and this is Conley's second time.

They really did so well and had a blast. There were moments of the waves being "scary" but that soon dissipated, and they were full on water boys!

At one point, Nolan was laying on his belly in the waves so Conley had to do the same and copy big brother. It was funny to watch and as one big one came their way, Conley used his surf like reflexes to pop back up. That boy could really be a surfer because he can pop up with the best of them!

We had some great food and of course ICE CREAM. Who doesn't love a night stroll with their favorite flavor? The great thing about where we stayed is we were on the third floor with a view and an elevator. So we literally took the stroller in the condo, and then drove right out into town with it. It was nice not to pile the boys in the car and just be able to walk everywhere.

On Wednesday night, we did drive to The Crab Shack. The boys loved looking and feeding the alligators! They then decided to sit on and check out the "fake" alligator. These boys got up close and personal!

We also visited the Tybee Island Lighthouse. It's 178 stairs, so I wondered if Nolan would go up and down all by himself. (I decided that I didn't want to carry Conley to the top or have my husband so we watched older brother!) I am happy to report that Nolan made it all the way to the top and all the way by himself!

This year we used a beach cart, and I'm SO GLAD we did. It made life so much easier. I highly recommend one if you drive to the beach and have room. Ours folded all the way down and took up no room at all!

The boys were really amazing, and I have to say it was our easiest beach trip yet with the boys. I even got a little bit of sun time in.

Are you planning on a beach trip this summer?

Natalie

A Weekend Away

This past weekend was the first one where we left both kids for three nights. My husband had business in Chicago, so I started playing around with the idea of flying to join him.

I flew up bright and early on Friday morning and landed around 8am Chicago time. My husband took the L and met me off the plane. It ended up being kind of rainy so we flip flopped our plans for going to the Cubs game and instead went to the Art Institute of Chicago. But before we went there we had breakfast at The Little Goat Diner which is a restaurant from the Top Chef winner Stephanie. It was DELICIOUS! I'm a big fan of breakfast food so this totally fit the bill.

At the Art Institute, we pretty much checked out every exhibit but I really loved the Impressionism gallery...Monet, Renoir, Manet to just to name a few!

After walking in the cold, we decided to get a pick me up at Starbucks. That night we ate some Dim Sum which was my first time. It did not disappoint! So yummy! We then stopped at the restaurant next to our hotel and had dessert. It definitely hit the spot!

The next day it was a little warmer and the sun was out. So we had breakfast at the Eleven City Diner. Seriously to.die.for.

Then it was off to watch the Cubs play!

We then had a nice Italian dinner and went to a piano bar called Howl at the Moon. This is not your traditional piano bar where they play Billy Joel or Elton John. They were playing all kinds of popular music from Katy Perry to Rihanna. It was really neat, and they had a violin, electric guitar, and more! We had a fun time people watching too and their were like 10 bachelorette parties and two that I met were actually from Canada.

This was our second trip to Chicago, so we had already experienced the Architecture Boat Tour, Navy Pier, The Field Museum, a Food Walking tour, Willis Tower, the Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium, a Double Decker bus tour, and lots of Chicago style food.

Have you visited Chicago?

Natalie

If You Travel with Me...

When we travel, we always book a condo since we travel with kiddos.  And since that's the case we usually cook at the condo for breakfast, lunch, and occasionally some dinners.

But as a frequent condo renter, I have learned a few things about myself.

---It drives me crazy to not have liquid hand soap with a pump.  I cannot stand it especially when I am cooking, and don't want to get everything dirty with my bacteria hands!  In the kitchen, we just had a handheld dish washing soap, and in the bathroom we had the bar soaps.  I didn't realize how much I relied on my trusty liquid hand soaps!

---I am weird about using different laundry detergents.  We brought our own, but I also used some that was provided.  I just don't feel like the clothes are as clean for some reason and ended up washing them again.

---Since this condo was on the beach, it had a little bit of a stuffy and moldly smell.  Nothing you noticed when you were there, but more so when you first arrived.  However when we left, all the clothes and even the clean clothes smelled liked the place.  Even my hair!  Needless to say I washed all the clothes AGAIN.  Oh and of course my hair.

---When staying on a beach, I am used to ceiling fans to circulate the air.  It just seems to go hand in hand.  But these condos didn't have any, and it just seemed stuffy.  Luckily, in our bedroom someone had already thought of that and purchased a stand up fan.

---I really think if you are a condo owner you should really supply your rental with the basics in the kitchen.  Nothing crazy...but coffee filters, salt and pepper, maybe even a few condiments.  I hate having to buy all these items just to not use them all, and then add even more items to my pack up list.

---Why is it that the plug ins at this rentals always seem to be like extremely dangerous or don't work? I swear everything single plug in had a crack or the plug would just fall out when I used it.

---It strongly annoys me when I flip a light switch and no lights come on.  All of the bedrooms had a switch but no overhead lights??? And it didn't turn the lamps on either.

What travel habits do you have or what drives you crazy at places you stay?

Natalie

The Beach Days

We are sadly back from our week of being beach bums. We had a fabulous time minus Conley's teething, his little bit of a cold, and his not so fun bathroom issues. But other than that he did pretty well under those circumstances.

Nolan was fearless about the ocean and if you knew him this is not like him.  He is usually more cautious and weighs his options.  He had no fear and jumped right into the water chasing the waves. I really had so much joy just watching him being a kid.  He was just so happy and having so much fun.  If we all could capture that joy, the world would be a much better place.

We went to Kiawah Island, South Carolina which is where we also went last May.  This is Nolan's third visit to the beach, and every time he loves it more and more.  They also have three awesome pools and one that is more like a mini-water park with a big slide and water features.  Both boys had so much fun in the pools.

We rented a condo right on the beach because one thing I have learned is that when you have kids you need easy access to get back to the room.

We rode bikes over the island, and one night the in-laws watched the boys while the husband and I headed to Charleston to hit up the outlets and to go out for dinner.  We dined at Magnolias which is our second time there.  We also lucked out with it being Charleston Restaurant Week where certain restaurants participate with a fixed menu price for a three course meal.  Magnolias did not disappoint!  We truly love Charleston and can't wait to go back to visit the city.  We went in 2009 with some friends, pre-kids, and had a wonderful time.  The city has so much to see and so much good food to eat!

Have you been to the beach this summer?

The Beach-Bike and Golf Style

I didn't really know what to expect when we rented our bikes, since I haven't been on one since I was a kid.  However, it is like they say---it's like riding a bike.  You seriously don't forget.  It was a lot of fun even at 7 months pregnant.  Nolan rode with daddy, and you have to be careful when getting off the bike because that 30 lb toddler will flip the bike.  Nolan loved the ride, and even fell asleep!  I couldn't believe it because he is not a big napper unless he's in his crib.  We even got to ride on the beach which was super cool and a great way to experience it.  I have to say that was my favorite part of the trip.

I also forgot to mention how great he was on the car ride both ways. We only stopped twice on the way down and once on the way back. He only napped an hour on the way and only 40 minutes on the way back so that wasn't much since it was a 6 hour drive one way. We shared lots of snacks, and a lot of the "Nolan do you see the truck or motorcycle?" game. I really couldn't have asked for a better trip in the car. I really didn't know what to expect since he hadn't been in the car for a long trip since Christmas.

On the last full day of our trip, we had dinner at the Ocean Course which is also where the PGA Tour Championship is going to be played this August.  The course was gorgeous! 



Nolan loved to watch the construction at the pool!

To end the trip, Nolan and daddy surprised me with an early Mother's Day present--a pedi at the luxury spa at the Sanctuary Hotel. It was wonderful and just what I needed!

It was a wonderful time with my little family, and I can't believe we'll be adding another one in less than 12 weeks!