4th of July - 2011

For the past 6 years, we have made it a family tradition to go to Myrtle Beach for the 4^th of July. It just sorta “stuck” after we did it three years in a row. I am so thankful to have such a gorgeous beach condo to visit whenever time allows.

This summer our beach trips have been very infrequent. The only reason for this is because Darren and I went to the Bahamas. He doesn’t have a job where time off is accrued. I wish he had that privilege. I guess there are definite pros and cons to owning your own business. Either way, we are appreciative of the times we have been able to go this summer.

This trip started out with a flat tire in Greensboro. By the grace of God, we were in a very busy city (Greensboro, NC) on a very, very, very busy road that had over 10 tire places to choose from. When we walked into the tire shop though, it was closing in ten minutes. Needless to say, on a Friday, at 5:50 pm, the employees were less than happy. Oh well!!!!

We arrived safely and did something out of the norm for US and our routined life that we live. Instead of going straight to the condo, we started our trip’s adventures at 9:50 pm, by getting the kids an ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. THEN, we unloaded the car and began unpacking. Tyson MUST unpack as SOON as he arrives. He is so my child. He even organizes the pantry at the beach condo like it’s organized at home.

The 5 days we were there were spent either at the pool or on the beach. One of the days we treated the children to a fun day at Myrtle Waves. Of course we did mounds of eating out, YUMMY!!! As usual, we always explore Broadway At The Beach as well as Barefoot’s Landing. At Broadway, we witnessed a fun/live/free show put on by a man who reminded me of someone who would try out to be on “America’s Got Talent”. The kids really loved it!

We ended our stay with FIREWORKS: both viewing them and partaking in them! All three kids did sparklers, but it was really interesting to witness their difference in personalities while holding them. Ty the daredevil, Lilah even kill, and Jax aired on the cautious side! I guess it would be quite the BORE if they all had the same persona.

We are thankful to God that he has placed us in the country were we are FREE. Free to speak, FREE to live, and especially FREE to worship HIM!

Enjoy a few of my favorite photos from our trip OR you can view the entire album below. It's your pick!

One of my favorite pictures is this one below. This will one day be a faint memory, so I had to capture it. I am sure when I look back 20 years from now at this photo, I will be in tears thinking about how much I miss my children being so little and how I took their precious years from granted. BUT for now, I am in tears at the "pain" going to the beach with 3 kids creates. LOL! It's just SO MUCH STUFF!!!!!!! THERE AND BACK! And the sand.... UGH! I could make a blog post about my big issue and annoyance with sand. LOL!!!!! There are some that don't want a spec of sand anywhere near them. AND THEN, there are some that let their kids burry them in it.... JODY. EWE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She's my giant KID friend. How we are so close is BEYOND me. Jody = GIANT KID, Kristin = OLD LADY