Vacation Week 1 - Hilton Head

This year we were blessed to be away for 3 weeks of vacation!! It has never happened before and will probably never happen again. I'm happy to share our vacation memories with you. Here the kids are at the welcome center in North Carolina. We always stop at each state's welcome center for pics. It's a fun way to watch them grow up.

Our first week was in Hilton Head. We have been going there with my parents for the past several years. They are EXTREMELY generous and give us a condo while they have a separate condo. It's wonderful to be able to share the time with them.

This year we decided, after a very busy year for us all, that Hilton Head would be our time to relax and breathe. So we rented bikes and beach chairs & umbrella, and spent most of the time on the beach or in the pool. We visited the Salty Dog and Harbour Town. We visited with friends who also were down there while the kids watched the famous Man Under the Tree.

Our condo was next to my parents and gave us a great view of both the pool area and the beach. Can't beat that!! Here are some pics from our time there. To be honest, we didn't take a ton of pics this year - we were too busy relaxing!!

Anna put her father, grandfather and big brother to work helping to build her sandcastle. She had fun working with them, and my mom and I had fun watching them from under the beach umbrella. To be honest, we both offered to help, but were told to go rest under the umbrella and we would be "told" when to come and see it. :-) You can see the finished castle here...

For A's 10th birthday this year, our special gift to her was her first horseback ride on the island. We let C go with her since C had done it before. They had a blast, seeing a lot of wildlife along the trail. A said it was one of the best birthday gifts EVER!

A and my brother (and her godfather) walk along the shore of the natural beach (a/k/a Tower Beach). I love this shot.