Isle of Palms 2013

We spent the first week of June with Pop, Chaz, Katie, Connor and their two friends at the same house in Isle of Palms where we stayed last year.  We were happy to find that Baylor liked the beach and pool more in June than he had for Spring Break in March.


Griffin still preferred the pool over the beach, but we spent plenty of time at both.  Almost daily, Griffin took a bike ride on the beach while I pushed the twins in the double jogger.





I've mentioned before that Hudson is a natural little athlete. Look at the way he is holding this football--his little hand can't even begin to really grip it, but he definitely has the right idea! And it isn't even football season yet--just wait until he starts watching some games on TV and trying out the moves!



And then there's Baylor, ready to kayak around the beach with his shovel as a paddle!

We didn't have great weather in the afternoons and evenings so we spent a lot of time inside...much of it watching Hudson play baseball.  Yes, this 2-year old really can hit a pitched baseball!

Because a trip with 3 boys under the age of six isn't really a "vacation," we decided to take everyone out for a whole day so Pop, Chaz and the others could have a quiet day to kick back. We ate lunch at Cosmic Dogs where Baylor and Hudson rediscovered their love of hot dogs (and they got turns "driving" this red car).

Then we went into Charleston to sight-see.  While Hudson was having a meltdown in my arms, I was still able to capture a few shots of these other two sweet boys holding hands while they walked.  As we walked through the city market, Hudson fell asleep in the stroller. For much of the time, he had both of his hands behind his head which drew a lot of attention and comments from amused passersby. We made a stop at the playground on Sullivan's Island before going to dinner at Shem Creek Bar & Grill..

One afternoon, our friend Collin (who lives in the Charleston area) and his two girls, Bennett and Cason, came by to swim and hang out for a while. 

Everyone surprised Griffin with an early birthday celebration on Thursday night. He really was surprised to the point that he was kind of sheepish at first. But he quickly snapped out of it when he started opening presents and got birthday cake and chocolate ice cream! 

I can't believe this cute boy is about to be six!  I love this picture because it shows off his two missing teeth--he lost the first in mid-May before school let out and then lost the other the first week of summer break.

It was a fun week and we made a lot of special memories.  And the best part is that we are getting into a stage where all three boys can really play together.  It's so great to be able to (occasionally and very briefly) sit back and just watch them all play happily together.  I look forward to many more of these moments in the years to come!

 And here is what two 2-year olds look like after a morning of digging in the sand and swimming in the water.  They fell asleep in my and Katie's arms so we just laid them on the couch to nap.