beach vacation

summer vacations are the best! we decided (kind of last minute) to head to north carolina to see my aunt, cousins, and their children. we stayed with my aunt for a few nights and also headed to myrtle beach for a night. it was nice to see all the family, some i hadn't seen since my grandpa's funeral three years ago. we had many adventures but overall it was a great trip. here are a few highlights and/or things i realized while on the trip:

-i stink at navigating! i like to think i know where i'm going and play it by ear. john doesn't appreciate this so much. it took us 13 hours to get to my aunts. it shouldn't have taken so long. on the way back, my navigating skills must have improved because we made it home in 11 1/2 hours!

-greyson is a pretty good traveler. we drove mostly at night which was nice because he slept most of the time. every time we would hit a bump or stop quickly his head would fly forward and he would wake up. sometimes he would turn and go right back to sleep, other times he would cry for a good five to ten minutes before finally crashing again.

-we sang lots of "wheels on the bus", "5 little monkeys", "happy birthday", and "Jesus loves me" while in the car. greyson also entertained himself by sticking his toes in his noes. he would point out every tractor, four wheeler, trailer, mower, or boat four wheeler (also known by most as a jet ski...greyson came up with that on his own).

-we also learned never to go outside without checking the door to make sure it is unlocked. just as we were leaving for the beach i realized i did not have greyson's medicine. i headed back only to discover greyson had locked the door. john had to bust the handle with a hammer and screwdriver so we could get in. my aunt bought new door knobs and now has a spare key hidden in the garage.

we stayed at a very nice hotel complete with an ocean view, balcony, and kitchen. it was spacious, nice, and clean. this was our view from our balcony!

-greyson is fearless of water. we already knew that but it was so obvious while we were at the beach. he would run recklessly into the ocean not realizing how dangerous it could be. the waves were huge and often knocked him over.

-going to the beach with a two year old is not relaxing...see above! :)

-our hotel had a splash park, water slides (which greyson was about two inches too short to go on...bummer), lazy river, hot tubs, and lots of pools for us to enjoy. this was a little more relaxing than being at the beach but we were still running all over trying to keep up with greyson.

-greyson slept in our bed the entire vacation. needless to say, john and i didn't sleep very well. he always ended up having his head on one of us and his feet on the other one.

-my aunt lives ten minutes away from concord mills which is a mall exactly like gurnee mills in chicago. john had to go there once he discovered there was a bass pro. greyson found this net and was trying to catch the fish. i think everyone who was around was laughing. it was beyond adorable!

we had a great time as a family. it's so nice to go away and experience this time of fun together! we still have a few days of vacation left and are heading out again tomorrow on some more adventures. this time we are leaving greyson at home with grandma and grandpa so maybe it will be a little more relaxing!