Kiawah Island

I'm convinced that if someone stumbled upon my blog (hello!) he or she would think that we are so wealthy my husband doesn't need to work in the summer and therefore all we do is hop around on various vacations. Err. Wrong. Except for the hopping around on various vacations part. We are certainly not wealthy (we have very generous families who like to spend time with us and vice versa), my husband works very hard in grad school most of the year, but his stipend is only for ten months, not twelve, so he does various teaching/tutoring in the summers which gives us the wonderful flexibility of taking said vacations with generous families.

Whew. 

Now that we got that cleared up, I'm happy to report that our latest vacation to Kiawah Island (off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina) was a delightful success. This time we traveled with the immediate Bedinghaus family -- Mom and Dad B, Lauren and fiance Ryan and Kayla. We missed Kayla's boyfriend Chris who had to stay and work on his internship in Pittsburgh. Mom and dad rented a big house on the beach which allowed us tremendous flexibility for Liam's nap, cooking, traveling between the beach and the pool, golfing, playing games, etc. By the end of the week we all agreed this was one of our best and most relaxing vacations ever. I tell you, there is nothing like renting a house when you travel to the beach with a toddler. 

We had the option to go into Charlestown, and we did twice to eat dinner and lunch. We could have gone more as there was plenty to see and do in the area, but it was so hot and humid we decided to stay near the water and ocean breezes. Honestly, being at the beach was the best part and even with the historical and beautiful surrounding areas, we didn't really care to do much of that. The one thing I was surprised by on this vacation was the ocean water. I'm used to Ocean City being freezing in June, but this water was like a bath. I could have stayed in it all day. One afternoon Rob and I took the boogy boards out and spent over an hour "surfing" the waves. Liam was napping so it was almost like a date. Almost. The beaches were huge and almost always empty so it felt very private and fun. There were also tide pools every morning that were perfect baby pools for Liam, even though he wasn't scared of the ocean at all. He did miss his beach buddy Marco, but there were plenty of people, kids and dogs to keep him entertained. 

I've said it here before, but I really love this family and am so thankful that I'm not just an "in-law" but a daughter and sister. We do have so much fun together and I'm always thankful for the time we get to spend together. 

And now, to do what I normally do, I'll photo dump on you (I did not pick up the "y'all" in the south unfortunately or perhaps fortunately?) and show you what we got to spend the last week doing. Most of the photos are from my phone, but some are from our camera too. I didn't even dare to dive into my MIL's hundreds of pictures for this blog post, but she had a lot too. In no particular order...

Hanging out in the tide pool watching a helicopter go by

"Why are you taking my picture? I have better things to do!" 

Liam and Mimi hanging out in the tide pool

Our house is the second from the right. It was huge and beautiful and contained my dream kitchen...

The family (hint: you might see this again at Christmas!) 

And our little family 

Boppy and Mimi with their grandbaby

We were so glad Lauren's fiance Ryan could come with us on vacation. He certainly fits right into the family! 

"Hey mama. I want to see myself on your camera!" 

No fear -- he loves the water, even fully clothed!

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Our first night out to dinner for South Carolina BBQ and watching the alligators down by the pond. 

This is as close as I let Rob get!

We stayed far away from the alligators 

The lovebirds in Charleston. Ryan just thinks he's tough.

Ever since I bought Rob the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream book for Father's day, Liam has loved it. He sits and looks at it and talks about the "i-cream guys" and knows their names are Ben and Jerry. He was delighted to visit their store, as were we. 

Mr. Uncooperative for photos

We rented bikes for the whole week and had a lot of fun going around the island on their bike trails. One morning five of us made the 9 mile trek to Starbucks. It was worth it! 

Liam loves his aunties! And jelly candy apparently. 

One night Rob and I went on a "date" of sorts to three golf holes behind the house. Rob lost some balls, I took some pictures and attempted to chip a shot onto the green. (How's that for professional talk?) Needless to say, my eye/hand coordinator deficiency is still not cured.  

Down the cart path toward our house

One night we ate dinner out at the Ocean Course, home to the PGA Championship next week. It was a gorgeous course right on the edge of the ocean. Things were being set up for the tournament, plus it was super windy, but it was fun to see where a major will be played. 

WINDY family! Clearly wearing this dress was not a good idea this night...

On our last night we went to an outdoor concert on the "village green". I love my man! 

I could not resist posting this picture! I laugh every time I see Liam in his helmet. He was so excited to get it before we left and then wear it while riding in the little bike trailer behind Rob's bike.