Safe and Sound in South Carolina

I am still back-blogging and I am determined to keep things in order because it makes it so much easier for me when I go back and make my blog books at the end of the year.  So everyone will just have to SUFFER through reliving our vacation to North Myrtle Beach in late August.  There was a little scheduling "mix-up" that resulted in Mimi and Yoo-Hoo having two weeks in a row at their condo (or should I say, "Callie's Beeps [Beach] House" because that is she calls it!).  So, Callie, Mimi, Yoo-Hoo and I went down for the entire two weeks.  It was so relaxing to know that we didn't have to rush to do anything and it was also very nice to not have to sadly count down the days.  It was just the four of us for most of the first week and then Matt picked Michelle up at the Richmond Airport and they drove down and joined us on Saturday.  Scott flew in a few days later and then we finally got to enjoy a few days of everyone being together before a VERY chaotic end to the vacation.  Overall, it was a great time.  The weather was perfect (besides the hurricane!) and it wasn't crowded because most schools had started back by then.  We did miss experiencing our first significant earthquake, which Matt was disappointed about.  There was a big one in Virginia that had several aftershocks with it and people felt it from Giles to Virginia Beach and up and down into other states.  But we didn't miss all the natural disasters.  Hurricane Irene came rolling in on the second Friday.  We were safer in SC so we stayed put and watched it from our perch on the 5th floor.  It was scary at times, mostly because of the wind, but it wasn't nearly as bad as what Matt experienced in Richmond (he had gone back early for his Fantasy Football Draft) or as what Pa experienced in Carson.  Those parts of Virginia had a lot of tree damage.  The hurricane also resulted in a very difficult journey home for Michelle and Scott.  Their flight out of Myrtle was canceled and they had to rent a car and drive straight through to Chicago to pick up their car before going home to Indy.  But everyone made it home safe and with no damage from the storm or earthquake.  We fully expected to return home to a week without power but our neighbor said it didn't even flicker once.  I was so happy to come home to a normal house after two weeks away.  

 This is the entrance to one of those cheapy beach stores that Callie loved!  We had to stop and get our picture made with it BEFORE Aunt Missy arrived because she has a little phobia of "big" things.

 Daddy and Aunt Missy arrived during naptime and Callie enjoyed that surprise very much!  

This year, Callie slept on her very own air mattress on the floor.  She decided she was done with crib confinement just weeks before this vacation so she now has this princess bed for her visits with Mimi and Yoo-Hoo.  Not that she always slept ON the bed...

 The Mall down the street from the condo had a train.  Callie got to ride it many times because we love the Belk in that mall!

 Callie loved driving around and looking at all the restaurants and putt-putt places, this year.  She always knew when we were about to pass a giant crab, shark, pirate ship or plane.  Her favorite was this dinosaur putt-putt place and so we took her one VERY HOT morning to play her first game of vacation miniature golf.  She lasted one hole and then spent the rest of the time trying to climb, run or sneak to where ever there was a dinosaur.

 She loved the colored water and thought it was hilarious to throw her ball in it.

Callie was her normal mermaid self.  She loved the hot tub and made Yoo-Hoo chase her in and out of it, alternating with dips in the cool pool water.

 She really enjoyed the waves this year and was able to be a tiny bit more independent in them because of her life jacket.

 The life-jacket also provided us with handles with which to catch her!

 Poor Uncle Scott had knee surgery the week before coming to the beach so he wasn't able to frolic in the waves or the pool.

 Callie got her first official princess dress-up costume.  She loved it, needless to say.  Mimi kept her very occupied with countless gifts and surprises!

She now thinks every dress is a princess dress.  When I put on a dress to go out on a "date" with Matt one night, she even called me a Princess!

 Her great-grandmother, Beulah Mae, would have loved Callie Mae's "earbobs"!

 Callie "helped" us work a puzzle.  She would force pieces together and cheer or hand one piece after another to me and ask where it went, expecting that I would find its spot immediately.

 She got to put the last piece in so that she could feel like she did the whole thing.

 That lobster claw turned out to be a her favorite toy!

 Callie got plenty of snuggles!

 She also got to compare boo-boos with Uncle Scott...

 ...and they both got a little work done.

 More snuggles...

 And then the bright skies turned dark and the wind got scary!

 I think I am ready to join Jim Cantore and the weather channel team.

 The water ended up covering the entire beach.

 These guys thought it would be fun to ride some waves.  They literally lasted five minutes before realizing it was a stupid idea.

 We all enjoyed some treasure hunting the next morning.  I naively dressed Callie in something other than a swimsuit since it was chilly.  But that didn't stop her from throwing herself into a little tide pool for a swim.

That's my water-baby!