Adventures in Vacation.....

 The 11 " Adventures" of our 2015 Tybee Island week.......

1. Somehow Yang's suitcase did not make it in the van. Her suit case was in another room from the other's and DH assumed the girls had packed together. We ended up not figuring this out until around 10pm as everyone is trying to get ready for bed. So, off we go to Walmart. Luckily other family was coming down on Wednesday, so we only had to buy for a few days. 3 outfits, a nightgown, 1 swimsuit, and undergarments later, we chilled in the one open check out lane. All I can say is: Thank you Lord for your provision that was not a disaster, but funny story to tell in years to come. We thought that was enough adventure for a vacation but no... we had no clue what the Lord had in store for us.....

2.  One day 2 of Vacation 6 adults and 2 kids get stuck in the condo elevator requiring the fire and police to come rescue us. Poor Hulk was left on the outside by his self for about 15 min. He's one cool kid. Ying had a panic attack during our ordeal, but the great guys from the Tybee Police and Fire Depts made it all better with a tour of the fire truck, and autographs from our heroes :)

3. Adventure 3---- No pictures of the Island Wide Blackout that occurred later that night. Apparently a branch fell on a line on Wilmington Island knocking out power to part of Wilmington Island and all of Whitmarsh and Tybee Islands. Oh how fragile is our modern life. The kids had a blast as we went for a walk and tons of people were out, a kind of island wide block party. Hey at least we weren;t in the elevator? right?????

4. Monsoon rains- The next night it rained so hard that some of the major streets were flooded to thigh high. Its not a rare occurrence on the island, but it sure impressed the kids. Especially when out cousins who had been trying to get off the island were turned around because the causeway was flooded and would take a few hours to recede between the tide and rain. We were snug and dry in our favorite restaurant.

5. Adventure - Wildlife Encounters- We found The Tybee Bunny just hanging out in the parking lot. Blue crab on the back river. Dolphins playing just off shore. Sea turtle nests along the beach.

6. After 5 wonderful calm surf days we got slammed with a red flag day. Kids couldn't go past ankles because the wide and tides were just too strong. The kids were very content to stay on shore and were kind of unsettled by people being in the water. I think it brought back memories from last years incident where they saw the life guards pull a man out and do CPR. The kids know the man did not make it, and this is the first rough day. But they handled it like champs.

7. We don't have a picture but the kids met a movie star. They had no idea who he was but my husband recognized him. We knew they were filming on the island that month so we figured we see something. Its not a very big island...lol

8. The kids earned their Junior Ranger badges for Ft. Pulaski. It was the only educational thing mom forced on them all week and they enjoyed it.

9. Getting 32 people together for pictures on the beach...lol... Our trips to Tybee are really family reunions. We average between 25-45 people each year ;) Some of use as 3rd cousins by marriage once removed but hey..... its all family...lol

Almost everyone...lol ( 4 generations)

the younger group ( parts of the 3rd and 4th generations represented)

10. On the way home we got caught up in the back up from a bad wreck on I-16. The kids got to see LifeFlight land on the road as we were diverted off the interstate. The kids thought the helicopter was cool and then said a prayer for those in the wreck and the medics & first responders.

11.... Last but not least... We arrived home to find the AC had broken while we were away...lol... So off to Grandma's house we went for a cool nights sleep. Luckily DH and BIL had it fixed by the next night....

And so goes the story of our vacation.Wonder what will happen next year?

July.....part 1

 Swim team wrapped up just before the 4th of July, and over all i think the girls enjoyed. They honestly liked practice more then the meets. They could have just done without. But they did each earn atleast one riboon of every color which they were proud of.

We road tripped the 4th of July litterally. I got off at 7am on the Morning of the 4th and we were on the beach by 3 that afternoon. We went to visit my brother and sister in law who recently moved from Conneticut to a small town on the panhandle of Florida. Huge change for my SIL who has never lived outside of very small area on the Northeast.

This was Uncle J's idea of babysitting...lol.. Hulk loved it.

The kids spent hours over the 2 days we were they catching these Hydra Jellyfish ( they don't sting) and looking for shells and sand dollars.

Camp S'more gets dirty......

One of our Favorite weeks of the year is here! CAMP S'more! We don't do a whole lot of Girl Scout stuff but we love our one week of camp a summer. I volunteer as the nurse, and the kids all have a blast as campers ( including Hulk). This years theme was DIRTY JOBS and it was sooooo much fun.

The Daisies started the week making any farms, which they loved. over the week all the Daisies and Brownies earned their Insect badges.

 Ying and Yang were Juniors this year which meant all kinds of new adventures. 1st night sleeping over at camp and old enough to do archery which was a big hit!!!! The girls were in different units to give themselves a break from each other. They got dirty this week with a plumber, bee keepers, chefs, and our own park Ranger. They still had plenty of time for swimming, canoeing, arts & crafts, Adventure course and camp games. Our Adventure Course team has a lot of fun with the " get dirty" part.... digging for bugs in slime anyone?

Our over night Adventure was a bit rougher than  most. The girls lost it when it came to bed time. They've never slept in a tent outside and the noises overwhelmed them. After their counsolers were unable to calm them down, Mom/Nurse got called in. Guess who got to sit/sleep in a camp chair in front of their tent? Here's hoping next year goes smoother.......

Yang  had a rough day after sleepover. She ended up with a migraine between heat,emotion and lack of sleep. So she had to report to the clinic. After some medication and a nap in the air conditioning she was feeling better and got put to work cleaning the clinic. Her migraines are getting to the point where I can tell real from I need attention.  She has certain tells when they are real that she's unaware of at this point. This one was defiantly real so she got some TLC from mom/nurse, otherwise I am kinda a hard nose at camp. Suck it up Buttercup..lol.

Ying fared better the next day... maybe it was the dirt pudding?

Hulk had a fabulous time. He got to move out of the preschool group and into the "Boys Unit". Some of the older guys have been coming to camp since they were Hulk's age as their sisters have grown up an Mom's volunteered and now are the counselors for the boys..  They get to do all the stuff the girls do like swimming, canoes, archery,etc. They have a lodge on the other side of camp from all the girls have a great time. Over the year the camp has collected lost of cool Lego sets, games, and Nerf guns that the boys  get too since they aren't working on badges and awards. They even took a field trip to a local rock climbing gym. Hulk and 2 other boys were too young to do the actual archery range, so we set up Nerf bows and  make targets for them off the side of the range so they wouldn't feel so left out.

Summer Time......

Summer Break is upon us... the weather is warm and sunny and we've been taking advantage. Playing in the creek. Chasing fish, frogs, and cousins. The girls have been spending some of the hotter afternoons helping Grandma with puzzles.

 We also dove into to summer swim team. The girls have been  swimming since March twice a week and its done great things for their concentration. The meets were LONG but fun. No one is going to the Olympics any time soon but its great exercise.