September 2013 Beach Trip

This was the third year in a row that we were able to go on a beach trip with my parents.  The first two years were at Ocean Isle Beach in NC.  This year we went to Isle of Palms Beach in SC.  I grew up going to that beach but we went there because it was close to an academic hospital that would be the same cost as our insurance in case Wesley got brave.  We were SO excited to go to the beach, as we are every year.  Jimmy kept saying over and over that "September is the best month to go to the beach!"  I think he's right!

 

Jimmy and I went to the beach on Wednesday while my mom graciously watched Grace the whole day in Columbia :)  We enjoyed our baby moon and basically ate and relaxed.  My mom, dad, and Grace joined us on Thursday.

 

I went out to take some sunrise pictures on the beach...just breathtaking!

Here's a picture of the condo complex were we stayed.  The pool was a few steps from our porch and the beach was right behind the pool in this picture.  It was VERY nice having the pool option with Grace around.  I was pleasantly surprised that there was a separate kiddie pool since Grace can't swim independently just yet.

Our condo was on the bottom floor which was helpful to this preggo lady :)

Let the 2013 Beach Bocce Ball Tournament begin!  If you are friends with my dad or Jimmy on facebook then you probably got tired of the updates/trash talking.  They get really into it!

 

We were driving back from dinner one night and realized the full harvest moon was out!  Our camera doesn't do it justice, but Jimmy still caught a great shot.

One of my apple picking masterpieces :)  My first ever homemade apple pie.  It was prettier than it tasted.  Next year, maybe!

Our waterbug

Grace loves her Memere and I think the feeling is mutual :)

Bocce ball

I think Grace threw a ball and was screaming, "I did it!"  Either way, she was excited about something and Pepere was joining her.

There's a 99% chance she's pointing to an airplane in this picture.

To our surprise (since she's kind of a chicken in the water...not on land, though) Grace wanted to run right into the waves.

Her reaction to seeing the ocean for the first time this trip.

 

She loves giving kisses

We had perfect kite flying weather the whole time!  Thanks to Pepere for bringing it along.

Grace must have thought Pepere needed a blanket so she shared her baby doll's blanket.

We couldn't resist...

 

Jimmy's college buddy, Robert, is a volunteer diver at the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston, SC.  We got the VIP treatment...keep reading!

The aquarium has a Madagascar exhibit.  These are lemurs and you can crawl up into this tube to see close up.  I wasn't getting under there even with help, so my two volunteers tried it out :)

Cute room.  You can see Grace chose the slide over the fish.

An albino crocodile...or alligator...dang I should have taken a picture of the sign.  There are only 50 of these in the world, if I remember correctly.

Grace was in fish heaven!

They have the deepest diving tank of any aquarium in the country.

There's Robert!  He is a volunteer diver and gets to be a part of the show where he answers questions from the audience and teaches about the fish in the tank.

Grace and Jimmy got to participate in the game show.

 

Jimmy and Robert

We got a behind the scene tour.  Look at that sea turtle!  She was swimming around the top during the show so it was cool to see her up close and personal afterwards.

Our family of three in front of the Cooper River Bridge.

 

2013 Beach Bocce Ball Champion: Jimmy Turner!  He gets he trophy until next year.  It came down to "championship Saturday" this year.

Last year and this year in her frog chair, snacking away!

 

We have great traditions at the beach such as: cooking a low country boil, going out for ice cream, the bocce ball championship, walks, and going out for seafood.

 

Thanks mom and dad for always making the beach trip special.  Y'all doing a good job of loving our family and we appreciate it greatly!

We had a blast and always look forward to the next trip.  For now, we'll look forward to having a baby in a few weeks :)  We also look forward to taking Wesley on the next beach trip...from three to four!