Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Beach Trip!

We weren't allowed to say much about this before we went because it was kind of a surprise, but we spent this last weekend in Hilton Head. It was a surprise gift to our Dad for his birthday. I won't say exactly how old he turned, but let's just say it was a big one. He basically turned 30 twice (did that give it away?). So, the whole family (all 10 of us now) headed to Hilton Head on Thursday of last week for a long, relaxing weekend.

There were a lot of firsts for Patrick on this trip. For starters, it was the longest car ride he's been on - a little over five hours. He did awesome both going there and coming back. We kept him up as long as we could and delayed his morning nap by a bit, then when he was super tired, we fed him and jumped in the car. He slept for the first two hours of the car ride on the way there and two and a half hours on the way back (he probably would have gone longer but we had to stop because I apparently drank a little too much energy drink and coffee in preparation for the drive). Both times, he entertained himself for a bit once he woke up and then Ang jumped in the back with him and read books and played. He only got fussy one time in both drives!

The whole crew stayed in a great villa that belongs to the Wise family that was across the street from the beach. It was the perfect place to stay. Thanks again to Marc and Sarah for letting us crash there for the weekend. Ang and I arrived a little before everyone else so we thought we'd take Patrick to the beach to get him acclimated. We figured he might need a little "getting used to things" time with all the wind and the loud waves and the new textures of sand and so on. We were very wrong. We brought him to the beach and he immediately wanted to get down and check out the sand. Once he hit the sand he noticed the waves and headed straight for them. Even after he got to the water he didn't stop crawling; he just squealed and giggled and crawled in deeper. He has no fear.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing at the beach and the pool. We've also decided that we need to get a little plastic red wagon for Patrick. Since Marc and Sarah have kids, the villa was very kid friendly (crib, baby monitors, safety latches for cabinets - you name it) and that meant there was a little red wagon. Every day when we went to the beach we'd load up the wagon with Patrick on one side and all his toys and towels on the other side and wheel him around. He LOVED riding in it. We'd also take him along on our walks on the beach in the red wagon and it turned into more of a baby parade than a walk. The entire time we walked up and down the beach people would wave to him and say hi and he'd give them a big chubby smile and wave back. He was thrilled to have so many beach friends.

There's no shortage of pictures and video from the trip so we've posted a slide show below and we'll get some video up over the next week. Thanks again to Katie and Brandon for setting up the stay for the weekend and to the whole family for taking Patrick wherever he pointed the whole weekend. He loved getting to spend some quality time with everybody.

And to Dad: happy birthday. I can't tell you how excited we were to get to spend the whole weekend with you. The more time I spend being a father and navigating the daily decisions and nuances of raising a child, the more I realize what an amazing Dad you really are. No beach trip or gift can tell you how much I appreciate you being such an amazing role model to me in fatherhood and life in general.




Direct link to the gallery is here.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hppy Birthday Ray!!!! So glad you all could be together to celebrate! Meme.

Jana Burrow said...

ADORABLE! Happy Birthday Mr. Flowers and what a good looking crew you have ;-)

Sarah said...

I'm so glad y'all had fun! You are welcome to return anytime :) Thanks so much for the sweet note and Happy Birthday to your dad!!

TERA said...

Love all the pics! Angela you look fabulous girl! I am sooo jealous.

Rebecca said...

I loved the photos...especially the one of Patrick and Anna from your dinner. Also, could Katie and Brandon be any more adorable?!? So sweet. Looks like it was the perfect weekend.