Hilton Head

 One night in March, Scott and I were out to dinner with a few friends, and I was telling them how earlier in the day I realized that we were actually going to have several consecutive weeks free this summer. We could go on vacation! Where should we go? Two out of the three couples said "Hilton Head", so that's what we did. (Thankfully, Meghan also sent me some links and advice to get me started planning; otherwise I would have been too overwhelmed with choices and procrastinated indefinitely.)

We made the 12+ hour drive in one day. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the rental house exceeded our expectations. Besides just being clean and spacious, it had a fully stocked kitchen, tons of extra beach towels, everything labeled with clear instructions, and all the outdoor equipment we could possibly need! There was even a trailer we could attach to a bike to carry our stuff to the beach! 

One of the reasons we chose this house was that the pool was a good size, and it had a basketball hoop. The whole outdoor area was just perfect. It had lots of different seating, fans, umbrellas, shuffleboard, and a putting green! There were also lights in the pool for evening swims. We used the owner's kayaks a couple of times to explore the lagoons. Scott was very entertained watching the golfers on the par 5 across the lagoon from us. 

Pool basketball is Matthew's favorite activity.

A brother dumped her in the water shortly after this picture was taken.

We would ride the bikes to the beach or to the pickleball courts.

It was very hot, especially the first few days, but we still played many games of pickleball and a little tennis.

One of the perks of having older kids is that we could delegate research tasks to them. Micah and Hannah both found some great food spots for us!

Micah also found a place for us to go disc golfing. It was an adventure!

Micah and Hannah got up each morning to do their cross country workouts. Either Scott or I would ride a bike to keep Hannah company.

 On Wednesday, there was a community 5k on the beach, so Micah and Hannah both did the race for their workout. It ended in pouring rain!

We have been dreaming for years about going to Hawaii and are talking about finally doing it next summer. Scott tasked Micah and Hannah with coming up with a plan and share it with the family - lodging, activities, travel, etc. They both did a great job, but the disparity in presentation made us laugh. Micah's was no frills - straight to the point. Hannah's was filled with pictures and tropical decorations. 

The ocean water was SO warm! This New England girl had a hard time wrapping my brain around it. I'm used to the water being so cold that you gradually go numb. 😆The first few days the water was very flat. The kids were excited when we finally got a day with bigger waves for boogie boarding. (There are no pictures of boogie boarding because I was very busy anxiously lifeguarding.)

Hannah on July 21st, eight years apart

Another of Matthew's favorite activities - playing football in the waves. 

riding our bikes on the beach

sunrise as we left the island Saturday morning

Moral of the story: letting our friends pick our vacation spot was a great idea!

Colorado Cousins

 Laurie and the kids flew to Indiana to visit Nana and Papa. We didn't want to miss a chance to see them, so we took two cars at different times to make sure we all got out there at some point. 

Aunt Laurie took some of the kids for a walk that ended up with playing in the creek.

Matthew and Ez doing a little yardwork

Super proud of these girls for getting up early to do their running workouts!

"spicy uno"

Pool time at a friend's house

Matthew and Ez have grown a bit in the past 7 years, but they're still best buds and troublemakers. 

Because of course you should have a wall-sit competition while you wait for your food at Panera.

Other Summer Fun

 In no particular order: 

Matthew went to Cedar Point with a group of friends (and parents)

They rode a kiddie ride just for laughs. Check out Matthew's face.

Micah is finally cashing in on the golf lessons we bought him for Christmas.

Hannah planned a bike ride with "The Fruit Stand" as our destination. 

Getting all the bikes loaded is more tiring than the actual bike ride.

We've made several trips to Katie's Korner to support the McKim's new business. That's Avery Frisbee laughing at Scott. 

Hannah and Matthew each invited a friend for some mini golf and ice cream. 

Matthew has been living his best life with birthday parties and play dates. 

Pickleball in the driveway is a regular occurrence. 

The blimp hangar is in the park where we like to disc golf. We've spotted the new blimp a few times. 

I took the kids to Cedar Point one day. 

Matthew and I were not interested in going on this one with Micah and Hannah.