Sanding and Crabbing Night

After eating homemade ice cream in the condo and dealing with a subsequent bellyache from Miss Q., we headed down to the Beach tonight armed with flashlights and nets for our annual sand crab hunt.





















It didn't go exactly according to plan, as we found one crab and we were unable to capture it (despite Mommy's best effort with the net), but it was a special night nonetheless.

Lyla decided she was going to dig a deep hole in the ground at first to catch a crab. "Cade, you don't understand! Crabs are serious business!"

As her digging continued, though, she began thinking of the time she dug a similar hole in our backyard to get to China to find her sister. So, in the end, this hole became about that too.

They dug and they dug...







And dug some more...







Cade helped:





And Lyla worked more and more:






Until the hole looked something like this:









As you can see from the graininess of these photos, the night ended in the dark with Cade's curiosity about a couple of people who showed up at dark with lights on their heads and metal detectors, combing the Beach.

"What are those pirates doing, Daddy?"

Well said, Cade E. Bugg...well said.



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Location:The Beach

The Pirate Playground

This afternoon when Cade lost interest in the Lazy River, we ventured out to the Pirate Playground. We ultimately pulled Lyla out of the pool to go with us.

Cade insisted that Mommy go down this slide with him the first time, but after that, he was an old pro:







Lyla loved it too:






Here is when Lyla told Cade she just needed some "alone time", but he aggravated her anyway...typical Cade these days:







And, later, I heard Cade yelling to everyone on the playground: "Everyone! I need help! Everyone! I need help!"

So, I climbed up and got this photo:






Classic.

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Location:Myrtle Beach

A Visit to the Aquarium

We decided to visit the aquarium this morning, which was a great decision since Lyla got to see real life mermaids!

Waiting to get in...Cade needed to be near his Sis.





We saw all sorts of sharks, coral and fish:


















But the highlight of our visit was definitely the mermaid show - it was so neat how the mermaids swam with the stingrays...even though the water seemed a little dirty for swimming:

They were pretty mesmerized:











Here's why:























It was an awesome show.

Swimming this afternoon.

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A Crazy Amazing Day

We're getting in a rhythm around here now. It's getting a little crazier here than it was when we first arrived due to the Labor Day traffic, but we're having an amazing time.

We started today with more time in the Lazy River. The kids love it, and so do we. It's a perfect place for Lyla to practice swimming, and she loves the slides too. Cade did really well today too - no complaining about his ear plugs, although I think he worries about getting his ears wet as it's caused him so much pain before.







Lyla loved doing the tie dye shirt activity today - we can't wait to see how it turns out:







The morning culminated in the activity the kids have been most looking forward to since discovering our condo on-line: the whipped cream eating contest. It was hilarious, and they both loved doing it together:



























At lunchtime in the condo, the kids found a new game for tricking Mommy - throwing Cade's toy spiders into the shower while I was showering and throwing them on my feet. They thought it was soooo funny!

Then, this happened:







I don't know what prompted that, but I'm pretty happy about it.

This afternoon we headed out to Broadway at the Beach, a huge conglomeration of shops, restaurants, rides, etc. in spite of the sweltering heat, we had a great time.

Lyla has named herself family navigator. She gets annoyed by the car's GPS, saying that it distracts her from reading her map.

She assigned her brother navigating duties:
"Cade, you just need to rest and not talk. If anyone doesn't hear what I say, it's your job to tell th what I said."

Hmmm...

Later, before we went into the shops, we reviewed our fit-throwing policy, which is that the shopping trip is over when a fit begins - even if Daddy throws the fit.
Cade (laughing): "Daddy, you don't throw fits, I throw fits!"

I'm glad he has such insight.

The kids (mainly Lyla) wanted to build a bear today, so we took them. It was so much fun!














They picked their bears hearts next:





















Final stitching:








Final product:













Cade is most proud of his Bear's (whom he named 'Tootie') cell phone:





Other developments today:
Cade decided to put sunscreen in his hair - it's definitely a washing hair night:



And, Daddy got stung by a jellyfish during our evening beach time! He's ok, but it was pretty painful. We saw a jellyfish come in with the waves...when Daddy showed the kids, Cade immediately tried to stomp on it. We stopped him, and Lyla said, "Throw it back now, Daddy. It's too dangerous for Cade!"



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Location:Myrtle Beach

Beach Afternoon

This afternoon, we headed down to the Boardwalk, specifically to check out the Sky Wheel - Myrtle Beach's version of a luxury Ferris wheel. One enclosed car for all 4 of us, air conditioned perfection. It was soooo hot down there today.

The kids loved it.

Here's the view:






























While we loved our time on SkyWheel, our time on the Boardwalk was shortened due to a temper tantrum from Cade E. Bugg not long after we got off the ride. We think he was overstimulated, exhausted and overwhelmed by the heat, which was exhausting.

So, instead of the dinner I was envisioning, we decided to let the other diners eat in peace while we enjoyed spaghetti and sauce in the condo. Nice.

After, we headed back down to the Beach to look for mermaids and shells and build a castle or 2. I took photos with our camera, which I will post later.

We came back to the condo, and Cade begrudgingly took a bath, while Lyla took a shower. She says that showers are her preferred way to bathe "on vacation".

She also had a great time bathing with her imaginary friend "Stephanie". I'm not sure where she came from, but those 2 sure do have a good time together. Lyla is so proud that she washed her hair in the shower tonight:







She didn't get any soap in her eyes. Ha!

Tomorrow, crafting downstairs with condo staff. Lyla is so excited!


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Location:The Boardwalk

This morning...

It's been a busy morning. We all slept in, and the kids couldn't wait to get to the pool. We were able to work out while we got the kids ready to go...it takes awhile to get everything together.

And, Cade always finds something to get into...in this case, he's obsessed with the telephones in the condo. We've since had to put them away as he loves wrapping himself up in them:



We finally made it down to the pool - Lyla could stay there for hours upon hours. She loves working on her swimming, and the slides could keep her busy for hours.

Here she is practicing with Daddy:




Cade had a great time this morning too. I'm so proud of him for consistently wearing his ear plugs with no complaining.

We had a poop incident in the pool which we had to handle, and Cade decided after all that, he needed a Cheetos break - it is vacation after all:



Quote worthy:

Lyla: "Mommy, I really do believe in mermaids."

Cade: " I can swim!" (Incidentally, we really do think he believes this... which is a little frightening)

Lyla, annoyed because she wanted Cade to return to the Lazy River: "Cade, all you want to do is sit there and eat !"

Tonight, hopefully - a visit to the Boardwalk.

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