HILTON HEAD!!!

So many people can tell my mini-van coming from blocks away. Theres a green Boston Red Sox plate on the front, but if you look around back you'll see a very small white decal on the back window that looks like this.

It's the state flag for South Carolina.

Every time I see it I smile a little thinking of all the fun we've had there.

This year was especially fun for a few reasons.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!!! We stayed ocean front just two complexes down from the Tiki Hut. No more farting around with getting to the beach, we were already there!!

We stayed for a full two weeks this year. The first week was just the five of us and we had so much fun hanging on the beach together, spendy lazy afternoons shopping and reading, the big boys golfing and having some really great dinners out.

The second week we were joined by so many family members and friends that it made it truly a memorable vacation.

The weather was perfect...NUFF SAID!

Phill and I on our first trip to the Tiki Hut.

Lara and Hunter, happy to be back at the Tiki Hut.

Our favorite restaurant is Wild Wing Cafe. We like it so much that I've looked into franchise possibilities in Chicago. We must have eaten there four times and had carry-out once (Adam will babysit for wings).

During our first week after dinner we would come home and hang out with the kids. We were typically pretty tired after our long fun-filled days. One evening in particular, Phill, Lara and Hunter had just enough energy after dinner to play with the webcam on our computer. Before leaving on vacation Lara had been teaching Hunter a dance to the "Crank dat" song. Their intention was to show Daddy the cool dance and I'm sure even they wouldn't have predicted what the evening ahead held.

Watch and learn.

(you may need to scroll to pause my playlist so you can hear the music on the video)

Vacation: Day One.
Kyle and Erky.

Their expressions hardly change throughout the week.

Hunter loves the beach.

Cara is ditching JP Morgan after seeing an ad seeking a new coppertone girl.

Lara and Hunter. He wanted to keep going. At least long enough to bury her mouth.

Melissa, Mary, Lisa and Ashley.
Day one of week two we spent some time with all the newcomers at the Tiki Hut. Our good friends the Purcell's joined us for the week as well. Everyone had a ball listening to Emmett and Lisa tell the story of how they met :) Sure we believe you, family party, that's right, good ole' family party. Emmett will tell us the real story when Lisa isn't around.

Tyler getting in his kind of fun on day one at the Tiki Hut.


Imagine our surprise after a late night out, to learn the next morning that Kyle and Erky came into our condo and made Bagel Bites, ate Bagel Bites, and managed to photograph themselves all without waking us up. When we woke up in the morning we saw the pan and boxes on the stove and the thank you note on the counter (those boys are so polite) it wasn't until I was downloading pictures later did I notice the photographic evidence of their Breaking and Entering (and Eating) Escapade.

Don't they look like sisters.

Kyle, Melissa and Erky.

Don't ask.

I have no idea what they're doing.

Julia and Cara having fun in the water.

Phill catching a gnarly wave.

Hunter on the beach.
He wanted a "surf shirt" so badly. Once I actually got him one, he wouldn't take it off.

Adam and the skim board. He was more successful than Lara. Her skim boarding attempt resulted in a trip to urgent care for an x-ray. ::::sigh:::: only Lara.

All the girls.
Remember that sketch from Sesame Street where you had to determine
"One of these things was not like the other, One of these things just doesn't belong...."

Hey, wait, just because I'm not tall, thin and blond...and I'm old....doesn't mean I don't belong. Auntie Mary fits in just fine with her nieces.

Besides, have you ever seen so many FABULOUS teeth???(Ashley, Cara, Mary, Melissa, Julia)

We would not be complete without our support staff. The boys dealt with lots of crazy laughing, singing, and just general loudness (we really missed our Leah) and were great sports about it. They secretly have formed their own "Dealing with the Ashley Women" support group.

(Kyle, Bryan, Erky, and Phill)


Are they sisters?

Phill and I have been coming to Hilton Head for five years now and we owe it all to the Donahue's for planning that first trip with them. They were also in Hilton Head while we were and they brought along more Donahue's, the Schlaffer's and the Ford's. All in all there were 44 people from our two groups. Here we are the one night that some of the other mom's got out, Sandy, Ginny and me.


Lara laying out in the sun. Phill and I, the nieces and their boys, and the Purcells had taken a "quick walk" to the Tiki Hut and Lara graciously volunteered to stay by all our stuff and wait. We were gone for quite some time, but don't let her fool you, she LOVES laying in the sun. We both say that we just want to feel the sun warm our bones.

Cara, sans beach chair, used her keen sand skills and Hunter's shovel to dig herself a cozy beach area that we were all jealous of. She credits her beach-hole-digin'-skills to her mother, saying that "she never brought chairs for us kids".

Phill and the kids underwater. My new little camera has a great underwater feature on it. It was fun to play around with it. I can sure tell the difference with the two cameras, but it's nice to have something that is almost indestructible. Salt, sand, and waterproof. It can be dropped from 33 feet and is crushproof. Now, if I just can keep track of it, everything will be fine.

Hunter
Adam
Lara
Ashley, Julia and Kyle...warming up to vacation.
There's no way they are sisters.

(even though we shared a bedroom for most of my high school years)

Melissa and Mary.

Hunter loved the lobster float.

Melissa, Cara and Ashley hanging out on the beach.

I know what you're thinking, and nope, they're not sisters either.

The beginning of the sandcastle.
Diggers....ready!

Castle COMPLETE!!!

Julia and Lara share a dessert. I can't remember what it's called but the description stated that it had a chocolate moat. That's all those two needed to hear.

Looks like they enjoyed it.

Adam and his surf and Turf. He loved it.

Adam ordered the War Dog at a restaurant in Coligny Plaza. It was a 1/2 pound all beef hot dog, deep fried in beer batter, covered with chili and cheese in a roll. Good thing he's so young and can eat that stuff.

Here are the sisters!!! Julia and Ashley.

The whole family in the "GUM TREE".
Adam, Kyle, Melissa, Julia, Mary, Hunter, Lara, Phill, Bryan, Erky, Cara, Ashley.

We are so glad that all the girlies and their boys came with us on our fun family trip. We loved having the Purcell's along for the crazy ride too. We have loved our family vacations to Hilton Head and it was great to share it with everyone.

Our family at the Old Oyster Factory.

Goodbye until next year Hilton Head Island.