We're Back!

And oh my gosh, it really was the best vacation we've had in a long time. Possibly ever.
We've never been on a family vacation where it was just Brad, Noah, and myself. There has always been someone else, and while that's fun too, it was so so nice to just be us for a change.
Also, Kiawah Island holds a huge chunk of mine and Brad's love story. I started going there with my family when I was fourteen. Brad surprised me and joined in on the fun when I was seventeen. We went almost every year after that. Everytime we go back, I catch myself reminiscing about them good ol' days. And how incredible it is that ten years ago, Brad and I walked on that exact beach one chilly evening before he was to leave for Colorado (for 2 years), wondering if we'd ever come back there again... how we weren't sure if we'd still be together. And then to be in the same spot where he promised to love me forever and watch our toddler dig holes in the sand? Well, it's just very full-circle. Very complete.
I'm sure everyone feels that way at some time or another. It may not be at the beach, but maybe it's taking the kids back to the home you grew up in or the high school you attended.
For us, it's Kiawah.

Alright, enough sappiness.

In an effort to spare you from a long, boring, drawn out "vacation recap" post; I'm just going to hit the highlights. Just keep in mind that we were there for 9 days, so even the highlight reel is going to include a lot. But I'll do my best to keep it interesting.

We arrived on the island Friday evening, and (as luck would have it) right as Noah finally nodded off to sleep. Being the brave parents that we are, we woke him up immediately and carried him down to the beach. We didn't even stop by the house first.

 Noah adores the beach. He loved it last year, and I couldn't wait to see his reaction when he realized why we'd stuck him in the car for the last four hours.

As expected, the boy was all smiles.

Highlights of the trip: 

The Beach.
I know. Duh. But I swear, this kid was so darn happy in the sand. Y'all have seen his enthusiasm over sand before, and that's mostly from his sand box. Little man had no idea what to do with an endless supply of the stuff.

 (yeah, I know. My kid has a gigantic head. We wear the same size hat.)

 

 

The Ocean.
Noah LOVED the water. He didn't care that it was like standing in ice. Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad. After all, there were plenty of people boogie-boarding and wave riding. So he obviously wasn't the only one all excited about it. We had to keep a close eye on him, though. Little Man made it a habit to randomly dart off towards the ocean. Thankfully, he always stopped at the edge. :)

 

Outdoor Concert.
My dad is a huge blues fan, so naturally, he made sure to let us know that a well-known artist (Lucky Peterson and his daughter Tamara) was going to be in town and that we should go. And naturally, we did.
The band was amazing, and to top it off, we sat outside the local ice cream shop and listened to them play while we downed some dark chocolate ice cream (cake batter for Noah).

 

 (drumming along with the beat)

The Parents.
My dad and stepmom joined us on Thursday.
If you're ever stressed out about anything? You need to go on vacation with my dad. He's so incredibly relaxing to be around. One of those "it'll all work out" types. He'll turn on some BB King, grab a drink, lend a listening ear, and make you laugh in spite of whatever has been going on to stress you out. He's definitely one of those people that has this magical way of making you forget your troubles. He loves to go shopping, dine out, and often looks like he stepped out of a GQ magazine. But he's so down-to-earth and laid-back that he's just as happy working out in the yard or building cabinets in a pair of old jeans. I've never met a single person who didn't like him. He's funny and sweet and just a really great guy. Just being around my dad puts you in the best mood.
All this to say, it was really nice having my daddy there.

 

And can I confess something? It was kind of fun to be the kid again for a couple of days. To feel like my parents had my back. To have my dad surprise me by buying me a shirt I was eyeing at a local boutique. To have him grab Noah when he was getting antsy and walk him around outside while I finished my lunch. And for him to calmly say, "Aw, he's alright. I think that's pretty normal" when Noah would start to get fussy. To have him joke over dinner and take over the kitchen duties for a night. And to have my dad give me a random hug, just because. It was really really nice.
My stepmom is great with Noah and loves to spoil him. She had planned on just buying Noah a new Kiawah t-shirt and somehow also walked out with a new puzzle for him and a car decal for us. She's fun to talk to, and it was nice to have a shopping buddy.
So yeah, we were really happy they got to come down too.

When they first walked in the door on Thursday, Noah was completely shocked. The look on his face was priceless... a "how did y'all get here?!" look.
But he immediately jumped off the couch and started counting the tiles on the fireplace, waiting for them to clap (he does this at their house and thinks it's the best thing ever). I know it made them feel good that he definitely knew exactly who they were.

Bike Rides.
You can't go to Kiawah and not ride bikes. It's a crime against the island if you don't. They have a million trails that, while on them, leave you feeling you escaped to some tropical forest. Spanish moss hangs from massive oak trees, creating a canopy over the trail. Deer veg out in the residents' yards, cranes chill along the banks of ponds, and gators sun bathe on the golf courses.

It's been a while since I've gone bike riding, and let's just say I've rekindled my love for the sport. Brad and I are already planning our bike outings at home.
We rented a little cart for Noah to ride in, and oh my goodness gracious, the boy was in heaven.
As soon as we got him out after the first ride, he turned around and climbed right back in. Let's just say we definitely got out workouts in while on vacation. But it was so incredibly fun and absolutely beautiful.

The homes there are outrageous. They're so gorgeous, and it's ridiculous that people are able to even afford these mansions.

(This one is screaming with my style... love those oval windows!)

(This was Brad's favorite. Very much his style. It was enormous too... had a four car garage PLUS a guest house that was half its size with its own two car garage)

The Park.
Another full-circle moment for me. My stepsisters and I used to come down to this park and hang out with friends we'd made during the week. When Brad started joining the vacations, we'd park our car there and walk to the beach with friends and relatives. On several occasions... when the security people had shut the gates... we four-wheeled it through a space between some trees to get out.
So taking my little boy there to check out the playground was pretty cool to see.

Freshfields.
This is just the little local shopping center. Same place the concert was held. It's a great area to hang out, especially if it's a little too cool/cloudy to be on the beach.

Digging Holes.
We quickly learned that building sand castles was a waste of time. Noah just knocked them down. The only other option was to just dig holes, which he thought was pretty cool.

The Ladies.
Noah got bored with us and crashed what was obviously a girls weekend getaway. They absolutely adored him. So much so that when Noah told me to go away, they were cool with him hanging out. Actually, one chased Noah down when he decided to randomly dart towards the ocean. They were probably the coolest, least snootiest bunch on the island that week. :)

And can I just say how incredibly wonderful it is when people just accept your kid for the way they are? Not a single one of them thought it was odd that he wasn't talking or liked running back and forth between them. They thought he was adorable and got a kick out of playing with him. It was nice not worrying if I was supposed to explain him to people or not. All they saw was a toddler having a blast on the beach and wanting attention. They obliged. End of story.



The Docks.
My dad took us to a tiny, old town where you can purchase fresh fish right on the docks. It was like driving through a 1950's sitcom. I half expected to see Andy and Opie walking along the road with their fishing poles. I love finding little hidden gems like this place. Leave it to my dad to find it too. He's good at that kind of thing.

 

 

Distillery.
While in the area, we checked out a local vineyard and distillery. This place was so cute! I mean, Brad and I don't drink, but that doesn't mean we can't appreciate the process of how it's made and all that. And the place had bunnies. And a puppy. And freaky looking chickens.

Tea Plantation.
Um. Yeah. We kinda hopped on the senior citizen bus with this one.
We stayed all of 10 minutes. But I guess it's fun to say we went to the only tea plantation in America. I'm not much of a tea drinker either (I know! Being a Southerner, that's like blasphemy down here!), but I did try the green tea they had and liked it.

Car Show.
The island did this benefit while we were there. We weren't rich enough cool enough to attend the gala, but I love a nice set of wheels, so we headed on over. Noah was pretty bored with the whole deal, but the rest of us loved it. I'm a sucker for vintage classics. My granddaddy still owns an old '57 T-bird (which they tried to convince him to enter), so maybe it rubbed off on me. In any case, they had some amazing cars there.

Things That Fly.
Because Kiawah is so close to Charleston (which is a big military town), the beach gets random flyovers by helicopters. Noah thought that was pretty awesome.

Noah also was popular with the sea gulls. He had a habit of dropping his chips or pieces of sandwich crust in the sand. I can handle one or two, but when there are like 15 of them swarming my kid? That made me a little nervous.

Golf.
No, we didn't play. Again... we're not rich enough cool enough.
But we did stop by the Ocean Course, which is hosting the 2012 PGA Championship this year. So if you happen to turn it on this August, you can get a good shot of the island and see where we were. :)

Brad still found a way to fit a little golf in though. He just had to get creative.

Date Night.
My parents were sweet enough to watch Noah that last night we were there so that we could go on a date. One of our favorite spots is The Sanctuary. It's so beautiful. We just had a light dinner (salad and sandwich) in the lounge area first. We listened to the piano player and made up stories about the ritzy people staying there. Brad made us reservations at the Jasmin's Porch for dessert. He got the chocolate torte, and I got the banana bread pudding (with peanut butter ice cream!). SO good. Our waiter was french, and I could have bottled up his accent and taken it home with me.

 

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PHEW!

That's it! I'm already wishing we didn't have to leave, but it is nice to be back home. Sort of. :)

I was reading everyone's blogs during the week through Reader, but I feel so behind in commenting. I have a lot of catching up to do. Hope everyone had a great week last week! We definitely did!

xoxo.