Time to Unpack and Settle Back In

Well, my friends... Vacation is over and it's time to unpack the suitcase and put it back in it's place underneath the basement stairs. We were gone for a long time... and had a GREAT time!

After hubby had to drag me away from the beach Saturday morning, we head back to Raleigh for a few days before heading home Tuesday.

Saturday afternoon we hung out by the pool in my sister's neighborhood before taking C & D out to The Melting Pot for dessert. I know... again with the Melting Pot!! Heck... gotta take advantage while we can, ya know! C had never been before so it was very important to share that with her!

Sunday was church where C & D's pastor gave a great sermon. C fed us a delicious steak, corn-on-the-cob, grilled veggies lunch before packing up their boat and heading to the lake. What was supposed to be a so-so day weather-wise turned into a gorgeous afternoon. D, T & B all skied while C, hubby & I stayed dry in the boat. Afterwards, we hopped out at the beach & waded in to the sand where we had a rousing game of Bocce Ball until the sun began to make it's decent for the day.

Monday, hubby & I did some last minute shopping. We had some Kohl's dollars we needed to spend before heading home so we picked up a bath mat and an electric fondue pot to take home. We started to pack the car with what we could and then took the family out to Olive Garden for the "last supper". Hubby and D on Saturday night picked up some shorts and t-shirts at Hudson Belk and they decided to wear their new threads to dinner... check them out...

Hubby & Dean in their new threads!

It was a fun evening and it was great to have everyone, including B's boyfriend, Nick join us.

Hubby, me and the NC gang

By 7:00 am Tuesday morning we were packed up and ready to hit the road. After getting onto the I-76 (PA Turnpike) we decided to take a more backroads route home which saved us miles and probably added an extra 30 minutes to our drive. Nevertheless, after a 30 minute sit at the Canadian customs, we were back in Canada and home 13-1/2 hours later.

Today hubby was still on vacation. We slept in and then I worked on my (late) assignment while he puttered upstairs. Mid-morning we went out together into the sunshine and washed the car (inside and out) and then head over to the pool with our neighbor. The pool water felt like a hottub it was so warm. We needed to get out of the water to feel refreshed but it was still nice to grab that little bit more sunshine before we bid this year's summer vacation farewell... at least hubby anyways! After we showered and I did my hair, we head out to Boston Pizza for dinner and well... here I am... blogging about the remainder of our vacation.

As I reflect on all we did and saw I can't help but give huge praises to God for keeping us safe and for allowing us this time with family and on our own in Myrtle Beach. We both feel so incredibly blessed by God and I don't want to for one moment take any of it for granted. As September settles in, so must I into some sort of routine. Not sure what my Fall will look like yet, but my summer vacation memories will remain fondly in the forefront of my mind for the days and weeks ahead.

What Day Is It?

Do you ever notice when you're on a relaxing vacation how the days all get mixed up? I can't remember what day it was we went parasailing (was it Sunday or Monday?) and one day feels like another (weekday feels like weekend) and I'm all confused which isn't hard to do these days.

Yesterday was a day just like all the others... walking ankle deep along the beach, sitting under our borrowed yellow umbrella reading a good book, boogie boarding in the rolling waves. We changed it up a bit though, playing bocce ball around 4:30 instead of 7:30pm. Oooooh... look at us be all spontaneous again!

Playing in the surf on our boogie boards in my two piece bathing suit (tank top/skirt... NOT bikini ... wouldn't want the rest of the beachcombers to run screaming in horror ya know!) has come to be a little um... embarrassing. As I grab hold of my board to "catch a wave", the pressure from the pounding surf as I ride starts to drag on my bathing suit bottom which causes me to fall off balance and it like totally messes up my ride, dude! When I attempt to stand up my skirt is all up around my waist and the tankini top is half way up my Casper white stomach. It's not a pretty sight! Last night, after dinner ~ which we had at home - hubby having leftover nachos while I made myself a toasted tomato sandwich ... darn, forgot the bacon on it! ~ on our way to Broadway at the Beach we stopped at a mall to find me a one piece suit. We found a couple I liked at Dillard's and this is what I decided on: I can't believe I'm willingly posting a picture of me in a bathing suit ~ what am I thinking?

Both the suit & cover-up were 30% off!

After the suit shopping which I might add went tear-free!!, hubby and I head off to Crocodile Rocks, a dueling piano bar in Broadway at the Beach. We'd been here before but it was even better than we remembered. Fortunately, it didn't get too inappropriate until much later when we were ready to go home anyways. Why do they need to hop down below the curb and call it entertainment? Can't we all just have good clean fun? These guys were really talented though... one in particular who played a mean fiddle to "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" and had us all in stitches as he did the Michael Jackson "Thriller" dance while another player played and sang the song.

I talked with a woman who lives not too far from one of my sister's close to home in Ontario. Her daughter got engaged 2 days ago at the beach and another family member was celebrating a birthday last night so they were having a great time. We got home around 12:30 and I fell into bed not long after. There was no early rising for a sunrise this morning, but hubby regretted to tell me that this morning's was probably the best one yet. Oh well... at least there were no dolphins I missed! Those came now, as I have been typing this post!

To end today... just want to answer a couple of questions from the comments section. If I haven't answered yours, repost your question and I'll get to it in the next post!

Karen wanted to know where I got my walking sandals last week. The answer is my new favorite store... Dillard's. They were on sale!

Abby wanted the website of our condo rental. We went through Condolux here in Myrtle Beach and they are FABULOUS! We're staying in the Crescent Keyes in North Myrtle Beach and I'm sure we'll be returning in the future. It's a GREAT beach area for familys! Quiet, good amenities, lots to do within short driving distances and none of the craziness Myrtle Beach can be known for.

Well, time to pack the cooler with delicious veggies and fruit, water and other snacks, slip on my flip flops, slather myself with 30 SPF sunscreen and hit the beach. Be back later... maybe - hee hee.