Family Vacation 2015 - Day 4 - Finally There!!!

We made it!! Finally!!! 

Today we started our vacation. Yes, we technically started on Wednesday night, but that was all just the journey to get to the vacation. Now we are here and we can start relaxing, as much as young parents can. But first, let's take a quick look at our day...

We woke up and got our free breakfast again and left the hotel. I never know if the breakfast is free or the hotel is free with a really expensive breakfast. Hmm. I guess we'll never know. 

Anyway, we were on our way to Hunting Island Beach. It's a State Park, which basically means it's a park that you have to pay to go in. But, this one did have a beach, so it was worth it. The drive to the beach area was beautiful. I don't know if they planned it to be this way or not, but the road makes you wind around trees and bushes like you're navigating through a dense jungle. 

The beach was pretty nice too. Very wide and flat and you could see how far the water had come up at high tide, and it was almost the whole way to the beach access. Me and Rylynn played in the water while Melody and Denver sweated together in a chair. 

She was having a great time, but Melody and her sweaty sidekick were ready to go. We packed back up and got to the car around lunch time and tried to decide where to go while Melody nursed Denver. 

We ended up at the Smoking Planks in Port Royal. We had tried to go there the night before, but they were closed. We both got pulled pork and Rylynn got some mac and cheese. Mine was actually a pulled pork Reuben, and it was quite good. Especially dipped with their BBQ sauces :) 

Back in the car we went to head to our final destination. We loaded the baby up with milk in hopes that we could tackle the last 3 hr 20 min leg of the course in one fell swoop. HA! The kids must've read all the good things I said about them yesterday and decided that shouldn't happen again. It was a headache for sure. I didn't count, but I'm pretty sure I heard the word "momma" a bazillion times, give or take. We had to stop half way though because we only had "cookies" and not "snacks" so Rylynn wasn't happy, which woke up Denver, who wasn't happy, which made mommy and daddy not happy. 

We exited the highway and found an abandoned gas station to pull into and feed Denver. Melody sat in the back seat to nurse him, and, to give her more room, I took the infant carrier out and put it on the ground outside the car, then grabbed Rylynn and we went for a walk to stretch. We ran around a little bit and then got back in the car because we were boiling to death. Melody wasn't done feeding Denver, so I thought we could just drive to the quick mart right across the road and grab some snacks, and use the bathroom, and change Rylynns diaper. We proceeded across the parking lot, crossed the road, and parked in the next parking lot, all while Melody nursed. No big deal though. I don't think we even went 3 mph. I took Rylynn in and into to the bathroom to change her. 

Grossest. 

Bathroom. 

Ever. 

It was terrible. We walked out and I was just gonna have to change her in the car. But, I was surprised on my walk back to the car by a stranger in a red car who pulled up to me. 

"Excuse me" he said. 

"Yes?" I responded with confusion.

"I think you left your car seat in the parking lot"

Then it hit me... I had never put Denver's car seat back in the car after taking it out for Melody. Somehow, this guy had seen that I had taken it out, left it there, and then tracked me down at the next place to let me know I forgot it. I mean, we would've found out soon enough, but I thought that was pretty awesome that guy took the time. That guy is awesome! And I'm forgetful! 

After that it went okay. Melody stayed in the back with the kids and entertained Rylynn til we finally got to the house. My parents, my sister Mollie and her husband Ryan were already there and my other brother, Matt, and his wife, Erin, and their two girls, Jordyn and Maddie, arrived shortly after. We all got settled in, went swimming while we waited an hour and ten minutes for our pizza to be ready, ate, and then hung out a bit. It's so great to be with family. We are so blessed to be in such a great family that we can all laugh and have a good time together, and our kids just LOVE to play together. It was truly a great time. Although, I did leave out that Denver nursed 3 times in that short amount of time. We call it his evening feeding frenzy. Usually between 7-9 pm he doesn't want to stop eating. Ever. 

By this time I was already pretty worn out from the day, but we still had to get groceries. I went to the store and my parents came too. I got my stuff, took it out to the car and waited for them. While I was waiting, my faith in human kind dropped significantly. I watch a lady load up her car and then take her cart across the parking lot and ram it into a curb directly behind another parked vehicle, causing it to be in the way of that vehicle. The worst part is, if she would've walked that same distance in a different direction, she would have been at the cart parking place!! I don't understand people like this! How can you just push a shopping cart to block a car from pulling out of a parking space and just leave? I don't understand. But, the cart wrangler came around and grabbed it eventually. And then my parents came. Then we went home and I got waaay too out of breath carrying groceries up two flights of steps :/ But, melody had already put the kids to bed, so I gave her a kiss and went to get in bed with this bed hog... 

She makes up for it with her cuteness, so it's all good. 

My thoughts on the day- I'm so tired. Goodnight.