Jonny & Megan: July 2014

Monday, July 21, 2014

Holden Beach Memories

You'd think with all the picture-taking I did that I wouldn't have anything left to write, but--believe it or not!--I didn't always have my camera with me for all the little moments I want to remember. For example:

*walking along the beach at 6 am with Aaron after he woke up at 4:45 am and wouldn't go back to sleep. Not exactly how I wanted to start my day, but it was so peaceful and beautiful. We played in the waves on the shore and watched the sun rise together.

*belting out "Let it Go" with Catherine as I held her and jumped up and down in the big waves. She loved being a "fish" in the deep water.

*well, she DID love the deep water. Until Jon took her out during the intense waves. There was a giant one that knocked him down and swept Catherine out of his arms. She was traumatized after that.

*being at the beach makes me feel like a little kid again. My sisters & I loved the Southern California beaches and couldn't ever resist getting in, even if we were fully-clothed and fully-grown.

*losing my swim bottoms several times to the huge waves. I now see the benefit of one-piece swimming suits. Luckily I never completely lost them, but I did learn to be very, very careful before I stood up after getting knocked around by a big wave.

*getting a chance to hang out in the waves and chat with Wendy WITHOUT ANY KIDS.

*Mom Blood thinking that one frozen lasagna would be enough to feed 22 people.

*how much Catherine loved her room at "Grandma's house." She and Seth shared a full-sized bed (they slept sideways). She loved that she could jump on her bed, but she especially loved having a quiet place to go hide from all the chaos on the main level. I think she liked her bedroom more than the beach...

*my kids loved that our rooms (on the lower level) could only be accessed by two outdoor staircases. Admittedly, things were a bit complicated when the hurricane hit and we were running up & down stairs in pouring rain, but the kids still loved it.

*the splinters we kept getting from the deck

*the stupid rusty gate we broke and then wasted an entire day trying to fix so we wouldn't lose the deposit on the house

*eating at a Golden Corral (our kids' new favorite restaurant--chocolate fondue fountain!) in the shadiest place we've ever stopped. Capitol Heights, you are just trashy. And more than a little bit scary.

*what should have been a 7.5 hour drive taking more than 10 hours thanks to construction and beach traffic.

*Seth watching the World Cup with his uncles and cheering enthusiastically: "Go green guys! Get the ball!" (Sorry, Seth--you're not getting any sports-watching tips from your dad or me).

*taking Catherine potty no less than three times during sacrament meeting. I think she may be conning me.

Hoping we make it back next summer!

Sunday, July 20, 2014

The Fourth

The Fourth of July was a perfect beach day! The hurricane cleared out all the clouds but left us with some fantastic waves. A lovely way to end our week at the beach.

Uncle Stephen build great sandcastles for everyone to destroy

Aaron is only happy with the beach if there is adequate food provided

Saying goodbye to Aaron & Ashley before they fly back to Tucson

Sand boy

My handsome husband wake boarding

"Daddy, help me make a smiley face in the sand?

Guess who got into Mom's blush that morning?

"NOT ENOUGH FOOD AT THE BEACH!"

Seth, Jason, Dan & Evan

Basically the closest Seth ever got to the water

Uncle Jacob is still Seth's favorite. They are truly kindred spirits.

Guess where Mom never thought to put sunscreen?

A happy boy in his moat

Joanna is a supermodel

Catherine thinks sparklers are too loud

Joanna Photobomber

Seth has this firework thing down

Jon, the distributor of sparklers

We finished off our Fourth of July by walking down to the beach and watching the technically-illegal-but-happen-every-year-anyway fireworks. The kids were thrilled with the glowsticks and glow bracelets I found at Aldi (and the parents were thrilled that they ended up being a great way to keep track of our kids on the dark beach). It definitely wasn't a professional show, but it was close by and pretty constant. The kids were mesmerized. Even Catherine, who usually hates this stuff, was enthralled by the "poppings in the sky." Fourth of July on the beach is definitely the way to go!

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Holden Beach, part 2

Catherine has a decent allergy to mosquito bites--they swell up quite a bit and ooze. The poor girl managed to get bitten right between the eyes. Suddenly my beautiful daughter acquired an uncanny resemblance to a Kligon:

Meanwhile, at the beach, Eowyn screamed because Grandma Sara isn't her mommy:

And Jon caught a jellyfish:

And Ashley's siblings flew kites while the kids tried to make them crash:

And Eowyn screamed some more, because Elizabeth isn't her mommy either:

Heaven forbid Mommy should have a chance to go play at the beach without holding a baby!

Right in the middle of our trip, we starting hearing reports that we were going to get hit by a tropical storm. Tropical storm turned into Hurricane Andrew, which was headed directly for the shore of North Carolina. Lucky us!

What this meant was that the day before the storm we had AMAZING waves. Pound-you-to-the-ground-and-knock-your-swimsuit-bottoms-off type of waves (ask me how I know). Not so fun for the little kids, but great fun for the adults!

It also meant that we lost a day of beach time. Before the storm hit, I took Catherine for a walk along the beach.

Running from the waves:

Scared of the thunder:

She started panicking after hearing the thunder, so I walked her home and came back to watch the storm approach. It was very peaceful--not many people were on the beach. When it started to sprinkle I began the five-minute walk back to the house, only to find myself in a downpour 2/3 of the way there.

Needless to say, we spent the rest of the day inside. Aaron got some loving from his surrogate parents, Aaron & Ashley:

And the rest of us played games, ate food, and watched things on TV:

The storm was pretty intense--lots of rain & wind. But we never lost power or felt like we should evacuate. And the next day, July 4th, was just gorgeous!

Holden Beach

Somehow what was supposed to be a simple trip to the beach for Mom & Dad Blood ended up turning into a giant Blood Family Reunion. But Mom & Dad were generous and let us all tag along. Turns out 22 people (not EVERYONE could be there) can fit pretty nicely into two beach houses!