Myrtle Beach (part 2)

Tiffany, Kyah and Eli came about a week into our  Myrtle Beach vacation.  I loved watching the cousin's run around together.  They are teaching each other all their bad habit and some good ones too :).  It is the first time they've been old enough to care there is a cousin there.  Kevin found Kyah very intriguing and was very concerned whenever he heard her crying in the back room.  He loved following Eli around.  Kherington liked having more playmates and more kids to 'take care of'...as point out what they were doing wrong and play mom to.

Exciting things:

• Lots of grandma/grandpa time for the grand kids.  
• Lovin' from the Oven - Smore Bars (sadly I did not get a picture...I doubled, made in a 9x13, and used Belgian chocolate instead of Hershey's...they way better if you let them sit overnight), spinach/feta croissants, banana bread, salted chocolate chip cookies
• Playing in the rain - when it started thunder/lightening we went inside but until then the kids thought it was fun...Kevin liked to plop down in the puddles just like he does at the beach.
• Blueberry smoothies - this was what I wanted most when I came back.  1 c. milk, 1 scoop vanilla whey powder, 1 c frozen blueberries = delicious / healthy :).
• Water wow painting - My sister showed these to me and I love them. The kids paint on the boards with water and a picture appears.  Then you let it dry and they can paint again.  Mess free.  I order my books off amazon.
• Splash pad - it worked for less than 24hrd before busting but it was fun to see how the kids reacted to a sprinkler type thing.
• Cuddle time - grand kids gather in grandma's room in the morning for cartoons :)
• Beach, beach, beach - it's even more fun with cousins :)
• Chick-fil-a...or not - We were going to go to Chick-fil-a because they had an indoor play area and it was supposed to rain.  We got there and the line was literally out both doors plus the drive through was backing up traffic on the main road (it was the appreciate day).  CRAZY!  Instead we went down the road to McDonalds b/c from the outside it looked like it would have a play area (meaning double high building with reflective stuff on the top).  No play area and cranky kids.  We grabbed some happy meals and headed to the playground...the rain had come and gone by then.
• Church - Kherington loves nursery. She goes right in and plays and can talk to the teacher and all the other bazillion kids in there.
• Purses - the kids all love purses.  Kherington brought her green one and grandma broke out a couple more from her collection.  The only pictured I have though is of Eli...and he went all out with Kheringotn's church shoes and Kyah's head band.
• Little Helping Hands - Both kids love to 'help' in the kitchen.  It's a good thing grandma and grandpa have 3 step stools so each grand kid can help at the same time :).

Myrtle Beach (part 1)

 The kids and I decided to head to Myrtle Beach ahead of Ryan so the kids could get adjusted, spend some time with the grandparents and of course enjoy the wonderful warm/hot weather and the beach :).  That meant a 10 hour plane ride with 2 kids, a 3 hour layover and another 1 hour plane ride.  Kherington did awesome.  I would fly with her any day.  Kevin wasn't horrible, but just wanted to sit on my lap the whole time instead of his car seat.  He slept the first 3 hours of the flight, then was awake for the last 7.  On the second flight he finally fell asleep again (I was holding him...I decided to gate check the car seat) and of course 5 minutes later Kherington decides she needs to go potty.  I nailed Kevin's head on the bathroom door which woke him up.  He wasn't so happy about that, but after a good scream he went back to sleep.

We've been here for a week and half now and have been having a great time.  We've been to the beach 4 times and played in the kiddie pool outside a few time too.  Low tide is really the only time to go when you have kids.  It is awesome.  There are little pools of water for the kids to play in.  Kevin makes sure to keeps tabs on Kherington and for the most part want to do whatever she is doing.  If she has a bucket and shovel, Kevin will run back to the stuff to get one too.  Kinda cute.  I love that Kherington does her own thing.  She literally skips around/through the puddles, will plop down and play for awhile then head off to some other location.  Kevin's favorite is standing in the puddle and plopping down making a splash, then standing up and plopping right down again.  The also both love having snacks at the beach :).

 We went to the mall and played in their tiny toy area.  It could really use a little work...it didn't keep the kids attention for very long.  We followed that up with a train ride around the mall.  It's pretty was pretty awesome :).

All of us have been enjoying grandma's kitchen and good food ;).  We made sure to pack Kherington apron and she has definitely gotten some use out of it.  Kevin likes to help too...and really really like to eat.  When asked what she wanted to do when she went to Myrtle Beach she'd say, "Eat Oreos with Grandpa at the beach."  Well, she at the Oreo...and sometime maybe she'll do it at the beach too.

We've also been playing with new toys.  Grandma found a bike at the 2nd hand store which Kherington is becoming quite the expert on (with training wheels...and no breaks).  Kevin is more into the balls...look at the basketball pose.

Oh and how could I forget one of the big reasons we came...Uncle Adam is home from his mission!  Kherington has repeatedly told us that he's the favorite uncle yet he is the only one she doesn't really talk to or give hugs to before she goes to bed.

Kherington slept in the bed with me the first night, but she is not fun to sleep with.  I always end up with her feet kicking my face.  So I decided to try having her sleep on the hide-a-bed by the back bedroom (Kevin was in a pack n' play in the back bedroom).  She went down fine.  Then in the middle of the night Kevin started crying to I went to go get him.  As I walked past the hide-a-bed I saw Kherington was gone.  I looked between the bed and the wall, on the floor, the couch, in my bedroom...no Kherington.  I then went back to get Kevin and found that at some point Kherington had moved herself into the Queen size bed in that room.

My workout goal was just to keep a workout routine going until I left for Myrtle Beach.  Luckily, grandma has been awesome and when she gets up I leave the kids with her and go running.  I us mapmyrun to find the loops and figure out how far I'm going.  The first day I didn't get out the door until almost 9.  It was hot and humid outside.  It's a whole different ball game, but I still feel great when I'm done

Here's us just chilling...grandma painted Kherington's nails and made play dough with Kherington.  The kids love 'playing' the piano and both love the computer.  We've got to video chat with daddy too.  I definitely have the better end of things.  While we've been here enjoying all things family/US (including lots of kid free shopping), Ryan has been deep cleaning our place in Belgium.  What a guy.