Folly

Last year, we had other plans like Chattanooga and Disney World, so we took the beach week off. Our immediate family did go to the beach for a weekend though for Matthew's first time and hung out with the Parrys a good bit.

This year, we went to Parry territory, but with the grandparents! Folly Beach, in Charleston, SC, was our destination, and our house was just beautiful. You're somewhat limited with a dog AND insisting on beach-front, but that's good because it keeps your options fairly straightforward.


It was a beautiful week, with very little rain, and when it rained at all, it was mostly in the afternoon around nap times. And boy with all of the play, "hard work" and attention showered on the babies, they were tired little souls by nap time each day.

We did some great eating and drinking, card-playing, movie watching, walking, golfing and hanging out. We even fit in a trip to the James Island County Water Park with Mimi, Diddy, the kids and me, and Matt and the little Parry girls met us there one morning.

On Thursday afternoon, Mimi, Gigi and I took Libby to lunch and to see "Inside Out!" Oh, what a good movie and what a tender girl. Libby saw us all crying and climbed in to Mimi's lap, leaned over to hug me and reached over to squeeze Gigi's hand to make sure we were all okay.

The trip down was blessedly uneventful even though the kids slept just over an hour and Michael was particularly proud that we only stopped once the whole trip, for lunch in Augusta. Mimi and Diddy's trip was a bit more fun for story-telling purposes, but no real troubles at all for any groups.

After exploring and unpacking, as is tradition, we rushed right out to the beach in our clothes. A kind woman on the boardwalk offered to take our picture!

Of course, Libby "accidentally" fell down in the waves and got all wet!



She also enjoyed squirting as many of us as she could with the new water cannons Mimi brought us this year.

Matthew was a bit more tentative at first than last year, but he was running in and out of the low ones by the time we went back inside for Mimi's yummy first night dinner. 

Gigi and Papa had some great bunk beds in their room that Libby enjoyed playing on, bit time. She introduced her brother to the fun, too. 

We lucked out with the Master bedroom because the closet was so large - just like the one in St. Augustine. So Matthew got to sleep there for the week in his own little room. Libby traded nights between Mimi & Diddy's room and Gigi & Papa's room. Whichever grandparents were the chosen ones to sleep with, she had the other set put her to bed. So Michael and I didn't get to put her to bed once! Not even nap. Though I did cherish the one where she called me up for one last hug before bedtime. 

Matthew found lots of good ways to get dirty all week, too!

And he did have a ball in the waves! I didn't take as many photos this year overall, I'm afraid, but I am going to let the ones I took do much of the talking. 

The Parry's came on Sunday to play with us at the beach for the morning.

LOVE this one of Matt and Lucy running to each other.

Matthew loved playing in the sand, too. And so did Libby. But I can't tell you how many trips he made from sand to water and that he had all of us make to carry buckets of water that he will then fill with sand, as he was "makin' the coffee" and "bakin' a cake" or "makin' a mess!" Mostly he made a LOT of coffee, and had all of us help him with it, too. Libby made a special blend herself, something like the "Half-Caff Ocean Water blend," and Diddy renamed it the Folly Beach blend. Now that's the part I remember. But man, it was a name Starbucks would have been proud of!

And how about this sweetness when Maggie came to hug Matthew good-bye?!

More in the next post!