Litchfield Beach!

Beach baby. That pretty much describes Olivia! She loved the beach- the sand, the water, everything. It was so nice to not have to worry about her being afraid, although that goes both ways! We were standing on the beach one day and a couple asked me to take their picture. I (of course) obliged, then turned around to see Olivia running full throttle down the beach. Mom was trying her best to catch her and Brett was a few paces behind (holding Aiden!). I took off after them and Brett finally caught her. Sheesh. A little scared might have been OK!
I think her favorite part was playing with her cousins, though!



Having all the kids together definitely called for a photo shoot. :)
I think my favorite part of the whole trip was just having family close. We stayed with Michael's parents in a condo and Brett, Rachel, Maggie, Aubrey, Aiden, and Mom were in a room not far from us. It was so nice to just be around family! Brett, Rachel, Michael, and I even managed to go out to eat by ourselves! It was awesome.



That's the marshy/swampy area behind our condo. The kids (and grandparents!) thought they spotted an alligator, which is possible, considering all the "Do not molest the alligator" signs. Interesting choice of words.



That's Michael and David jumping some waves. Talk about loving the water- David was out there more than any of us! There were some big waves, but he got right back up and kept going. Fun!

Michael's not one to sit on the beach day after day, so we headed to Brookgreen Gardens one afternoon. It's a non profit organization that has a zoo with local animals, a pontoon boat ride, a sculpture museum, and beautiful gardens. However, July in South Carolina at 2:30 in the afternoon is not what I would call comfortable. We were all drenched in sweat after 2 minutes. We most wanted to see the zoo, so we headed there first. Olivia loved the animals and the heat seemed to bother her the least. I think Michael and I forgot (or mentally blocked) exactly how humid it is in the south. Wow. I did manage to get 2 pictures of Olivia that I absolutely love:





I like these so much, that I think I might actually attempt her 2 year pictures myself. I was planning on taking her to a professional, but we'll see what I come up with first...

We also headed to a local pier for some fishing. Unfortunately, it seems the fish aren't too happy with the heat either. They ate the bait a few times, but no bites.



I think Maggie was a little disappointed. She stayed out in the hot sun with Brett the entire time. The rest of us tried to stay in the shade as much as possible!
Michael's fun for the week was renting a motorcycle for a day. It wasn't his first choice of bike, but it was fun!



He even got his Mom on for a quick ride:



It was just an all around great time. I wish we could have stayed longer!



Maggie is such a good big sister (so is Aubrey!)



Funny, when Rachel holds Aiden- he looks like her. When Brett holds Aiden- he looks like him. He's definitely cute and a year old now!

I'll sign off with a few more pictures. I wish we were still there!