Phoebe wasn't crazy about the beach. She spent most of her time making this concerned face:
She would often point back to the hotel and say "Back in!". She called the sand dirt and didn't like it in her water shoes or on her hands when it was wet. Once she pointed to the hotel and said "Air!". She's just like me, she loves the air conditioning. She gets the cutest beads of sweat on her nose when she's hot. When I ask her if she had fun at the beach she says no. One night we ate at California Pizza, which we always love at the beach. She ate two pieces of pizza. Later I asked if she liked the pizza. She said "Nooooo. Nothing.".
Owen and Phoebe had a blast. Chloe is a little mermaid. Owen loved it all. He especially liked a pirate we saw at Benjamin's Calabash restaurant. The "pirate" held the door open for everyone and talked with Owen. Owen talked about the pirate all night. He'd randomly say things like; "That pirate didn't have a patch on his eye", "Only bad pirates have a hook on their hand", "Chloe, did you see his big boots?", "I've never seen a real pirate before", "Where does that pirate live?", "What is that pirate's name?". Danny and I however, didn't like that pirate because he held the door open to the restaurant that cost us $100 to eat at (for just the five of us, and Phoebe was free). $100 to a seafood buffet, and sadly, I hate seafood. We didn't know how much it cost until after we ate. We noticed at the beach, prices are not posted. Danny said he wished he could have thrown it up and given it back. Dad and Ed liked it though, so it's okay. Chloe and Owen had fun there. It was so crowded and noisy Phoebe didn't leave my lap, or hip, the whole time. They did have good hushpuppies with yummy butter.
One night we ate at Fudruckers, another one of our favorites. Here's Owen wearing a hat from there and with the cookie tokens for eyes. He kept touching Ed (my sister Betsy's husband) with his dirty hands and Ed kept wiping Owen's hands off. It was hilarious. Ed said he was wearing a new shirt. Do not sit by Owen when he's eating while wearing a new shirt.
It was fun to be on vacation with Mom and Dad again. Near us was an IGA that was a grocery store on the bottom and a gift shop on top. We never went there, but there was a lot of talk of the IGA with Mom, Dad, Betsy, and Ed. One day we had all come back from the beach and Mom said, "Should I get ready for the IGA?". Like it was some glorious place to visit. That is still cracking me up.
Dad, Danny, and Ed did some fishing off the pier. They caught a few fish. Danny and I watched some people catch some sharks. They were small, but it was still impressive. Owen and I walked out on the pier one night to see what the boys were up to. I made the kids wear their life jackets when they were out on the pier. I didn't see anyone else wearing life jackets, but that pier made me nervous.
Not only do I worry about them drowning at the beach, my greatest fear there (and at many other places)is them getting lost. It's so easy to do at the beach. I will never forget a mother one year running down the beach, screaming in terror for her child. So, I had dog tag necklaces with their names and our cell phone numbers on them. (You can see the kids wearing them in most of the beach pictures in my first beach post.)
Chloe and I had fun getting up early and looking for shells. It's something we've done every time we've gone to the beach since she was 2. I wanted to take Phoebe this year but she said no, it wouldn't be special if we took someone with us. She's right. I love that. She laid them out in the hotel room with one shell each on a square on the carpet.
A fun time, but it's good to be home. Minus the laundry.
