Such A Winters' Day: Reunion 2016: Myrtle Beach

After leaving Charleston, we had about a 3-hour drive to our beach home rental in North Myrtle Beach. Halfway through the drive, Nellie fell asleep in her car seat. This may sound routine for most, but it was reason to celebrate (albeit very quietly) for us.

We arrived at the beach house - just a block away from the ocean - and got down to the serious tasks of greeting long-lost family members, unloading cars, and claiming bedrooms (the ocean-facing bedrooms were hot commodities!). Our not-so-little-family got two big bedrooms, both on the very tippy-top floor. We spent a lot of time going up and down stairs that week!

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The cousins wasted no time at all in firing up old friendships. The "big kids" jumped right into a game of Apples to Apples, and spent enormous amounts of time over the week playing various board and card games.

Graham found two cousins about his size, Lizzie and Maggie, and claimed them as his buddies.

All of the kids thought the pool table was an excellent bonus.

While the kids played, and the adults set up the house, Nellie napped. "Hurray!" I thought, "A week in and she's finally figuring out how to sleep!"

She took a good nap, and woke up seemingly overwhelmed with the whirlwind of chaos around her. She stuck right next to me. It wasn't until she started to fall asleep in my arms, that I realized something really wasn't right. A quick check to her forehead confirmed my suspicions - fever.

Since it was Saturday night, I needed to make a trip to the grocery store to get supplies to feed our family, even with a sick kid (who only wanted her momma). Mark and the rest of the extended family took an evening walk on the beach, while Katie, Nellie, and I went shopping.

When we returned home, we learned that the "walk on the beach" had unexpectedly turned into a "swim at the beach," clothes and all.

Sunday morning, the reunion crew caravanned down to attend church in Myrtle Beach. The speakers kept commenting on how they didn't recognize anyone in the congregation. When it was time for primary, we learned that their ward typically only has 10 kids in primary, and 3 kids in nursery. On this particular day, due to all the vacationers, there were 12 kids in nursery and probably 30 kids in primary. A bunch of the visiting parents stepped in to help teach.

By Monday morning, Nellie had not improved. She had done little but sleep all weekend, and Sunday night her fever was worse than ever. Her lethargy was concerning enough that I decided to take her to urgent care. After enduring a condescending doctor, I learned she had an ear infection. At one point, the doctor asked, "has she spent much time in the water?"

My initial thought was, "we've spent this whole week in the water," but as I thought more about it, I realized that with the exception of our day at Playalinda beach, Mark and I had traded off taking the kids to the pool, so Nellie hadn't been in the water at all.

After a quick stop to pick up some antibiotics, we were finally on the road to helping her feel better.

While Nellie and I were at the doctor, everyone else made a morning beach trip. I was starting to feel a little frustrated that after three days at the beach, I still hadn't put my feet in the sand! It was a good thing our bedroom had a beautiful view, because I sure spent a lot of time up there taking care of Nellie.

I often repeated the chant, "this is the last summer we will vacation with a baby..."

(Note - I am not trying to hurry along her babyhood. Acknowledging that it's "the last time" helps me not get [as] frustrated and remember to enjoy the fleeting moments, even when they're hard.)

In the afternoon, the kids took their first dip in the swimming pool. They were immediate converts. That is where they spent the bulk of the rest of the week. They swam all day.

They swam all night. Later in the week, I had to beg and cajole my kids to come with me to the beach...they only wanted to swim. So for future reference, there's no need for fancy, exotic vacation. As long as we go somewhere with unlimited access to a pool, the kids will be totally content.

Sunday afternoon I had jokingly asked the kids, "what talent are you performing for our Talent Show?" Aubree, Cambrie, and Ally took me seriously, and by Monday night had organized acts amongst all the cousins (and a few willing adults). Our impromptu Talent Show ended up being one of the highlights of the week.

Graham and Maggie performed a stirring rendition of the ABC's. Maggie needed a little "encouragement" to stay on stage.

Bryce and Cora put together a team comedy sketch, which, considering their young ages, was surprisingly humorous.
"Help! The squirrels are chasing me!"
"Why are they chasing you?"
"They think I'm nuts!"

Ella, one of the strongest girls I've ever seen, did some spectacular gymnastics (she moved too quickly for me to get a picture). Even little Eli (who the kids referred to as "the little cousin from Utah") wanted in on the action and proved to be quite the ham.

The three ringleaders wrote a mini play in which Aubree and Cambrie hypnotized Ally and coerced her to do all kinds of crazy antics. Karen, Ally's mother, said it was especially convincing because they commanded Ally to eat carrots, and carrot-hating Ally nibbled away happily.

Some of the following days blur together in my mind. Aubree was invited to visit "Broadway by the Beach" with Chris and Karen. She came back with tales of magic shops and princess stores.

Later, we took our own trip down to check out the scenes.

The kids all enjoyed the magic shop demonstrations. They also appreciated the free fudge and taffy samples at some of the other stores.

On Tuesday, I finally made my way to the beach. I did not bring my camera, which is bad because I have no pictures, but also good because I was able to focus on playing with the kids. We spent time playing in the waves (the big kids liked boogie boarding), but mostly we made some fairly elaborate sand sculptures. One day we made a life-sized mermaid. Another day we made a detailed sea turtle. So much fun! I love the Atlantic Beaches!

Since Nellie wasn't feeling well, Mark and I had to divide and conquer our activities. While I took on most of the beach-duty, Mark took over pool duty. The division suited our preferences, and worked quite well. Except, perhaps, for the time Thane leaped into the pool (without Mark knowing he was planning to do so), landing on Mark's head and leaving a nice gash.

When Mark wasn't in the pool, he was usually playing pool. The pool table was in constant use.

There was plenty of time for playing games, doing puzzles, braiding hair, and renewing relationships.

After the kids went to bed, there was often brownies and ice cream and more games.

The big girls lobbied hard to be able to have a sleep over. When I snuck up to check on them at 11pm, I found all of them (unconvincingly) playing possum.

One day it stormed, and instead of being disappointing, it ended up being a much-needed day of relaxation. After so many days of go-go-go in the hot sun, we were all feeling the need to curl up and do a lot of nothing.

Towards the end of the week, when Nellie started to fight sleep again, I knew she was finally feeling better.

On Friday, we semi-coordinated outfits, and arranged to take family pictures. The original idea involved hiring a photographer, but we ended up going the DIY route. I think everyone is pleased with the results (even if Nellie hated the whole process and little Eli had to leave halfway through for a desperately needed nap).

The whole crew

Grandparents with grandkids

Girl cousins

Boy cousins minus Eli

The original five siblings

Aubree and Ally ended up matching, and begged me to take their picture together.

No recording of the week would be complete without mentioning food. Each family took turns being in charge of dinner for everyone. We had a lot of great food, but the hands-down most impressive was the Shrimp and Sausage Boil hosted by Chris and Karen.

The best part of the week, and one of the primary purposes of making the trek, was seeing the kids make connections and bonds with their cousins. Towards the end of the week, the progress became especially apparent.
One afternoon, Bryce, Thane, and Lizzie decided they were going to have a "Treat Party." They pulled out all the treats they'd collected over the week, rummaged up some plates, and proceeded to divvy up the spoils. Pretty soon Maggie joined in. As word spread, a few more cousins joined the event, each bringing a special treat of their own. Grandma noticed what they were doing, and provided some extra treats as well. It turned out to be quite the spontaneous party!

The very last morning in the house, as we were finishing up packing, I gathered up all the cousins and taught them how to play Sardines. And here's where my very favorite part of the whole week happened... the cousins decided to play in partners. Even better, with every round, the partnerships organically shifted. The big cousins whole-heartedly took on little cousin partners, even though they knew it would slow them down, or increase the risk of them being found. It was beautiful to behold.