Hilton Head Vacation 2009

One of the great benefits of being a teacher and having a husband who can work from anywhere that he can find an internet connection, is that we are able to take family vacations in the summer. This year, we took a return trip to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Nicholas and "Bear" settle in for the drive to SC.

Liam and Ben, veteran travelers, fall asleep somewhat comfortably in the back seat.

Nick, Liam and Ben hanging out after breakfast at a Cracker Barrel on the way to Hilton Head.


Liam and Ben on the balcony of our condo after having breakfast with Daddy on our first morning in Hilton Head.

Ben, very happy to be at the beach.



Liam makes his way into the ocean, with Daddy a little farther out.


Nick wasn't terribly happy about being left to his own devices in the sand. He got over it eventually and joined the rest of the boys in playing in the sand.


Mommy with Ben, Liam and Nick enjoying the beach.

One of the benefits of staying at a timeshare is that there is not only access to the beach, but also the easy availability of a pool. Not surprisingly, time was spent every day at one of the two resort pools.

Nick LOVED his panda bear floatie. He was quite happy to just ride around the pool as long as someone would pull him around.



Liam and Ben enjoyed spending as much time as possible in the pool. Mom and Dad took turns supervising pool time while the other one took Nick back to the room for a nap.



Liam, in mid-jump.


Ben, ready to make a splash.

We even made use of one of the grills that surround the pool to cook hot dogs and have lunch poolside. The boys preferred the smaller pool that was much less crowded and had some shaded areas.

Kevin and I rented a bicycle to use for the week. We took turns taking daily rides, including a ride to the beach (which took about 20 minutes each way.) I even rode to the grocery store a couple of times. Plans are in the making to purchase our own bikes here at home! (After all, I lost 5 pounds while on vacation!)



We decided to take advantage of some of the extra activities that are available on the island. There were activities that were organized for just the kids within the resort, but the boys weren't as interested in those as they were in the activities that we could do as a family. The first family activity we did was the 2-hr Dolphin Eco Tour. We were the only family on the boat and got to see some dolphins swimming nearby. They are too quick to get very good photos of, though.

Captain Wayne gave Liam and Ben a shot at driving the boat. Here's Liam during his turn at driving. He took it very seriously.

Nick was preoccupied with the rope that the captain would later tie to the dock.

Ben had a great time hanging out on the bow of the boat and watching for dolphins.

Nick got his sea legs pretty easily.

One of many beautiful sunsets we witnessed from our balcony this week.

Another of the activities we took part in was a sunset kayaking tour. We had planned to have Kevin take Liam on one night, and I would take Ben on the next night. However, when Kevin and Liam went for their turn, the parking in Harbour Town (where the tour was to leave from) was ridiculous and they couldn't find a place to park, and therefore missed their tour. After Kevin spoke with the manager at the resort about this problem, they removed Kevin and Liam's charge and paid for me to take both boys on the next night. It was disappointing that Kevin didn't get to go, but at least the boys did.

The view of the Harbour Town light house (which isn't a real light house, but a museum and gift shop) from our kayak.

Liam and Ben are at the front of the kayak while Mom is in the back. Liam helped row at times, but it was mostly my job. Luckily, the guide spent a lot of time talking and drifting, so the paddling wasn't very taxing.


Ben and Liam in front of our orange 3-person kayak. I think they had a good time, though Liam would have preferred the chance to pilot his own kayak. But, since he got tired with the little amount of paddling he did do, I don't think he would have been able to handle one all on his own. Maybe in a couple of years.

After leaving Hilton Head on the 4th of July, we headed to the mainland to stay with Nick and Roxane, who are the ones who rented the timeshare to us. They invited us to join them at a cookout with some friends from church. We had a good time, but it was quite hot and Nick only lasts so long before he hits his wall and needs his bed.

Nick carries around one of the Bocce balls after the first game finished and we were getting ready for dinner.



Liam, Nick and Ben took a turn in the hammock too. (Sorry it's so blurry, but I took this quick shot with my iPhone and if you don't sit perfectly still, nothing is clear.)


On the last leg of our journey home, we stopped in Newton, North Carolina to visit our wonderful friends, the Watsons. We spent a couple of hours catching up and had a nice little cookout. "Little Ben" had a great time playing with Liam and "Big Ben" while Nick caught a nap and Clara wrapped the rest of us aorund her little finger. My favorite Leah quote, "Who would have thought when Kevin and Mark were at Geneva Hills as teenagers, that between the two of them they would have 5 kids!" Just goes to show you that the best things in life are not what we'd ever expect!

Vacation 2008

The Carr Family on the beach on Hilton Head Island, SC.

As those of you who know us (or at least those who have read my previous blogs) know, we have been taking family trips since Ben was 6 weeks old. Previous trips have included a week in Las Vegas, multiple weeks spent traveling out west to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, visiting friends in California, family in Washington, driving to and camping in Alaska, even last summer's trip of a cruise. All told, Liam and Ben have visited 41 states and 4 countries in the five years we've been on the go. Well, this year we decided to make it a little less involved because of the addition of little Nicholas to our family.

Our shiny new minivan, ready to take on the challenges of a road trip.

I was able to rent a week's stay in a timeshare on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Much like our summer trips to Las Vegas, it was a lot like being at home, only someplace different, for a week. We bought groceries, packed up our newly purchased minivan and headed for a week of relaxation at the beach. On the way, we stopped and visited our good friends the Watsons (including their new addition, Miss Clara who is only 1 month and 6 days older than our Nicholas, as well as "little Ben") in North Carolina.

This is probably as close as I'll get to knowing what it's like to have twins.
Here I am holding Clara and Nicholas, who are only a month apart.

Liam takes some time to read to "Little Ben."

Once we got to Hilton Head, the big boys spent a lot of time every day at the pool, mostly with Daddy as Mommy was enjoying some time catching up on pleasure reading and keeping busy with Nicholas. The resort we stayed at even had planned activities for the kids, including "Pirate Camp" which the boys enjoyed. We only went to the beach once to play and once to collect shells, but that's okay. The time we spent together as a family was priceless, and that was our whole purpose in going.

Ben and Liam bury Daddy in the sand.

Nicholas relaxes in his car seat as the boys play with Daddy in the sand.

A beautiful sunset as viewed from our balcony.
Every night had sunsets just like this one.

We had a great family vacation. This may have been our first trip to Hilton Head, but it definitely won't be our last. The sacrifices we make on expenses the rest of the year are totally worth it to be able to spend the time and money that we do on our summer vacations.

Settling Into Summer

We've officially settled into summer here at the Carr house. Liam and Ben have both finished with school for the year, Kevin is getting a chance to catch up on some long-neglected personal projects, and I'm enjoying spending time with all of my boys. Nicholas is now 5 weeks old and we're enjoying every minute of having a baby in the house again.

Nicholas is all set for Memorial Day.

Liam and Ben decided to wear their Hawaiian shirts this day, and I happened to have one for Nicholas too. It was a little big for him, but he didn't seem to mind.

Liam turned 7 on Friday and we celebrated by going to Chuck E. Cheese. I realized that it's kind of become a tradition to go there on, or almost on, his birthday to celebrate both his and Ben's birthday since we have a combined family birthday party somewhere between both birthdays. Ben will turn 5 on Tuesday and since their birthdays are only 4 days apart, it's just easier to schedule one party for them to share.

Liam and Ben caught up with Chuck E. Cheese after he finished the rounds at a birthday party.

I am also feeling pretty pleased with how things are going with Nicholas. He is truly a wonderful baby. He hasn't quite reached the point where he is responsive or expressive, but he is such a sweetie. We've finally gotten him to the point where he spends more time awake during the day instead of at night, which is where we were the first 2-3 weeks of his life. He is a total snuggle bug and everybody loves to spend time just holding him. This is especially true of Liam, who just about pouts if he goes for more than a few hours without having time to hold his baby brother. I am additionally privileged because for the last five nights, Nicholas has slept through the night. The first four nights was between 6-9 hours, but last night he slept for 13 hours!! Go little man!! I can't tell you how surprised I was to get up and discover that he was still sleeping.

Liam enjoys snuggling with his little brother.

So, now that I'm not totally exhausted anymore, I can begin to appreciate the joys of summer. With our newly purchased minivan, we have some mini-trips as well as our "big trip" planned, heading to the Bunny Park (a neighborhood park with some waterworks) with friends, signing up for the summer reading program at the library, spending some time at the pool, and Friday Family Movie Nights. Let the fun begin!!

Ben (in the blue trunks in front) splashes in the spray at the Bunny Park.

Nicholas snoozes in his stroller at the Bunny Park.

Liam runs through the fountains. It was a perfect day to just play in the water. It was 90+ degrees out and it was so refreshing. Unfortunately the sunscreen didn't hold up as well as the boys did and we all ended up with sunburned shoulders.

GREAT Summer - Part 2 - The Cruise

Time has just flown by since the last time I posted to my blog. I've had a couple of requests for more on the rest of our summer vacation, so here it is. Just a warning: it's quite long because I've put in a lot of detail and has a lot of pictures.

THE CRUISE

On August 5, we boarded the Carnival Conquest for seven days of rest, relaxation and fun. We left from Galveston, Texas headed for Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Mexico. Kevin and I had been on a cruise before the boys were born, but Liam and Ben had never been on a cruise. When we booked the cruise, we learned that Carnival had a kids' program called Camp Carnival. We weren't sure how into it the boys would be, but we were soon pleasantly surprised. From the moment the boys found out about all the programs offered as well as the gigantic water slide, they couldn't wait to get to the ship.

The Carnival Conquest

One of the benefits of traveling as a family of four is the Family Stateroom. Not only did we have floor to ceiling windows, but we had a bed large enough for Kevin and me...

...and bunk beds for Liam and Ben. This thrilled them beyond belief.

Our first day on board was spent exploring the ship and learning about all that was being offered to us on our brief stay. There are a lot of people out there who need to have tons of activities to occupy their day, to feel like they've gotten their money's worth. Nope, I feel like I've gotten my money's worth when I can do exactly what I want to do, when I want to do it. Don't get me wrong, there were more activities on board the ship than I could even dream of doing. But, the only things that really interested me were sleeping in, laying by the pool reading a good book, and heading to the beach when we got into a port.

The morning of our first full day, Camp Carnival was open for the kids. We took Liam and Ben up (it was directly above our stateroom, only one floor up) and signed them into their respective playrooms. There was a room for kids ages 2-5 and one for kids ages 6-8. They didn't get to be together, but that didn't bother them. Once you dropped the kids off, you had to come back and get them at noon, then you could drop them off again from 2-5. If they wanted, they could join the youth staff for dinner at 5:45 and then stay until 10:00. Anything beyond 10:00 was babysitting and charged extra. We had to practically drag them out every day.

The boys joined us for dinner on our very first night on board (before Camp Carnival was open) and then not again for the rest of the cruise. They wanted to be with the rest of the kids. Kevin makes fun of me because this upset me at first. But, he made a good point. He said, "This is their vacation too. They should be able to do what they want to do and have fun." That finally got through to me and we enjoyed our dinners for two every night after that.

One of the other things the boys were looking forward to was the water slide. It was so cool. They went down it a few times the first couple of days, but the fact that the water on the slide and in the pools was sea water kind of turned them off from it. Whenever they got water up their nose or in their mouth, it really bothered them. So, they were happy to just spend most of their time playing in Camp Carnival.

The huge water slide that the boys couldn't wait to experience.

Liam makes it to the bottom of the slide.

Ben heads down the water slide.

Even Kevin got in on the action, and made a big splash!

In Camp Carnival, they had regularly scheduled activities published in a newsletter for the kids. They had video games, crafts, scavenger hunts, decorating a backpack, decorating a t-shirt. They were always busy and had lots of fun. They absolutely loved the Youth Staff, and based on one autograph on Liam's t-shirt, the feeling was mutual. (One of his counselors signed, "To the best boy in the world!") I think the time that they had in Camp Carnival made it all worth it.

Ben with his favorite counselor, Zulfiyah ("Sophie")

Liam with two of his favorite counselors, Olga and Regina.

Liam in the kids' disco dancing with "Funship Freddy". He's in the white t-shirt in the middle of the picture, right in front of the boy all in black.

Liam with a bunch of the other kids in Camp Carnival.

Ben and Liam on Pirate Day.

Our first port was Montego Bay, Jamaica. The boys did not want to get off the ship; they just wanted to stay in Camp Carnival all day. But, they reluctantly got off the ship and went into Jamaica far enough to take a picture and get their passports stamped (after all we went through to get them in time for the cruise, I was going to make sure we got at least one stamp.) They complained about how hot is was and that they didn't want to walk around. So, after a very brief stay, we took them back to Camp Carnival.

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Kevin, Carolyn, Ben and Liam on our brief visit in Jamaica.

After lunch and depositing the boys back in Camp Carnival, Kevin and I headed back to see more of Jamaica. Boy, was that scary. The minute we stepped out of the main building of the port, women started coming up to us wanting to show us their crafts and their shops. It was incredibly intimidating. I got a few braids, typical of Jamaica, then we walked into a few shops looking for a charm for my charm bracelet and some t-shirts for the boys. We found a t-shirt of Spiderman with dredlocks for Liam that said "Spidermon" and one for Ben of Spongebob Squarepants with dredlocks on a beach.

Each night, while we were at dinner, our room steward turned down our beds, left the Carnival Caper news for the next day, and made animals out of towels for the boys. They loved coming back to the room each night to see what animal had been left for then. Then, they took great pleasure in tearing it apart. It was hysterical to watch.

Ben and Liam found cookies with their dog towel animal.

A swan

A frog

Our second port was Grand Cayman. We had booked a shore excursion for the whole family this day. It was a bus ride to Seven Mile Beach where we could play in the sand and the water for a few hours. We had a beautiful day for it. The water was clear and warm and we had a great time. We even hunted for seashells and found lots of coral.

Ben and Liam ready for a fun day at the beach in Grand Cayman.

Kevin allowed himself to be buried in the sand by Liam and Ben.

The beautiful clear water of Grand Cayman. What a view to enjoy for the day.

Ben, Carolyn, Kevin and Liam enjoy the crystal clear water of Grand Cayman.

Each night at dinner, we were entertained by our waitstaff. Just before serving dessert, they put on music and funny hats and danced around the dining room. On a couple of occasions, they even got us up to dance too. Our waiter Sherwin and our assistant waiter, Ardana took very good care of us.

Carolyn gets pulled into the nightly entertainment with Ardana.

Kevin gets his own special "hat" from Sherwin.

Kevin and Carolyn with our wait staff, Ardana and Sherwin.

Our last port was Cozumel, Mexico. We decided to just leave the boys where they wanted to be, Camp Carnival, while Kevin and I took an excursion into Mexico. We booked the "Twister" activity. It is a speedboat that does 360 degree turns and then takes us to a private beach, Isla Pasion - Passion Island. I was a bit nervous about it at first. The idea of doing complete turns in a speedboat made me a little nervous. But, like anything adventurous, once Kevin drags me into it, I have a total blast. This was so much fun!

The excursion we booked included the boat ride to and from the island, 3 hours on the island, and unlimited soda. They had beach chairs and hammocks for us to enjoy as well. While we were waiting to board the tour, we met a nice couple, Ashley and Mike from Colorado. They were passengers on another ship, but had the same tour opportunities as we did. However, on this tour, they paid for a buffet and open bar.

When we got to the island, Kevin chose to hang out in a hammock in the shade and I went down by the beach and laid in a beach chair in the sun. After a little while, I went up to the hammocks too. Kevin took a quick trip down to the water to cool off. On his way back to me he met another couple and struck up a conversation. Turns out that the island we were on was where they film the Corona beer commercials. The couple Kevin met was from the ship that got the open bar and gave us a couple of Coronas. So, we were incredibly cheesy and re-created a couple of the Corona ads.

As we headed back to the boat to go back to our ship, we met up with Mike and Ashley again. She told us that we should have hung out with them and they would have kept us in Coronas all day! Next thing we knew, she sent Mike back to the bar for four more Coronas. He raced down the beach and back again to get us all a beer before we had to get back on the boat again. We had a great time.

The beach of Isla Pasion with the water in the distance.

Kevin and Carolyn on the shoreline of Isla Pasion.

Kevin in his hammock re-creating the Corona ad.

Carolyn in her beach chair re-enacting a Corona ad.

After returning from our excursion, it was almost time to head back to reality. We had a great time on our cruise and can't wait until we can go again. The boys were happy that they got to spend seven uninterrupted days with us as well as all of the activities they did and friends they made in Camp Carnival.

The debarkation process was tiring to say the least. By the end of the cruise, we didn't have any cash left for a porter, so we had to carry all of our bags ourselves. The lines were long and winding as well as hot. I learned that our next trip needs to involve a lot less luggage.

We had originally thought we would make some stops on the way home, but by the time we had gone to San Diego, Texas, and the cruise, we were ready to go straight home. Besides, I had to be back at work just a few short days later and wanted some time to unwind at home before getting back to it.

For the most part, summer is pretty boring and uneventful. But our road trips are well worth the wait we have to get to them.