Myrtle Beach Pandemic Vacation - Day 4

Day 4 of our September 2020 Myrtle Beach Vacation looked a lot like the previous days! Slow mornings, lots of relaxing, and spending the day swimming and sitting on the beach. We are beach people, so those long days on the oceanfront suit us perfectly!

We have always gone to Myrtle Beach in August, so we are used to the hot Summer days. This was a rapidly planned vacation during the off season. We couldn't pass up an end of September trip for the ridiculously cheap price of $1200 for the week!

While we were at the beach, we were able to celebrate the first day of Fall. It was different being there when the weather was cooler, but we still enjoyed ourselves. It was warm during the day, and cool at night, so there were lots of hoodies involved! We all thought it was cool that we experienced two seasons on our beach vacation!

Myrtle Beach Pandemic Vacation - Day 2

Our first full day at the Myrtle Beach was perfectly relaxing! We were just so thrilled to be back at our happy place, despite all the restrictions due to the pandemic. We weren't quite sure this trip was going to happen, and we were so grateful we were able to pull it together with just one month of planning!

Life is so busy with 5 kids, so when we go to the beach, we keep things low-key. We focus on simply relaxing, and spending uninterrupted time together as a family. We all love the beach, so just being there is enough for us!

Our trip involves slow mornings, hours spent at the beach and the pool, family dinners with the balcony doors open, evening strolls on the boardwalk, night walks on the beach, shell collecting, late night swims, sunrises, and relaxing on the balcony overlooking the beach. We try to plan one or two small outings or dinners, but we mostly love our beach days. Someday - someday - we will move there, or at least get a timeshare!

How My Family Scared Off A Police Officer

Every family has a funny story to tell. It's the kind of story that gets told over and over again. It's the kind of story that will never be forgotten. It is so good that it quickly becomes THE family story. Our family story involves a pregnant mama, a car full of kids, and one completely overwhelmed police officer. 

As I was going through the list of blog posts that I still have to publish (the list is SO long), I realized that I hadn't shared this story yet! Actually, in the midst of a tough pregnancy and the exhausting days with a newborn, we didn't even share it with many people. But those who heard it laughed right along with us!  It's certainly a moment Grant, Dylan, Lexie, Lily, Liam, and I will never forget!

Let me set the scene: picture an overwhelmed husband, a sick wife, a newly discovered surprise pregnancy, a car jam-packed full of kids and luggage, and 611 miles to drive home...

The Perfect Toys for Holiday Travel

This post is sponsored by Mouse Loves Pig. 

Halloween seems to be the official start of the Holiday season! We go straight from Halloween to Thanksgiving to Christmas to the New Year, and the time we spend traveling increases so much. Keeping our younger kids happily occupied while traveling is so important!

On our last road trip, we took along screen-free travel toys from Mouse Loves Pig, and they were an instant hit! With four (soon to be five!!!) kids in the car, space is limited. But the sweet, handmade playsets that we received folded up so small that I could easily fit two of them in my purse!

Not only are are these playsets perfect for travel, but the small shop is impressive, too! Ruth, the owner, put so much thought into these toys, and has such a big heart. Toys from Mouse Loves Pig are designed for quiet, open-ended play, made from organic materials, and beautifully handmade by ladies in a workhome based in Nicaragua. These toys quickly made my list of must haves, for so many reasons...

Myrtle Beach Family Vacation

It happens every year. Summer lasts well into October, and I find myself wishing for Fall to arrive. Once it does, it hits with full force. We don't have transitional weather in Pittsburgh anymore. We go straight from 80+ degree weather to 50 degree weather overnight! Now I find myself wishing we were back in Myrtle Beach, enjoying family time and gorgeous beach weather!

If you've been following along, I already posted a recap of our road trip to the beach on Liam's 5th Birthday, and our second day in Myrtle Beach, along with our favorite tips for vacationing at the beach with kids! If not, I included those links at the bottom of the post. I'm determined to finish the complete recap by Thanksgiving, unlike last year's vacation, which took an entire year to finish. Going through thousands of vacation photos is a daunting task!

Here's what we did on day 3 and day 4 of our Myrtle Beach Family Vacation...

Down For Adventure in Myrtle Beach (+ TIPS)

Every Summer, we go on a family vacation to the beach. We always go to Virginia Beach, but this year, we decided to switch things up a bit and try a different place! So on Liam's birthday in late August, we packed our SUV to capacity, piled in, and headed to Myrtle Beach for a week of family fun!

I already recapped Liam's birthday, and our road trip to the beach. We decided after just a few hours of being there that we loved Myrtle Beach just as much, if not more than, Virginia Beach. Our first full day was so lovely, that I can't help but wish we were back in paradise right now!

Liam's 5th Birthday & A Road Trip to Myrtle Beach

On August 18th, our sweet Liam turned 5 year old! It just so happened to be the start of our family vacation, too, so we celebrated Liam's 5th Birthday with an 11 hour road trip to Myrtle Beach. It may not have been our usual birthday celebration, but we filled his day with our favorite birthday traditions!

Even though we spent 11 hours in the car, Liam didn't seem to mind one bit. He's a perfect traveler, and always does great on road trips. He didn't complain once, and the reward was spending the rest of his day in Myrtle Beach!

It's so hard to believe our beautiful boy is already 5 years old! I swear, he was just born. Time is a thief! The arrival of Liam's 5th Birthday was bittersweet, but it was definitely a memorable one...

The Monthly Recap: August Edition

When Summer began, it seemed like August was so far away, but the months flew by. It felt like I blinked, and August was over! I took off half of the month for vacation and family time, so I left a lot of blog posts hanging out in my drafts folder, just waiting to be published. That included my usual weekly mom life recaps, so I figured I would just share the rest of August in a quick monthly recap!

At the end of my last recap, I left off a week into August. So let's play catch-up on what happened last month! Spoiler alert: It's a lot!

Virginia Beach: The Final Recap

It's hard to believe the final Virginia Beach recap I'm posting took place almost a year ago to date. I didn't intend for that to happen, but life got in the way of blogging about vacation. I wanted to finish it before this year's vacation, and I hope to be more timely with that recap!

Speaking of this year's vacation, as this post goes live, we will be preparing for our trip to the beach! We're leaving very early Saturday morning, which also happens to be Liam's 5th Birthday. Spending 12+ hours in the car isn't exactly the best way to spend a birthday, but he will be spending the evening of his birthday on the beach! (Hopefully that will make up for it.) We're all looking forward to spending a fun, relaxing week together at the beach!

For now, let's go back to almost exactly one year ago today...it was day seven of our Virginia Beach vacation, and it was Liam's 4th Birthday...

Family Fun at Virginia Beach {Day Six}

We are less than two weeks away from our next family vacation, and I have yet to finish recapping our last trip. I took so many pictures during the last three days in Virginia Beach that I have to break it into two posts, but I'm determined to finish the recap over the next week! Although I do want to share our family trip, it was honestly very low on my list of priorities over the past year!

We absolutely love Virginia Beach, and have gone there the past few years, but we opted for a different beach this year. We're excited, but looking back at all the fun pictures makes me regret that just a bit! If only we could plan TWO beach vacations each Summer...or just move to the beach!

8 Fun FREE Things To Do With Kids In Virginia Beach

We are about 5 1/2 weeks away from our next family vacation to the beach! After spending the past few years in Virginia Beach, we opted to visit a different beach this year. We are really excited to explore a new vacation spot with our family, but we are going to miss spending time at one of our favorite places!

I know this is ridiculous, but I never managed to finish up my vacation recap from last year! I just take so many pictures, and it turns out to be a daunting task. The busyness of life took over, and sharing our trip got pushed to the side. I do want to finish it before our next vacation, so I decided to break the last half of our trip into several separate posts.

As I was glancing through the pictures from Day 5 of our trip, I realized that we spent the day taking advantage of all the fun free activities Virginia Beach has to offer! They also happen to be our favorite things to do while we're there. So rather than just recapping our day, I wanted to share 8 fun free things to do with kids in Virginia Beach, just in case you happen to visit there one day! (And I highly recommend you do!)

Down For Adventure in Virginia Beach - Day 4 {Travel With Kids}

Life in a big family is always an adventure! Vacation is no different. Two parents + Four Kids + 1 Extra Chromosome + Our Favorite Beach Vacation Spot = Extra Fun Family Adventures!

Virginia Beach Family Vacation Diary: Day 3

It's time to take a break from my regularly scheduled blog content, and go back a few months in time to our Virginia Beach family vacation! We just might have had a 61 degree day yesterday, but the winter blues are hitting hard, and we are in the midst of the coldest, snowiest Winter we've had in years. I am counting down the days until we're back on the beach this Summer!

Virginia Beach Family Vacation Days 1 & 2

A few days ago, we returned from our family vacation in Virginia Beach! It was a great way to conclude our Summer Break, but we were immediately thrown back into reality when we arrived home. Not only did 4 out of 6 of us come down with a virus, but we also had only 3 days to prepare for the first day of school, all while unpacking!

Reality hits TODAY. Today is the day when 3 of my 4 kids head back to school. And this year, Dylan starts school over an hour earlier than last year. His bus picks him up at 6:43 AM, so our new wake up time is 6 AM (a full hour and a half earlier)! I'm dreading the start of the new structured routine, and already missing the beach!

Although I can't go back (until next Summer), I can share my favorite pictures, and reminisce about all the fun we had!

VIRGINIA BEACH DAY 1

We left Pittsburgh shortly after 6 AM on Saturday. Every inch of our SUV was packed full of our belongings, including the cargo rack on top, and everybody was excited for the week ahead! We stopped for gas, then began the 8 hour drive to Virginia Beach!

The drive was relatively uneventful. The kids were well-behaved, we took a (longer) more scenic route which Grant preferred, and although we hit a bit of rain and some traffic, we made it to Virginia Beach exactly when we expected.

Unfortunately, even though our cargo box was within the vehicle clearance, we found that it wasn't quite the case on every level of our hotel's parking garage! Grant had to pull over, we had to unload the cargo box, place everything on Dylan's seat in the SUV,  then remove the cargo box so Grant could park. Dylan and I ended up carrying it up several levels and into our suite.

This was our first time staying somewhere different, and although the hotel was nice and had an amazing view, it was a deal breaker for next year!

SO...everybody was exhausted from the long drive and unloading our belongings, but we still had to go to dinner, and buy some drinks and snacks for the week. Some of us couldn't quite make it through the shopping trip...

When we returned to the hotel, it was almost dark, but I promised the kids that we would go for a quick swim in the ocean. It wasn't exactly the best lighting for pictures, but my entire crew was thrilled to be reunited with the ocean again!

Once we returned to our suite, dried off and changed clothes, we hit our favorite spot: The Virginia Beach Boardwalk! The hotel we stayed in was oceanfront, and our balcony overlooked everything, so we had easy access!

We had a fun first night in Virginia Beach!

VIRGINIA BEACH DAY 2

We slept great, and woke up early on our first full day in Virginia Beach! After getting some breakfast, we spent some time on our balcony drinking hot tea and coffee, and just admiring our favorite view!

Everybody was excited about our first day spent on the beach! We loaded up our new beach cart and headed down to the beach! (If you don't have one, GET one. It's a must have for beach vacations! We have THIS ONE.)

After spending some time splashing in the ocean, all four kids played together in the sand. Burying each other in the sand is one of the first things they like to check off their lists!

They even found a little friend while they were digging!

This is one of my favorite pictures! Liam's expression is hilarious, but I assure you, he didn't mind that much!

The kids had a great time at the beach, but before long, it was time for Liam to take a nap. Grant took him back to our suite, and Dylan and Lexie joined them.

 Lily, who is a beach bum just like her mama, stayed on the beach with me!

Although we could have stayed on the beach until dark, we had to head back to the hotel to shower and get ready for dinner.

That evening, we went to our favorite restaurant in Virginia Beach: Raven! The food is delicious in this local pub-style restaurant, it's affordable for a large family, and all the kids meals are served on souvenir frisbees!

It was such a beautiful night, that we took our time walking back to our hotel. And Grant officially fell in love with baby wearing Liam in our amazing Lillebaby CarryOn! (Stay tuned for more about this carrier, which is made for older kids up to 60 lbs!)

Since it was a Sunday evening, my Game of Thrones-obsessed husband had to watch the new episode. I opted to watch it later with him, and took the kids for a swim in the indoor pool instead! (Oh, but that episode was SO good! Probably my favorite episode ever.)

We made it back to our suite just in time to watch one of the weekly fireworks displays from our balcony!

After watching the fireworks, we went for a long stroll on the boardwalk. Dylan rode his hoverboard, the girls rode their scooters, and Liam escaped the stroller and ran (barefoot of course)!

We headed back to our suite around midnight and everyone got ready for bed. Liam opted to forgo his travel crib, and sleep on the pull out couch with Dylan, instead! Everybody fell asleep quickly after a long, but very fun day!

Our first two days in Virginia Beach were memorable and so much fun, but there was plenty more fun to come throughout the week! It took over 2,000 pictures, and because it's so tough to narrow my favorites down, I'll be breaking our recap into several posts. Stay tuned for days 3 and 4 of our Virginia Beach Family Vacation!

Now excuse me while I cry because three of my kids are gone all day and Summer Break is officially over...



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