July 4th



We took a road trip to visit my sister at the beach.  While I HATE living 3 hours from my sister, it really works out great during the summer!  She lives about 10 minutes from the pier at Garden City which is where we normally park and hang out.  Fortunate for us Steve had Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off work the week of the fourth!  So, we took advantage and made a little mini vacation out of it.  Needless to say I was pumped to have 4 whole days to spend on the beach.  And when I say whole day, I mean we get there no later than 10 a.m. and don't leave before 4:00 p.m.  Lottie must know how much her mama loves the beach because that girl is a trooper out there. 

Here's a little run down of our mini vacation with my sister and some of my brother in law's family

Lottie's fireworks she drew at school!  Ha, Ha!

Lottie napping it up under the canopy on our first day out at the beach (the 4th) - normally we bring the stroller with us when we are at the beach b/c Lottie MUST have at least a one to two hour nap during the day - but guess what??????????  We left the damn thing in Waxhaw!  Didn't realize it until the morning we were headed to the beach.  Steve will normally take Lottie for a walk around 1:00 p.m. after she's had lunch to wind down, so this time we had to take a different approach.  We basically wore her slap out until she could barely keep her eyes open.  Then either Steve or myself would rock her in our beach chair until she was out.  It ended up working out just fine so no big deal in the end.  Thank goodness!!

A little snack on the way back to Aunt Amy's house

4th of July BBQ

Pretty proud of this frugal purchase ($2.00 at Walmart)

I Love The USA ($3.25 shirt from Walmart)

On the 4th, I threw a pork shoulder along w/ Steve's homemade BBQ sauce in the crock pot while we were out at the beach all day - we ended up doing BBQ, cole slaw, green beans, baked beans, fresh corn on the cob, homemade Sangrias.  It was delicious. 

Instead of going out to the beach to watch fireworks, we ended up watching them on television.  I think this may have been the first year I've ever done that.  I felt like I was about 80 years old, but after a day on the beach and good food, it was about all I could manage!  :)

Let me just tell you how OBSESSED Lottie is with Ranch Dressing!  I brought a little veggie snack/dip out to the beach and I swear I had to eat what I wanted so fast before Lottie got her hands on it.  The girl is a double dipping - NO - make that dipper times 100.  Trust me, you don't want to share your dip with this one!  She will dip the same carrot or piece of celery in Ranch 100 times without ever actually eating the veggie.  It is ridiculous, but hilarious at the same time - as long as you don't mind a little drool/spit in your dip!

Lottie and the "Baby Whisperer Tony"

"I'm a big girl mom, I sit in big girl beach chairs!"

Sandy Baby!

Because it was so hot, we had our chairs in the water most of the time we were out there.  Lottie would run circles around our chairs and laugh, make tiger like noises and basically entertain whoever would watch - she was hilarious!

No Fear!  You have to keep your eye on this one - that is for sure.  I'll never relax at the beach EVER again!

Steve bought his "princess" a motorized quad while we were at the beach.  He has been DYING to buy her this for months but I've had to keep telling him we should just wait until Christmas.  Nope!  He's like a kid himself and couldn't take it anymore!  I have to admit though, it is pretty cool.  It goes 2 mph when you push the button.  Uncle Anthony showed Lottie how to ride!

Another day on the beach....................Another day Steve is wearing a jersey!  Geezzzzzz (He let himself get burnt up on the 1st day out there - genius!)

A little Daddy Daughter bonding

Dad - build me a little pool to sit in!

Why do I feel like Lottie looks like a 2 or 3 year old in this picture?  She looks like such a big girl!

Corn Dog time! (Her first)  And another dip to conquer!

Difficult to say which she liked more, the actual corn dog or the honey mustard

Mmmmmmmmmmmm

On Friday night, we went into Myrtle Beach where we had dinner on the pier.  We all went for the wind blown look.  Boy it was windy!!  Steve and I alternated walking Lottie up and down the pier to check out all the fresh catches.

The Giant Ferris Wheel - I couldn't believe how much Myrtle Beach had changed since I was a teenager.  It was THE place to be during Spring Break and Graduation week during high school.  We would cruise up and down the strip with our music blasting and our heads bopping.  Oh the memories!!!!!!!!

A big THANKS to my sister and brother in law for putting up with us for 5 days!  :)  We really enjoyed ourselves and can't wait to get back down there.  Lottie absolutely adores my sister - just the mention of her name at home and Lottie has the biggest smile on her face.