A Couple of Weeks Ago...

Brinley and I arrived in Myrtle Beach, SC to spend a few days with Libbie and her family.

Peek-A-Boo!

Brinley and Xander logged a few miles together riding around town while Sadie and Benson were at school.

He accepted us soon after we arrived so we were "in" with Xan-Man.

We left unusually warm weather behind and flew into the coastal town to find much the same temperatures.  Rare for us to have such balmy weather so early in the year back home and SC was reported to have closed school for 'snow days' the week before we arrived.  Go figure!

Southern Spring Chicks?

Libbie, Brinley, Heather

Our first adventure included an outing to the Brookegreen Gardens.
The phrase 'in a couple of weeks' continues to circulate through my mind (something Libbie said more than a dozen times:)) as I reflect on our time in SC.  Apparently, the first week of March is not the best touristy time to visit the area as we soon discovered and there may or may not have been much in bloom (yet), but we laughed ourselves silly no matter!

"Aloha- Loving you always, You are our sunshine grace"

This plaque was mounted to a butterfly chair found in the children's section of the elaborate gardens.  Libbie and I both have daughters with the middle name of "Aloha" after our maternal grandmother.  Brinley Aloha and Sadie Aloha.

Seeing an alligator was on Brinley's bucket list. Check.

This smelly little guy was pretty cute.

The extensive gardens included a playground area and butterfly house (to open in a couple of weeks...).

I had to snap this shot because back at home, the kids celebrated Dr. Seuss week at school.

Here are the crazy hats the kids made to wear to school one day.

All kinds of critters were found in the 'zoo-like' portion of the gardens.

I think Libbie appreciated having a few extra hands to help with these little munchkins.

Xander and Elle - big baby & little baby
Libbie will continue watching her friend's daughter five days a week until school is out.
She's been a trooper with the extra responsibility this year.

Perhaps inspired by this critter, Benson influenced the selection of their local elementary school mascot - "Otter-bots".

What is a mullet zone anyway?

Leaving the gardens (and all the statues) behind, we drove to briefly explore Murrell's Inlet before picking up Sadie from school.

Since Brinley is not into seafood, we opted for the drive-thru at Chick-Fil-A en route to the school/beach.

Look at all these seashells!

Xander thought putting ocean-froth all over his face was a great idea.
 This boy really loves the beach!

Sadie - collecting treasures along the shore

This was the first of five beach outings...and the coldest/windiest one of the bunch.

We did all kinds of wild and crazy things together.
Drinking our daily chlorophyll.

Since Jeff had Friday off and Lib watched Elle only half-day, the three of us explored "Broadway at the Beach" together without little ones along that afternoon.  I'm sure Libbie and I embarrassed Brinley on more than one occasion but she humored us and took pictures anyway.
We were so juvenile!

Seriously over-priced candy store...

Giant gummy-bear anyone?

This upside-down building houses "Wonderworks" where Benson once had a birthday party. Shopping, restaurants, a zip-line and miniature golf course (one of hundreds in the area) and the local aquarium are located at "Broadway at the Beach".

Feeding the fish.  Yep, carp all right.

More car-ride selfies...

Although I don't have evidence of this, Brinley inspired us to do something Friday evening that Libbie and I would not have dreamt up ourselves.  We actually went shopping at the local Ross & Target stores.  So uncharacteristic of us, I know.

Saturday morning Jeff and Benson left in the wee hours of morning for the state robotics competition in Charleston.  The rest of us considered making the 4-hour round trip drive also, but decided against it since we would not make it back in time for me and Brinley to go to the Pirates Dinner Show.
 (Little did we know then that the show was already sold-out.  Fortunately, Brinley was happy with dinner at the Golden Corral instead).

After shopping the outlets in record time, we anticipated the much talked about Bruster's ice cream. Walking up to buy our cones, Libbie noticed a sign in the window.  It was like Christmas morning for her when she realized Saturday, March 7th was the annual 'wear your pjs day - get a free waffle cone' at Bruster's.

We actually drove home to put our pajamas on and drove back to collect our freebies.

 This is wear/where Brinley drew the line.
Lucky for her, Xander was happy with the kiddy cone so Brinley got his free waffle size cone.

Mmmm, good stuff!

Xander feels the same way about hummus as we did about the ice cream.

Libbie - working on her 'maps'

We worked and we played for a few days.  The motivation behind this little adventure stemmed from the fact that someone needed to fly out to certify Libbie as a foot zoner:).  Fortunately, I had enough sky miles to have Brinley miss a few days of school and join me.

This photo is telling.  First, unbeknownst to each other, we donned the exact same running shoes independently purchased some time ago.  Second, it was great fun to join Libbie's boot camp work-outs a few times while in town. After the Saturday morning "competition", we both won a new pair of socks.  What can I say?  Great minds think alike!

After church, it was back to the beach for a walk (twice actually).

As one of only three girls, Brinley attended Young Women's on Sunday with Libbie where she serves as 1st counselor.  It did not take long to recognize the stabilizing influence Jeff and Libbie provide in their area.  Some members of the ward were surprised Libbie had a dark-haired sister and first assumed I was Jeff's sister.  It was comical to me that one of Libbie's friends kept referring to us as 'little people'.   I also quickly learned that people know her as Liberty (NOT Libbie) and have no idea she keeps a blog.  As I met people, I recognized many of them from Lib's blog:).

Sunday afternoon - at the beach...again.

Benson

Xander

Monday morning - Libbie and I were back at the beach for a run together.

Brinley was happy to sleep in with the time change - day light savings.

With the kids back in school and Jeff home for his spring break, the three of us returned to the touristy beach shops for a few small souvenirs before going to Char's house.  Libbie wanted to observe me working on her friend.  I also zoned Libbie once more because it will be a while before we're together again.  Lib has worked hard and will be a great foot zoner!

Thumbs up!

After a return trip to Costco, we packed our bags and enjoyed a final meal together.  I learned that Jeff does most of the cooking and he did a fabulous job whipping up this fondue dinner.  In fact, I enjoyed everything he made.  It was really nice NOT spending time in the kitchen for a few days.
I was truly on vacation!

Benson, Jeff, Libbie, Xander

The Gurgle Pot

Pretty sure Brinley inspired this purchase from Costco.
And for the record, these muffins actually made it safely home.

Saying our good-byes...

Sweet Sadie

We tried to get a cousins shot but Xander wasn't having it.
I like to believe that he was just sad we were leaving.

Brinley, Sadie, Benson

I might mention that after taking us to the airport, Libbie went to work-out with her boot-camp group.  Hence, the outfit.

Jeff, Heather, Brinley

Brinley & Libbie
 I have occasionally called Brinley Libbie over the years and I mixed-up the names plenty while we were together.

What an adorable little guy!
Last time I was in the area, this sweet boy was causing a ruckus in utero.

After Libbie took us to the airport, our evening adventure was just underway.  Because the plane was late leaving the Myrtle Beach airport, Brinley and I BARELY made our connecting flight in Atlanta.  I was a crazy woman navigating that huge airport in record time with a quietly frantic teen following right behind.  I actually tweaked my back running/carrying luggage with super-human effort to make that connection.  Miraculously, we made the connection, but of course our luggage did not.  We planned to spend the night in Salt Lake regardless since the flight arrived at midnight (2am body-time).  Though it was a restless night's sleep for me as I relived the events of the evening, Tuesday morning Brinley and I picked up our luggage and continued our journey home.

Thanks Mom and Dad for helping with transportation.  Great thanks to the C. family for their wonderful hospitality.  And a very special thanks to an amazing husband who sacrificed much so that Brinley and I could enjoy this experience together!