Notes from the Nelsens: Seapines Beach Vacation 2018

We spent our first week of summer at the beach!

We got to spend it in Hilton Head with Matt's parents, his sister, and her family.

Our family picture keeps growing. And next year, there will be TWO more baby boys in this pic. Matt's sister is due with twins in September!

This cousin pic will fill the bench next year. :)

Our families had so much fun together for the week. The kids got along so well and shared Mimi and Papa well too. ;)

Natalie and Emily both seemed to grow up so much during the week. Natalie started talking so much and Emily was crawling faster, pulling up more, and trying even harder to keep up with the big kids.

And Ryan seemed so much bigger this year too, boogie boarding and riding the tandem bike for the first time. Our babies are growing up!

Ryan wanted to get out to the beach right when he woke up every morning, sweet guy. So one of us would go while the other stayed back and waited for the girls and the rest of the house to wake up.

Ryan also loved handing with his big cousin and seemed more aware this year that Jackson was older than him. ;) It was cute to see the two of them together.

Emily was ALL about her daddy. Nothing new there, hah, but she loved getting to be with him for a whole week, uninterrupted by work.

When he would set her down to play with Ryan or Natalie, she would start to do this high-pitched, hurt-feelings sound and then speed crawl to wherever he was. So, so cute.

One of our favorite things to do in Sea Pines is ride the Trolley! This year, Natalie was all about chanting, "Trolley Ride!" (Kah-Ye Yide) while it was moving. I got the cutest video of her that I put on my stories on IG. Such a sweet memory!

Sister-sister :)

Still so crazy to think that this boogie board was empty 4 years ago!

I was walking with Emily to help her fall asleep, and then I handed her to Matt and she passed right out. Hah! Love their sweet bond.

Everyday, all of the cousins would work on building a big hole with a tunnel.

These two are the cutest cousins and buddies :)

Snuggles with Papa and Mimi!

Beach girlies relaxing in their chairs and holes ;)

Emily loved climbing in and out of the holes, so we set up a little area for her everyday with four little holes and let her create a little obstacle course for herself. She was so funny going in and out of every hole! She would go in backwards, plop herself in, and then rest for a minute before climbing back out.

Kite flying!

And kite watching :)

Another thing we love to do in Sea Pines is rent bikes for the week.

All of our kids have fallen asleep in their bike seats over the years, and this year, it was Emily's turn!

Sweet love.

Karen snapped this from her bike while she was riding. Emily is passed out on the little steering wheel!

Natalie loved riding with her "Boppa" on one of the rides - two thumbs up :)

One morning, Emily woke up earlier than everyone else, so I took her out for the sunrise. It was too cloudy to see the sun, but the view was still pretty cute. ;)

McGinnity family pic! Can't wait to fit two more babes in this pic next year!

Fishy kisses for Mimi :)

Jackson caught a lizard and let Ryan hold it. I love the look on Ryan's face in this pic- his first time holding a lizard!

Emily hanging with the big kids while we waited for dinner out one night.

Peek!

This year, we joined the McGinnity family for a pirate adventure cruise with Stinky Pete. (If you ask Natalie what she loved about the beach, she'll tell you "Kinky Pete" hahah). Here she is all dressed and ready to board the boat, bandaids (that aren't covering boo-boos) and all. ;)