This is being posted a little later than I anticipated but we recently had a scare with my dad and his heart. However, as most of you will already know, after 3 stents later, he is back home and doing well. Thank you for all your love, support and prayers. God is Good! So now here is the post about our vacation that I wanted to send out last week. Hope you enjoy!
“My God is so big so strong and so mighty there’s nothing my God cannot do. The mountains are His, the valley’s are His, the stars are His handiwork too. My God is so big so strong and so mighty there’s nothing my God cannot do!”
This preschool song that is on one of my daughters CD’s kept playing over and over again in my head as we drove through the mountains and across the valleys towards the beach shore. Of course we didn’t see most of this until we drove Saturday during the day. Friday night (Sept 3rd) we left Pittsburgh, PA and started out on the road. We stopped in Beckley, WV to rest and recharge for the remainder of the drive on Saturday. However the night ski was so clear on Friday that we could see a lot of the constellations. It was great to break out from our little world of daily routine and get back to the reality of how big and beautiful the rest of the world really is! Ellia slept for almost the whole 4 hours to Beckley but we did have trouble getting her to relax and sleep at the hotel. Here are some shots from Saturday morning. We met up with the Barkers and my parents and let the kids run around in the parking lot before we got on the road again.
The drive actually wasn’t that bad on Saturday. We could see father in front of us for sure, the weather was sunny, and Ellia took naps along the way or entertained us by singing. Usually it is her ABC’s but now and then she will bust out an "Old McDonald" or "Wheels on the Bus". Kevin and I would pop in one of our CD’s when she was asleep and admire the beautiful landscape that constantly moved around us. We arrived at North Myrtle Beach around 4:30pm on Saturday and as soon as we got to our place, we headed straight to the beach!!!! These pictures are of Ellia’s first reaction to the sand.. not a fan at first.
We had a very big house / villa had two floors with 6 bed rooms! The main living area had a huge kitchen, open family room and dining area. The upstairs even had pool table! The kids loved it! And loved all the TV’s everywhere.. haha... Ellia and Alex often were found sitting together holding hands watching a show.. hehe.
Our first day on the beach was absolutely picture perfect. In fact every day was like that. Sunny and Hot with a breeze to cool us off. Ellia and Samantha had a blast chasing the seagulls and other birds as well as playing in the little pools that gathered in the sand when the tied was out. Kevin I think liked these just as much as the kids and often referred to them as his relaxation pools. Kevin also joined in with feeding the seagulls. My parents enjoyed sitting ocean side and watching the kids run around and play. We also brought Ellia’s baby pool and put it by our tent for the kids to play. Ellia wasn’t crazy about the ocean. She would get upset if we got too close with her or even if one of us would go in. Samantha however would run right to the edge and loved when the waves crashed around her.
We would make lunch and then eat it on the beach. Jen was a pro at that. The kids favorite was eating Doritos on the beach. Jen and the girls were usually panning for seashells. Dave and Alex riding the waves. And me.. catching everything on camera.
“My God is so big so strong and so mighty there’s nothing my God cannot do. The mountains are His, the valley’s are His, the stars are His handiwork too. My God is so big so strong and so mighty there’s nothing my God cannot do!”
This preschool song that is on one of my daughters CD’s kept playing over and over again in my head as we drove through the mountains and across the valleys towards the beach shore. Of course we didn’t see most of this until we drove Saturday during the day. Friday night (Sept 3rd) we left Pittsburgh, PA and started out on the road. We stopped in Beckley, WV to rest and recharge for the remainder of the drive on Saturday. However the night ski was so clear on Friday that we could see a lot of the constellations. It was great to break out from our little world of daily routine and get back to the reality of how big and beautiful the rest of the world really is! Ellia slept for almost the whole 4 hours to Beckley but we did have trouble getting her to relax and sleep at the hotel. Here are some shots from Saturday morning. We met up with the Barkers and my parents and let the kids run around in the parking lot before we got on the road again.
The drive actually wasn’t that bad on Saturday. We could see father in front of us for sure, the weather was sunny, and Ellia took naps along the way or entertained us by singing. Usually it is her ABC’s but now and then she will bust out an "Old McDonald" or "Wheels on the Bus". Kevin and I would pop in one of our CD’s when she was asleep and admire the beautiful landscape that constantly moved around us. We arrived at North Myrtle Beach around 4:30pm on Saturday and as soon as we got to our place, we headed straight to the beach!!!! These pictures are of Ellia’s first reaction to the sand.. not a fan at first.
We had a very big house / villa had two floors with 6 bed rooms! The main living area had a huge kitchen, open family room and dining area. The upstairs even had pool table! The kids loved it! And loved all the TV’s everywhere.. haha... Ellia and Alex often were found sitting together holding hands watching a show.. hehe.
Our first day on the beach was absolutely picture perfect. In fact every day was like that. Sunny and Hot with a breeze to cool us off. Ellia and Samantha had a blast chasing the seagulls and other birds as well as playing in the little pools that gathered in the sand when the tied was out. Kevin I think liked these just as much as the kids and often referred to them as his relaxation pools. Kevin also joined in with feeding the seagulls. My parents enjoyed sitting ocean side and watching the kids run around and play. We also brought Ellia’s baby pool and put it by our tent for the kids to play. Ellia wasn’t crazy about the ocean. She would get upset if we got too close with her or even if one of us would go in. Samantha however would run right to the edge and loved when the waves crashed around her.
We would make lunch and then eat it on the beach. Jen was a pro at that. The kids favorite was eating Doritos on the beach. Jen and the girls were usually panning for seashells. Dave and Alex riding the waves. And me.. catching everything on camera.
The 5th was Jen and Dave’s birthdays and we went to the Giant Crab to eat dinner. They took a family photo of us before we were seated that came out so nice and is a great keep sake from that day and of our trip.
Over the week, the kids even became friends with a little girl named Hanna. She was 4 and her and Alex had fun chasing each other. Ellia really liked her and wanted to join right in whatever the older kids were doing.
Ellia really loved hanging out with Dada on the beach or covering him with sand! I loved watching her run around and just take in the experience of her surroundings.
Mommy and Daddy both loved it when Ellia decided to crawl up on a beach chair and take her nap! It was nice to relax and read a book again. She seemed to really enjoy her naps on the beach.. who could blame her! Samantha even joined her one day. I had to take a bunch of pictures of this moment. She looks so peaceful. When she would wake up she would ask for juice and sometimes tell us about her dream. One was about daycare and all her friends. So cute!
We also had a professional photographer take pictures of us all in our kaki and white. This vacation was extra special because not only was it Jen and Dave’s birthdays, Alex is now 5, Ellia will be 2 soon, Kevin and I will be married 5 years soon, Mom and Dad married 35 years soon, Dad turning 70 soon… and.. ME TURNING 30 SOON!!!! AHHHHHH…Most of these events will be happening in November with our anniversary being at the end of October. I don’t have these pictures to share right now because we need to get the proofs first. This will have to be a later post.. or just saved for Christmas cards.
After pictures, we went to Broadway at the Beach where there are tons of shops and entertainment. Ellia loved running around and taking in all the sights. We got ice cream, fed fish, made penny wishes into a fountain and visited a play area. There was a café that was playing music that we passed by and she just stopped in her tracks to dance her little heart out…thought I would share with you in a video. See it under this set of pictures.
After pictures, we went to Broadway at the Beach where there are tons of shops and entertainment. Ellia loved running around and taking in all the sights. We got ice cream, fed fish, made penny wishes into a fountain and visited a play area. There was a café that was playing music that we passed by and she just stopped in her tracks to dance her little heart out…thought I would share with you in a video. See it under this set of pictures.
Thursday morning we went to Barefoot Landing where there are more shops. There was a flower bush that butterflies kept landing on and Ellia was amazed. Miss Ellia also couldn’t resist the loud music that some stores played and the best was her shaking her little bum in these crazy glasses to “Who Let the Dogs Out”. Jen and I enjoyed a winery and sampling some of the home made wins. We then hung out at the pool later that afternoon and Kevin got to go golfing.
Friday was our last day at the beach and it was the hottest day out of all, but just breathtaking. This is the day that Dave and the kids decided to dig a hole to China! Which kept their interest for about 20 minutes or so!
That night, my Aunt and Uncle from South Carolina drove up to visit and take us to dinner at a restaurant where you could look out the window and see alligators and turtles swim by. The kids loved this. I had to take a picture of the menu under the kids section where it has a peanut butter and jelly sandwich served with a bottle of Dom! A $253.95 meal!!! Ellia ate cheese pizza instead.. haha
Then we packed and Saturday it was time to leave!!!! I took pictures of our view from the balcony and little miss seemed depressed to go. The weather was overcast and perfect for driving. It was also September 11th and when we were driving out of North Myrtle, there were veterans standing on overpasses with flags and signs. Really touching to see. Wish I would have gotten a picture of that.
Also, the 11th of September was the 22nd month mark for Ellia!!! Getting so close to 2! She was awesome in the car. She slept most of the time and we only did two stops. We made it home by 8:30pm. Kevin did such a good job driving. His poor back took a beating though. Thank you Lord for keeping us safe the whole time and returning us to our home sweet home. Sunday Ellia and Dada watched the first Steelers game of the season. The past week was tough getting back into our routine.. for all of us!!!! BUT we are back, tan, football has started, and all is right as rain…because that is what it was doing here when we arrived.. raining.. haha.
On another note.. Baby Hornak was born on September 2nd at 8:23pm. His name is Joseph John Hornak, and weighed 7lbs 7oz, 20.5 inches long. Super cute and the family is doing well. Hope to get to meet him soon.!
