"Different" (AKA Myrtle Beach Day 1)

We arrived in Myrtle Beach last night and today was our first full day on the beach. It was an awesome day (Praise God the weatherman was NOT correct in his forecast)!

“Different” is the key word for our trip; different than the other trips we have taken down to the beach because:

• · This time it’s not just the Simon Family, our great friends the Oswalds have joined us for vacation. We met Joel, Shauna, and Kylee almost immediately after arriving in Northern Virginia and we have been friends every sense. It’s always great to spend time with your friends, particularly when it’s fun stuff like: sun, surf, sand, and swimming. But, also, when you go on vacation with friends and you spend 24 hours a day together, you get to know each other on another level. You appreciate even more what you have in each other; already, I have learned more about my friend Shauna. I love how we are the same and I love how we are different.
• · This time the ladies started vacation without the guys. We departed on Sunday with all the kids and the guys will join us on Tuesday night. (A late departure for the guys was the best way to ensure that both families could go on vacation and that we wouldn’t need to bring 3 cars down to the beach.)
• · This time, the drive from DC to Myrtle Beach took about 2 hours longer. We stopped a bit more because of Cooper’s age, the toddler’s potty breaks, and the POURING rain (I could only drive 50mph for quite a while due to visibility---and I am not a slow driver).
• · This time, we are planning to Putt-Putt while we are in town. Myrtle Beach seems to be the Golf Capital of the World. And, I think that they have more miniature golf courses than any other city in America. Anyway, we have never putt-putted while in Myrtle Beach and this time we will hit one of the many, intriguing, creative, “over-the-top” courses. Now we just have to decide if we want to golf among waterfalls, fire-breathing dragons, pirate ships, or dinosaurs.

· I am sure that there will be other parts of this trip that are different than our other adventures in Myrtle Beach but the one thing that will not be different is that we are going to have a good time~

Motivation

After just having a baby, I am working very hard to get in shape. One of the things I am doing is sit-ups. While we were on vacation, Connor had volunteered one day to hold my feet, Sybella wanted to get in on the action, so she sat on my feet. When I would come "up" for my sit-up, Sybella would give me a kiss. It was cute and is a great motivator to have your 2-yr old daughter cheering you on, "Go Mommy, Go----Hey, Mommy kissed me!!"

Myrtle Beach Photos

I wanted to get some more shots up from our vacation in June. We were in Myrtle Beach, SC and it was such a time of relaxation and fun. Colin and Connor love the water, Sybella got a chance to have fun in the water & sand, and little Cooper won't remember this trip but will have pictures of his first trip to the beach.
Enjoy!!
**Remember if you click on any photo in our blog, it will enlarge for better viewing.

Wordless Wednesday

My best friend Shauna posts blogs occasionally called "Wordless Wednesday;" they are picture posts that need no explanation. I am going to copy her----it's the HIGHEST Compliment! So, although this is not a true "Wordless Wednesday," there will be many in the future and I wanted to make sure that Shauna got the credit!

Road Trip

Without being to retrospective or philosophical, I wanted to share a few thoughts and I thought these pictures were unique and just wanted to capture them to show my daughter later in life. So it was not really a road trip, but...we did drive down yesterday to Myrtle Beach from DC. It is 7 to 8 hours depending on traffic. Now it is a long enough drive for one person to make but when you add kids to the mix it gets interesting and you begin to learn patience. Sybella was a real trooper but there were moments and the pictures below capture one of them.



I am grateful for Gameboys and other electronic entertainment that help pass the time for the older boys. Poor Sybella, we brought toys of all varieties but when your attention span is only 10 minutes...you run out of entertainment for a 1 year old somewhere between DC and Myrtle Beach. That moment is when this happens (see below). Everyone says she is a 'princess' but rarely does anyone see this side of her. Then it dawned on me...

Aren't we all like Sybella in one way or another?

1. Our attention span shifts from one priority to the next and we wonder why we never hit our goals

2. We have one face we show the public but then there is this 'other face' we have when we are in private

So this week I am thinking through what are the priorities I need to focus on in the second half of 2008 (at work, with the family, and other personal goals). Also want to get better at being of one mind and transparency in all areas.

~David

FSM

Well it isn't quite Father's Day but since I am traveling again on Sunday and I have plans with my Father on Saturday...I thought it was a good idea to take the boys out for a Father Son Moment. Nothing fancy, nothing expensive, just some good old fun at the driving range. There is a driving range about 4 miles from the house (Oak Marr Rec Center & Golf Course).

We had fun just swinging the clubs and the boys wanted to go on the 'upper level'...I think it makes them feel like thier golf ball goes further. We had a good time and enjoyed the weather. Just having a quality time with the boys...who are growing up way to fast (10 and 8 now). Colin will be in 5th grade next year...YIKES (I have a 5th grader) and Connor will be in 2nd grade.

For the record...we did not dig tunnels in the sand trap at the golf course. These are photos from of the tunnel I helped the boys build while we were in Myrtle beach several weeks ago during another FSM.

Beach Pictures

Many have asked to see beach pictures from last weekend in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Here they are:

House of Blues

A question I was recently asked was:

What is the Church?

Matthew 18:19-20

Ephesians 4:1-6

I bring it up because while in Myrtle Beach we don’t have a ‘traditional’ place to plug in, so I decided to take the family to the House of Blues. That’s right…food, family, and worship at the Gospel Sunday brunch. A change in place and change in pace. We had a wonderful time and even Sybella got into the worship songs. Some folks may be there for entertainment value and a Sunday meal but I thought it was more than just a fun experience for the family. If you ever make it to Myrtle Beach and stay through the weekend, I highly recommend the House of Blue’s Gospel Brunch!

Church is not the bricks and mortar but rather the people, fellowship, and focus. It was a great way to start Sunday and spend quality time as a family engaged in something that is not normally the focus of the family vacation.

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For those of you who are thinking... these guys are fanatical or even a little over zealous…don’t worry. This was not an attempt to be overly spiritual just a way of taking an hour out of the ‘family vacation’ and making it more about family and a little less about the beach. I think the boys were more into “Jake & Elwood’s Car” parked out front.