Day 5

Phew! Just got the kids to bed...long day!

After not sleeping well last night, I didn't argue when Will got up with Ethan this morning to go for a ride to the beach.  Unfortunately, no sooner had I fallen back to sleep when Eleanor, who has been sleeping past 8 every morning, decided to get up by 7:15.  Oh well.  I had extra coffee this morning.  And it is a good thing because we took a long bike ride into South Beach Marina, home of all things Salty Dog.  The ride was quite pretty, though it can be a bit stressful with all the kids.  The trees I with the Spanish moss are my absolute favorite (and Lisa's).  So unique nada do very pretty.  We put our name in to eat at the Salty Dog when we got there, and the wait was only about 30 minutes.  We opted for inside as eating outside would be a bit sweat-inducing.  While we waited, we walked over to where the kids can tie dye their own salty dog t-shirts.  We figured a souvineer they had their hand in making was pretty good.  Can't wait to see how they turned out.  Pretty sure Eleanor chose Bob Marley colors...should be interesting!

By the time we were done and walked in a shop or two, the Salty Dog was ready for us.  The hush puppies alone I while have made an excellent meal, but the other food was good, too.  Will and I both ate the special, which was a spinach tortilla wrap with three different fish and a spicy aioli. It was quite yummy.  And, thankfully, Jake the he dog did not make n appearance in the restaurant.  Eleanor had been saying she would not go to the SD because of him.  Glad she didn't have to make a scene.

After lunch, we walked over to see some pretty cool macaws, then made our way back home.  On the way, we stopped at the baynard ruins, a historical site of an old plantation.  The buildings are made from crushed oyster shells.  Pretty cool.  We came home and rested for a bit and then hit the beach around 4. Will had gone to the surf shop to get something for Ethan's birthday and saw that the waves were really great.  The kids loved jumping in them, but the current kept moving them down the beach.  And then it appears tht Ben got a small jellyfish sting on his leg.  We got some jellyfish spray from a lifeguard (just vinegar, apparently) and he seems to be ok now.  Lisa buried all the kids in the sand, then, and we got some funny pictures.  We also had a double rainbow and then  a single.  Of course, this happened the day I decided not to bring my nice camera.  I snapped a picture on my phone, so we will see.  Forgot to mention that when we first got to the beach, it started raining. There were mostly blue skies, but we had about 5 minutes of rain. Random.  It actually felt quite nice.

When the kids were good and sandy, we came home for showers, a quick dinner, and then, finally, the Greg Russell show.  He is a very adorable man, and the kids just love him.  It is neat to see the generations of families that have seen him year after year.  Kids make signs for him to read and he will read them.  One sign had an old picture that said my mom sang with you 30 years ago, or something like that.  It is sweet. And, he sang the song Ethan now knows from his school program, "The Cat Came Back," so that was good.  He also taught the kids a song to annoy their parents on the  drive home from HH.  Not so good.  Thanks Greg Russell.  We will likely go back tomorrow, so we will have to think of a funny sign for Ethan for his birthday.  To be honest, I think the show is about 15 minutes too long for me.  I was very tired and kept hoping he was almost done by the end. He is a great entertainer, but I was just exhausted tonight.  The kids were troopers, but this mom could not wait to get home to bed!

Well, this will be my lastl post with a 6 year old, as tomorrow is the big number 7 for Ethan.  Crazy.  Just crazy.  I think it is fun that Ethan is often traveling for his birthday.  Maine last year and now Hilton Head.  Having his cousins here really makes is special, too.  Until tomorrow...