Happy Sunday everyone! It's a yucky day, isn't it??
Okay....so, here it goes....my journaling of the Bumgarner/Leslie Spring Break Beach Trip 2012. As usual, we had a blast! We had the usual travelers with one small change. Me, Landis, Luke, Mark, Melissa, Hannah, and, this time, Hannah's boyfriend, Dylan. (Now, now, don't anyone worry - Hannah and Dylan stayed in separate rooms at night time and stayed visibly with us the whole trip.) The last time that we went to the beach Luke was about 19 months old. It's amazing what a difference the age of 2 does - Luke was a lot more fun this time. The last time we visited the beach, there were a few things that made life with Luke a little difficult: (1) he refused to sleep in the pack and play, (2) he woke up at like 4:30am every morning, (3) he wasn't a fan of getting his feet in the sand, and (4) he wouldn't wear a floatie in the pool. Well, this time, all of these hardships did not exist. Luke LOVED his pack and play. Matter of fact, the first night he woke up startled and I asked him if he wanted to get in the bed with me and Daddy and he said, "No, I want to sleep in my little bed." Luke slept every morning to somewhere between 6:00 and 7:00am. Luke LOVED the sand. He dug and mowed everyday. And, Luke wore a floatie on his back, which made playing in the water a lot easier on me and a lot more fun - not to mention safer.
So....because of Luke's maturity and the great company - this trip was one of the best ever - the only problem - it was too short! :) Before I begin writing my BOOK about the trip, I should let you know that I have gotten a lot smarter about this blogging stuff. To save me time, I took my IPad and each night, before going to bed, I typed about our day using the Notes section of my IPad. Then, when I got home, I emailed myself these notes. Therefore, when writing this blog, I pretty much had to cut and paste, and, of course, upload the pictures (which takes quite awhile). Needless to say, I probably saved myself over an hour of typing today....speaking of typing....here it goes....
Enjoy reading about our beach trip....
Arrival Day: Wednesday, April 11th
Luke was awesome in the car on the way to the beach. He slept for about an hour and a half and then he talked and sang for the rest of the way. He was actually quite pleasant riding company. :)
As soon as we arrived, you could see the excitement in Luke's face. For several days, we talked about the things that Luke would be doing at the beach and what he would see. As soon as we arrived at the top of the parking deck and Luke could see the ocean, he said very enthusiastically,
"We are at the beach!" Landis and I asked him, "Are you excited?" Luke said,
"Yes, I am!" in the sweetest voice. Seeing and hearing his excitement made me want to cry. Luke started off with his favorite activity - pushing the lawn mower - he pushed his lawn mower onto the elevator and into the condo. As we unpacked, Luke played with the luggage cart. As soon as we were unpacked, Luke, Melissa, and I headed to the beach. Luke walked and ran in the sand and stomped a few towers. He climbed
on the big pipe, threw some shells into the water, and then ran and ran and ran
up the steps and down the ramp. He was having a blast just enjoying the scenery!!!
(A little side note here - this condo was the same condo that we stayed in 2 Aprils ago. Luke was only like 6 months old. It was the year that we brought Luke's red wagon and Melissa and Landis broke the rail on the first day of the trip trying to get the wagon up the steps. Well, good news here - after probably seeing MANY people fall up and down the steps at those condos, this time, we noticed that there was a nice new RAMP built beside of the steps. What a genius idea! I knew that Landis and Melissa would greatly appreciate this improvement!)
After Luke worked up a sweat running up and down that fabulous ramp, we headed back to the room. Everyone else went
to eat, but Luke and I stayed at the condo and went to the indoor pool.
The
pool was very small, but warm, and no one was in there except for us. We had the whole pool
to ourselves. Luke was a little nervous about the water at first. He
rode
in his race car float for a little while and then wanted to sit down on
the
step. I put on his orange back float that he hated last year. Like I stated earlier, this year, he loved it.
He would throw these diving torpedoes into the water and then jump from the steps into
my hands. I would pull him around the water while I collected the torpedoes. He loved watching me go under
water and get them. He also loved it when I would hold him and then use
my "stinky toe" to get the torpedoes.
To continue to get him comfortable in the water, I would pull him around the water while he floated and kicked. He laughed and laughed. I blew some bubbles and he thought that was hilarious. As he continued to get used to
the water,
he would swim to the steps, climb the steps, and then jump. He did this
over and over. He would jump from different spots. His head would go under
the water a little and he didn't mind.
For a little while, a little girl about 8 years old named Maggie swam with us. She was really sweet and Luke liked
watching her go under the water.
After Maggie left, Luke and I got out his huge water squirter and shot
it all the way to the end of the pool. I also aimed at a rules sign and shot it with the water squirter and Luke even let me shoot him a few times. :) But, he got me back when it was his turn with the water squirter - he shot it right at me.
Luke got out his little boat and pushed
it on the edge and then jumped and jumped some more. He was having an awesome time! :) Before
we knew it, we had swam for almost 2 hours. We dreaded getting out for a few reasons: (1) we were having a blast and (2) it was probably about 45 to 50 degrees outside at this point - not exactly the temperature that you want to walk outside in when you are soaking wet! But...because bedtime was right around the corner and we were both starving, we bundled up and ran as fast as we could to the elevator and then to our
room. To warm up, we took a warm bath in the jetted, garden tub. That tub was awesome! It was like a swimming pool in itself. Everyone was still gone, so Luke and I ate some pizza together at the living room table and then I took Luke for a ride in the truck until he fell asleep. As I laid Luke down in his pack and play, I thought to myself how I couldn't have asked for a better way to start our vacation.
Even with the chilly beach weather, we had found a way to have fun. The whole
trip was already worth those few hours that Luke and I had together.
Here are the pictures from our arrival day...
Luke smiling as we left home...
Luke playing on the luggage carts.
Luke playing on the ramps and steps leading to the beach.
He is running full speed!
Day 1: Thursday, April 12th
As I prepared for our trip, I noticed that the weather for Thursday was only going to be mid-60s so I researched some fun places for kids to visit and discovered Brookgreen Gardens. Brookgreen Gardens has a mini-zoo and then a huge area filled with fountains, gardens, beautiful statues, trees, etc - pretty much, I knew that it would be a place where Luke could see some animals and then he could run, explore, climb, and enjoy the outside like he always does.
The night before, we made plans to leave early the next morning to head to Murrells Inlet - about a 50 minute drive - to these beautiful gardens. Hannah and Dylan decided to go along with us. Thursday morning at 8:30 (right on time), all 4 of us headed south. Dylan rode in the back seat with Luke and Hannah rode up front with me. Luke loved having some grown up boy company in the back seat. Dylan was so sweet. When Luke needed something, he would hand it to him and he even unlatched his seat belt every time we needed to unload.
We found the place easily, paid, and headed to the zoo entrance first.
At the zoo, we first saw some bulls, horses, and chickens. Luke enjoyed watching the chickens peck around. We also watched the zoo keepers shave a sheep's wool. That was very cool to watch!
Next, we walked across this very neat bridge that was positioned only about 2 feet over a swamp. We had to walk through a screen door to get to the bridge. We were all a little nervous at first - especially Luke. In the swamp area, there were birds flying
everywhere and some pretty creepy looking water and other creatures. We didn't lolly gag around this swamp area, especially after reading the sign with warning signs that there may be alligators! :)
Speaking of warning signs - this zoo was nothing like the zoo in Asheboro. Instead of feeling like you are walking down a road looking at caged animals, you felt like you were walking in the woods inside the natural habitats of the animals. There weren't many cages. When we first entered the woods area, there was a sign that warned us to stay on the path because there was the possibility of coming in contact with venomous snakes, stinging insects, and alligators. OH MY! As soon as we read the sign, we heard and saw a snake slither through the tall grass. Needless to say, we stayed on the path and never lingered too totally long in any location. This place was super peaceful and quiet and there were only a few people in the zoo so the animals probably did feel like this was their home and we were just visiting. :)
Because the animals were comfortable in their environment, we were able to see and hear them do some very cool things. Luke was most excited about seeing the otters. The otters were awesome! Luke loved watching them swim. They swim so graceful and quick. They are so cute when they flip over and swim on their backs. At one point, Dylan put his hand up to the glass and the otters came swimming right up next to his hand. Luke was watching and wanted to do the same thing so we let him. The otter swam
right up to his hand and blew some bubbles. Luke jumped but grinned. He did
this for quite awhile. He wanted to keep watching the otters and probably would have stayed and watched for 30 more minutes but we encouraged him to continue down the path.
Our next stop were the foxes. They were beautiful. You could hear them making their mating call noise as walked up. One fox was in a tree - a tree that led right over the pathways - that was a little scary. Luke enjoyed standing up on the wooden edge to see the fox.
As we walked from animal to animal, a highlight for Luke was looking at, touching, and climbing on the statues. Each animal exhibit had a statue that went with it. You will see some pretty cute pictures of Luke posing with the statues in a minute.
Our next stop were the foxes. They were beautiful. You could hear them making their mating call noise as walked up. One fox was in a tree - a tree that led right over the pathways - that was a little scary. Luke enjoyed standing up on the wooden edge to see the fox.
As we walked from animal to animal, a highlight for Luke was looking at, touching, and climbing on the statues. Each animal exhibit had a statue that went with it. You will see some pretty cute pictures of Luke posing with the statues in a minute.
As we continued down the path, we could hear the turkeys making the loudest gobble sound I have ever heard. When we finally could see them, I understood why their gobble was so loud - it was because they were HUGE!!! They were very cool looking!
The longer that we were at the zoo, the braver Luke became. He began trying to go off the path and it was eventually taking all three of us (me, Hannah, and Dylan) to keep him focused. He wanted Hannah to hold him and carry him some and she was so sweet and honored his request. After a few more cute pictures, we continued along the path to the end of the zoo area.
The longer that we were at the zoo, the braver Luke became. He began trying to go off the path and it was eventually taking all three of us (me, Hannah, and Dylan) to keep him focused. He wanted Hannah to hold him and carry him some and she was so sweet and honored his request. After a few more cute pictures, we continued along the path to the end of the zoo area.
Our next stop was the garden areas. At this point, me, Hannah, and Dylan were starving and our main goal in the garden areas was to find something to eat and to let Luke explore the children's garden. We visited the Welcome Center and got a map. Luke decided that he would "help" us with the directions. His way of helping included walking around holding the map and looking at it while he sang "Mary Had A Little Lamb." There is a super cute video later that shows his ability to multi-task! :)
As we continued to explore the garden areas, Luke enjoyed walking around all of the beautiful trees. This place was gorgeous! The trees were huge and the branches seemed to drape everything. Luke also enjoyed stopping to look at all of the fountains. At one fountain, I gave him a penny and let him make a wish. He wished for some chewing gum and, very soon after his wish, he got some! Now, he will look at me and say, "I wish...." for things that he wants. Smart boy - it worked once, why not try again??? :)
We finally found the Peace Garden for Children and at this point, my child was not peaceful. He was starting to get a little wild! At the Peace Garden, Luke went under the tepee, walked around and around the big tree, and climbed on and around the turtle statues. He started trying his best to run from me when it was time to move to the next location so I knew that nap time was getting near. :)
We wanted to eat before nap time, so we continued to look for something to eat. As
we tried to read the map, Luke ventured off under trees, around
shrubbery, and picked him up several huge leaves to play with. He seemed to be
having fun just enjoying the outdoors. He continued to get dirtier and dirtier. At one point when I changed his diaper, I pulled huge pieces of leaves out of his diaper!! :)
We never could find somewhere to eat inside the gardens so we finally decided to leave and eat on the
way home. We stopped for lunch at Luke's favorite fast food restaurant - Chick Fil A. Luke ate great - he must have been starving after all of that running around! While we were eating, a man who was
cleaning tables walked over to our table and said, "How are
y'all?" Luke said without hesitation, "What's your name?" I was so proud that he used the words and phrases that I have been trying to teach him to use when
he's meeting new people. The man's name was Gus and he was originally from
Greensboro so we talked to him for a little while. Before he left, Luke said,
"It's nice to meet ya." You can tell that his mommy has been modeling his language skills for him because he said that phrase with a HUGE country accent!!! Country or not - it was sweet!
After lunch, we headed back to the condo. Luke was asleep within 15
minutes. At the condo, I was able to get him out of the car and into the bed without waking him up. He and I slept for another 2 hours
in the bedroom. It was nice to take a mid day nap with him.
After our wonderful nap, we got ready for dinner. We ate at our favorite beach restaurant - Fiesta Del Burro Loco and then went shopping at the outlet mall. Luke was
excellent at dinner! While Landis shopped at the outlets, I let Luke ride the slot machine rides. We had a
blast! He rode every one of them several times!
On the way home from the outlets, Landis and I went through the drive thru at McDonald's to get a coffee and while we waited, Luke sang us the sweetest songs. He sang, "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus." (That is one of the songs that I sing to him at night before bedtime.) We also sang "O Be Careful Little Eyes" together. We let Luke play around the condo for a little while and then headed to the car for our nightly ride to put him asleep.
Here are some pictures of Thursday....
At the zoo...
On the way home from the outlets, Landis and I went through the drive thru at McDonald's to get a coffee and while we waited, Luke sang us the sweetest songs. He sang, "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus." (That is one of the songs that I sing to him at night before bedtime.) We also sang "O Be Careful Little Eyes" together. We let Luke play around the condo for a little while and then headed to the car for our nightly ride to put him asleep.
Here are some pictures of Thursday....
At the zoo...
The otters....
A rare photo opportunity with Mommy....
With Hannah and Dylan....
Reading "directions" for us...
Eating his chewing gum that he just wished for and got!
His serious face....
Riding at the Outlets...
On Friday morning, Luke woke a little earlier than we would like. He woke up around 6:00. I kept him in the room until about 6:20 (so he wouldn't wake everyone else up) but then I let him go play in the living room. We tried to be quiet but he was rested and ready to play. He and I worked his puzzles, read books, and played with his play doh. He also mowed and ate his breakfast. Before long, Daddy, Mark and Melissa were up. We all lounged around for an hour or so just talking and playing with Luke. The things he says and does are hilarious. We could all just sit and play and talk with him for hours because he is so entertaining. He makes us laugh constantly.
Landis and I went for a quick 3 mile run while Melissa and Mark watched Luke.
After our run, Luke and I headed to the pool. We did our usual jumping
and playing and giggling. Before long, Daddy, Mark,
and Melissa joined us and Luke played in the water with them as they acted very
silly like kids themselves. After a little while, Luke said he wanted to go dig. So, despite
the 65 degree weather, we headed to
the beach.
It was still a little chilly but Luke
didn't seem to mind. He used his big
blue shovel to fill up his wagon. We
built some sand castles. We even made a
sand frog that we called Freddy. As I
made them, Luke knocked them down. We
took him to the water for a few minutes
but as soon as he felt how cold it
was, he was done. Luke and I helped a little boy
dig a huge hole. Luke pushed his lawn mower down the sand. Everyone we passed thought he was the cutest thing and
I had to agree. After mowing awhile, Luke dug some more near our
awning and then ate him a snack. Time passed so quickly. We were out on the beach for several hours and it didn't seem like Luke did a lot, but he was content as he could be just digging and mowing.
Around Luke's nap time, he began to get tired, so we went for a ride. He was asleep
in the truck in less than 5 minutes. I put him in his pack and play on the beach under the awning. He
slept 2.5 hours. It was nice for me to have some down time. I was able to spend some time relaxing, laying out in the sun, and talking to the grown ups. Luke looked so sweet lying in the shade all
bundled up. We made sure he stayed very warm. The temperature was still hovering around 68 degrees. For us, as long as we stayed in the sun and not the shade, the weather
was nice. Matter of fact, so nice that I ended up
getting sunburnt on one side because I didn't even realize how much sun I was getting.
When Luke woke up, for the first 20
minutes, all he wanted to do was play in
his "little bed" - that's what
he was calling his pack and play. He loved this bed! We let him play in there and eat his snack while we packed up the beach stuff.
After heading back to the room, Luke and I took a nice long fun filled bath in the
jacuzzi tub and we all headed to eat at TGI Fridays. Luke was awesome during dinner!
He fed himself his own mac n cheese,
pineapples, strawberries, and even
mangos. He never once complained or
whined or asked to get out of his high chair. He would even show us his cheesy smile every time
we wanted to take a picture. We
were so proud of him.
After dinner, we came home and let him play in the condo again while we
After dinner, we came home and let him play in the condo again while we
all played with him. He built his block
towers and knocked it down. He pushed
his mower and then sat in the closet and
played with his tractors. He tried
on daddy's sun hat and giggled as he
played peek a boo with all of us. He
was a hoot, quite a hoot. With no
arguments, we headed to the car for bed
time. Luke was asleep within 10 minutes.
Up to this point, this was already a fabulous vacation, even with the chilly weather.
Luke was sleeping great, which
contributes to great behavior. It makes me so
proud that I can take a toddler on
vacation with us around other people and
he behaves nicely. Mark, Melissa, and
Hannah are great with him and while we
are on vacation, he thinks he is part of
one big family and he is....a happy
one! :)
At this point, things were going so well, I couldn't wait for tomorrow! :)
Luke at 6:20am - happy already! :)
Eating a snack...
Sitting in his chair....
Nap time!!!
Day 3: Saturday, April 14th
On Saturday morning, after another good nights sleep and some
book reading and breakfast, Luke and I headed to the sand early for some
mowing and digging. Luke loved pushing his lawn mower down the hall, to
the elevator, and then up and
down the ramps outside. In the sand, Luke
mowed, saw some dead jellyfish, and
dug up dirt and filled his wagon and
made some "deliveries" of dirt to
different places on the beach. We could
tell it was going to be a warmer day
because we were warm in our jeans. Because of the hope of warmer weather, we came upstairs and put on our bathing suits.
As usual, Luke and I went down to the pool and
played by ourselves. He loved to jump
off the side over and over. His new
favorite activity on this morning was
filling and dumping his orange cup. He
would fill up the orange cup and dump
it on the window. Then he would throw
his orange cup into the water and
jump in to get it. He would throw his
orange cup on the ground with the purpose of making a loud noise and then he would go and get it. When going to get the orange cup, Luke was a good listener when I told him to walk and not run. He and I also played catch with his white baseball and threw it around the edge of the pool.
Luke laughed and laughed at me when I I would stick my feet up out of the water while he tried to grab them. Luke did some more riding in his race car float and then daddy
came and told us that he was headed to the beach so we went with him.
On the beach, Luke loved playing in the
sand. He found two sisters that were
playing in the sand, Emily and Maci, and
they all dug together for a long time.
The girls would make towers and Luke
would mow over them. We made several
frog castles and gave them different
names - Freddy the frog, Fran the frog,
and unknown frog. The girls didn't want
him knocking down the frogs so they
built other towers to let him knock
down. We built a moat and I showed him
how to put water in it. Mostly, he just
enjoyed digging and digging.
We went back up to our awning and he
went down to the water with Melissa. He
loved jumping the waves with Melissa.
She would dramatically jump the waves and he
would giggle out loud. He didn't want me to do it
because he said I didn't do it right. :)
Melissa had to do it! :) He loved it when
Melissa would pretend to put his
hands in the water. Luke had an absolute blast playing with Melissa!
And....I have to say...the water was freezing so
Melissa must really love Luke in
order to stay out there with him making
him laugh. Not to mention, it took a
lot of energy to lift Luke up and down
and jump with him over and over. Luke sure does
love his aunt Melissa and I think she loves him too!
Luke was having so much fun that I let
him play until after 2:00. He cried
and cried when I finally took him to the
truck for a ride to start his nap.
He kept saying, I want to go back to the
beach. He fell asleep quickly and then slept in his pack and play for almost 3 hours.
Because it was almost 5:30, we tried to
wake him up earlier but when I rubbed
his back and asked if he wanted to get
up, he said, "Not yet!" and
fell back asleep. While he slept, Landis and I
enjoyed hanging out together. For 2 days,
we had great nap time
entertainment - a fraternity was having their beach weekend festivities right next to us. So, there were a ton of Lamda Chi frat boys and their dates
having a huge party next to us. These Wake Forest students were
having a blast and we had a great time
watching them.
Luke finally woke up at 5:30. By this time, it was
chilly on the beach and Luke was
ready to go to the room. We ordered
pizza and took our time getting ready.
Luke and I took another bath in the jacuzzi tub. It
was too late to go to the big
family kingdom rides so we took Luke
back to the quarter slot machine rides at the
outlets. He had a great time. He rode
every ride that he wanted for almost
an hour. He saw the red car strollers that you can rent and he wanted
to ride in them. When I told him that he
couldn't because they were closed,
he began to cry. At that point, I could
tell that he was already getting
tired so we headed to the car. He cried
and cried about riding the red car.
Matter of fact, he cried himself to sleep. :( (This 20 minute crying fit about the red car was actually his only toddler tantrum the entire trip and thank goodness, it wasn't in front of anyone but me and Landis.) On a 5 day trip, only one 20 minute meltdown is considered a success when you have a 2 year old! I was still very proud of him!!
Oh....one more funny fact about this day....as we were getting ready and playing in the room, Luke started repeating a phrase that Melissa says all the time. He kept
saying
"Are you kidding me?"
It was cute!
Here are pictures from Saturday...
Luke and I playing on the beach, early morning...
Oh...I didn't even write about this yet....here is a picture of me and Luke attempting to get into the Lazy River at the condo. Luke wanted to ride in the Lazy River so bad but the water was FREEZING! Luke didn't believe that it was freezing until I walked with him and showed him! Do you notice that he's holding on tight AFTER sticking his foot in the water. No worries, Lukester, when we return in July, we will ride and ride and ride in the Lazy River! :)
Departure Day: Sunday, April 15h
On Sunday morning, Luke began talking to Daisy and Minnie
at 5:15am in his pack and play. He whispered to them until about 6:00 and
then was ready to get up. He got in
our bed for a little while and wanted me
and daddy to scratch his back and
snuggle. Then, by 6:30, he was ready to
go in the living room. He played
while I packed and then when I was all
packed, Luke and I headed to the sand
for some last few minutes of mowing and digging. He
mowed the grassy part beside of the pool and then we went to the sand. It
was so peaceful and beautiful! Luke
mowed and for the longest time, he dug,
loaded his wagon, and pulled his
wagon to a different spot on the sand.
It was so precious to watch him with
the ocean in the background. After
playing, we walked to the water and told
the ocean that we would see it later in
the summer. I got a few extra hugs holding him
beside the ocean and then his little man self stomped through the sand. He seemed
content. He had a great time but he was ready to go home and see papa dale
and his big green lawn mower.
We had a great trip home. In our car, we don't believe in
watching a DVD player in the car. We just read some books, talked, sang some songs, and played with Luke's mini Mickey guitar. Luke slept for about an hour and
was sweet as pie the rest of the
trip! Once again, I could not have been more pleased with Luke's overall demeanor for this entire trip. There are times that Luke and I have battles over simple things and I think to myself, "Am I doing anything right with this little fellow?" And, then, after days like we had at the beach, I am reminded that, "Yes, I must be doing something right" because Luke knows expectations and when it counts, he follows them!
Here are some pictures from our final morning at the beach...
I asked a man who was walking by to take this picture. Once again, I got the cheesy smile - but, I will take it! It's not often that Luke and I have the chance to pose together! :)
Now, enjoy some videos from our trip...
Enjoy the videos:
(1) Luke riding the carousel.
(2) Luke filling the wagon.
(3) Luke talking in his chair on the beach.
(4) Luke riding his favorite zebra striped jeep.
(5) Luke mowing the sand.
(6) Luke reading "directions" while singing.
As always, a big THANK YOU to Mark, Melissa, Hannah, and Dylan for being the most patient, most kind, and most fun vacationers ever!! We love you guys with all of our heart! Mark and Melissa-you are like the brother and sister that we never had and we are so glad that Luke has Uncle Mark and Aunt Melissa in his life! We can't wait until our trip in July! Until then, we hope to see you soon!
I hope everyone has a fabulous week! I have a short work week coming up but it's not for a good reason - I'm taking a day off to have some minor dental surgery - nothing major, but enough to require sedation. I'm nervous. I hate the dentist! Please pray that all goes smoothly and I heal quickly!
We had a good weekend around here - even with the rainy weather so stay tuned for some more Bumgarner family fun coming soon and most importantly, some super cute phrases that we have written down in the Luke quote book! :)
See you soon,
Toddy
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