The Summer of the Great Jellyfish

My sister and I often laugh because my family goes through funny "spells". We are just a tad obsessive about things and when we find something we like, we tend to wear it out. Literally. We've had The Year of the Sweater Vest, The Summer of the Milkshake, The Year of the Cargo Shorts, etc. You sort of get the idea. (Anyone besides me remember listening to Lionel Ritchie's You Are the Sun over and over again on their walkman in the sixth grade?)

Anyway.


I have decided that this will be The Summer of the Great Jellyfish.

Robert and I love the beach.  As do the boys.  Well, they are learning to love the beach.  We can't wait to go every summer.  This year we went back to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.  This is one of our most favorite places to vacation. 

Here is a picture of Jack I snapped just after we arrived.

Oh, Happy Day!  He was ready for a week full of sand, surf, and sleeping in.  The first few days of vacation were wonderful. 

We saw beautiful sunsets.  This was at Harbor Town while we were at the Lighthouse.

We are delicious seafood at The Crazy Crab.

We swam in the pool.

 

We rode bicycles every evening.

We played at the beach.

You might even say we were on top of the world...

And then...The Unthinkable...

On Thursday, a jellyfish wrapped Jack's ankles while he was playing in the ocean.  I couldn't believe it.  We have been taking our boys to the beach since they were babies and we have never had this happen before.  Jack came out of the water like lightning.  The lifeguard brought over "jellyfish spray" - aka vinegar.  She sprayed him down on both legs and his wrist.  We had to keep him out of the water after that so the sting wouldn't hurt anymore and would start to heal.  This wasn't hard AT ALL since he declared he HATED the beach and he was NEVER getting back in the water EVER again.  He didn't care if he had to STAY AT HOME ALL BY HIMSELF next year.

The beach was dead to Jack.

Suddenly, no one wanted to get in the water...

Which was okay with me.  I hadn't been to the outlets yet!  Thank goodness we only had one more day of vacation after that.

 Jack did get in the water the next day and, of course, I do not have a picture of that.  A storm had blown through Thursday night and the waves and wind at the beach were wild.  None of my pictures from that day turned out well.  The big boys loved the huge waves and played in them forever.  Two or three times we thought they were going to get dragged down to Cuba.

Jack went back in the water and justified it to us by declaring, "Those waves are so big there is definitely NO WAY a jellyfish could EVER live in that." 


Ahem. 


(I have NO IDEA where all the dramatics come from.  Must be his dad.)


We ended our trip with a sandcastle fit for a queen.  Of the Englands, that is...

Watch Out, Lance Armstrong

Almost got it....

And, he's off!

Way to go, Jack! We're so proud of you.

Sunday Letters

Dear Nick,

You are growing up too fast. You started a small part-time job at the golf course for the summer yesterday. You came in from your first few hours of work starved to death. Four chicken sandwiches and two drinks later, you were full. Sheesh! You keep eating like that and I'll have to go to work with you!

A part of me wants to take you back in time a few years. I miss the little boy who used to climb on my lap to "take a sit-down". And yet I am so proud of the man you are becoming. It's happening right before my eyes and I want to reach out and slow the clock down. I love you so much, honey!



Dear Daniel,

On Monday you leave for your first week-long football camp. Four days away from home - will we make it? I know how much you love the sport and I get such a thrill out of watching you play. You have been working so hard lately to get in shape and it is showing! You have a strong sense of discipline when it comes to things like that - thank goodness you took after your dad in that department.

We went to the airport tonight to walk and you brought along your bicycle to ride. You had the best time. And the faster you went the better you liked it! It reminded me of when you first learned to ride (at 3 years old, I might add) and how you would fly down the road at Miss Mae's to try to beat us when we came to pick you up. You are adventurous at heart!


Dear Jack,

YOU DID IT! This was the week you learned to ride a bike without training wheels. Your dad and I knew you could do it. You practiced hard for two days while we walked and then you just took off! Tonight while Dad and I were walking, you pedaled your little heart out on your Spiderman bicycle. There was a moment when you were ahead of me, the sun was shining/setting in front of us, and I could see the outline of that little red bicycle helmet on your sweet head. I thought I would have a spell right then! It was a mental picture I hope I can remember forever. Your dad, the brothers, and I are very proud of you.


Dear Robert,

I enjoyed at our little getaway this past week! It was so nice to spend time with just you. And the outlets. Grin. Even with the rain we had a good time. Plus now we know we are definitely not the sitting kind of people. Unless we're at the beach. How funny that we anticipated this trip for MONTHS and then couldn't wait to get back home. Another lesson about where we're the happiest. Thanks for the reminder this week that we are not going back to "BEFORE". Keep my feet to the fire with that one!


I love you all more than I could ever express. Now let's go have a gReAt SuMmEr and try not to fuss too much with each other!!