Days with the Dorans

 On our last full day we took some dance beach pics as has become our tradition. I think they turned out so pretty. Amazing what we can do in about five minutes with my phone. Maddy had fun joining us. I liked them all- Al liked "some" but since this is my blog and my book- I'm posting all! Well done, Ali Jane~ beautiful. I liked this one so also did it in black and white!

Wow! We blinked and the week went by! What an amazing week we had! The weather was amazing as was the company. I ran every day. My dad ran with me every day but Wednesday. We did 5 or 6 miles every morning and it was a perfect way to start our day! We spent the last day on the beach. I took the girls down to a part of the beach where there weren't many people and we did Al's dance pictures (I'll do that in a separate post next) and then we just hung out with everyone else soaking up the sun! Joe still is a big castle builder. I don't know why we always forget to bring buckets and shovels and things. Maybe one day we'll remember. Still our creative kid made something pretty cool! This was the first vacay in a while where we haven't celebrated our anniversary here (it is tomorrow). No doubt we reflected on the last 17 years and all the blessings we've had. It's easy to reflect when you're so relaxed! For dinner we went to Joe...

We thought that Thursday may have some rain but not one drop! What beautiful weather we've had. We spent the day again at the beach and pool. Our condos this year were on the lobby level meaning they weren't that high up. At first I didn't really like it but they turned out to be the best. No need for an elevator- indoor pool and ping-pong across the hall and same amazing view! Before we left, Nana and Papa got us all tickets to the Pirate Adventure dinner show. We had been before but this was the first time for the Drapals. We loved it so much that we were excited to be able to go again! Before the main show, we got to enjoy a drink and be entertained by the "Pre-show"- it was really good. They had singers- a sea lion, and some really cool balancing acts. We had a good time before our "time" even started! The show was great (as we remembered it). The grown-ups were all at one end of the row and the kids sat at the other. We did make sure ...

After an amazing day at the beach again, we headed to Liberty Bar and Grille (not the one at Broadway on the beach that had the good Margarita pizza). The food wasn't as good but not bad and they had some live music. At dinner I sat by TZ who talked my ear off about how he was going to come to Room 119. It was adorable! I think just about every sentence started out "Auntie Laura..." After dinner we decided to go and check out go-karts. We didn't have to wait too long in line. The Drapals went and I went with Sean and Dad went with Goose. The Bigs decided not to go. They're so wimpy! It was fun! I think Seany and I came in last but we did pass some single karts so that was good. There was another area where the Littles could drive their own kart so we headed over there next. It was just an oval track (a small one) where they went around and around. Sean's new glasses style. For some reason, Maddy was put in one group and then we had to wai...

 The weather in Myrtle Beach has been amazing and it will be all week. We had a little fog on Tuesday morning but that didn't stop us from running! I've been running every day. Mom and Danny went golfing in the fog but it lifted in time for us to play. The best thing about vacations is doing nothing... We spent a lot of time by the pool and by the beach. With the kids older now, I feel like we don't have to be right on top of them which is nice. It was funny watching some boy following Al around in the pool. I probably should have taken a picture. I think the kids preferred the pool to the beach but we made them come to the ocean too. Poor Joe cut the bottom of his foot pretty bad which had him heading back to the room. I don't think he minded too much. He spends most of his time "talking/texting/calling" friends anyway but has been a great big brother/cousin. These things that the Easter Bunny brought were a hit. Uncle Dan and Al had a record o...