HHI: Day Four - Henry Swims! Caroline Tubes!

Henry started the week afraid of going under water, but promised to try when he felt he was ready. With little prompting (seriously), he pulled off the following. Later, he swam unassisted between Mom and Dad in the pool. Unfortunately, much like the Sasquatch, we didn't have a camera to capture the moment.

Caroline began the week unable to go into the pool without Mom or Dad helping her hold and pull a float. Today, she took her brother's lead and broke free of her parental restraint. Ugh.

Prior to the pool, we made it out to a partly sunny (but windy) beach. Contrary to rumor, I did not feed the Joester with my Moobs (i.e. Man-boobs, for those who haven't heard me talk up my gorgeous chest). They do look good, though, don't they?

While digging with the kids' plastic shovel, Mommy found buried treasure -- a plastic fabricated sand castle! Unfortunately, she also broke the shovel in the process. The gang showed off the results below.

A snack break at the beach with Henry and Caroline. This photo was taken shortly before the Hitchcock Sea Gull Fest began.

We dined at Shelter Cove and watched Harbor Fest this evening. Here's a great picture of the girls enjoying a Shannon Tanner show.

A proud Dad and a tired Henry.

Well, we're still waiting for our luck to change with the weather, but so far it looks like we may squeeze out a few more days of sun. It's obvious that no one knows what T.S. Fay is doing and we may sneak another trip to the beach tomorrow. After that, it's off to Savannah to eat (more) fried food. More later...

HHI: Day Three - The Holman Trifecta

Day three was all about hitting the Holman trifecta: beach, pool and mini-golf.

Here's Jo-Bear meeting the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.

Henry and Caroline took to digging their version of Uncle Bill's giant beach hole.

After three hours at the beach, we returned to the pool for a mid-afternoon swim.

After dinner, we settled the family score at the Pirate's Island Mini-Golf Course on Blackbeard's Original Adventure Course. Henry amazingly holed out on the first two holes! No kidding. Unfortnately, success went to his head and he quickly regressed to free-swinging. Henry was not fond of the pace of play. Typical.

Caroline was our resident Mike Hargrove specialist. Average Caroline time per hole: 4.5 minutes. Check out the look on the faces of the people who had to watch in agony as Caroline "directed" her ball with the back of her putter. Classic!

Meanwhile, Dad was caddied by his youngest daughter Josephine who called out hitting angles and marked ball locations with her stringy drool.

In case Bill needs to know, I finished even par with one hand.

We are waiting for T.S. Fay, but enjoying the sun while it lasts! The weather predictions here are about as reliable as Punxsutawney Phil's. We've regressed to asking Caroline what she thinks about the weather and going from there. So far, she's 2 for 2. With that, we're off to the beach!

HHI: Day Two

Henry, Caroline, Josie and Dad make the three block walk to the beach.

Mommy and Jo-Bear enjoying the pool.

After resolving some technical difficulties with the camera and computer, here is the video from Saturday night's mad dash to the Atlantic.

We're off to Sea Pines for the tourist trap known as the Salty Dog Cafe.

Greetings from Hilton Head Island, SC!

Twelve hours and one Charlotte, NC barbecue joint later, we made it to HHI.

Upon arrival, Caroline decided to make a bee-line for the Atlantic -- with her dinner clothes on.

Here are the kids frolicking in the ocean while Mom, Dad & Jo-Bear watch helplessly.

Henry and Caroline were soaked.

More pictures and videos to come. However, with bad weather coming (T.S. Fay) we're out at the beach and the pool trying to get as much sun and fun in as we can.

Channeling Jim Henson

Amazing what new training wheels will do for a 5 year old. Of course, only one image comes to mind when you see Henry on a bike.

The similarities are uncanny.

Here's a link to the soundtrack for the ride. As you can see, Henry was joined by Dad and Henry's buddies, Caroline and Mason, who took a leisurely stroll in the bike buggy. The kids loved it!

Caroline and Mason readying their exit.