Adventures With Eric and Tori at Hilton Head

I don't know how it's Monday and I am just posting about our last adventure, to Hiltom Head with my brother and sister in law. I know I meant to post about the fun we had way before now, and I probably had a million different ideas as to how to start the post, it just never seemed to happen.

So far this summer, it appears that we are quite the World travelers, when in fact we have just taken the opportunities to go when we can, and this is the first time that we have been so flexible with jobs to do so (ie now that I am a stay at home Mommy and Scot had a period of time that he had to use vacation time as he was putting in his two week notice), so long story short, we went from Holden Beach over the 4th of July week, to joining my sister in law, Tori and my brother, Eric in Hilton Head. Her parents own a vacation home there and she has been inviting us for some time now to go, and we couldn't have picked a better time to join them! I could not think of a better soulmate for my brother than Tori, and she is truly like a sister!

You know, I had always known other friends and families to go on vacation at Hilton Head before, but I never really understood why. I guess this is because growing up, it was a given that we would go to Holden Beach for beach vacations, not only because it is known as a quaint family beach, but also since Grannie having a house there. I had always wanted to go to Hilton Head, especially now with a family of my own, and when I first mentioned it to Scot, he said he thought Hilton Head was "stuffy" and he'd been before and didn't really like it. After staying here on the beach back in May, it really changed the ideas he'd had about it, and it has actually become one of our favorite places to stay. (In fact, we have decided to come back this coming October and have made it the halfway point coming home from visits to my inlaws home in Florida.) So of course we were excited for yet another weekend here for a quick visit with my brother and Tori.

I had been to my sister in laws parents home before, back when she and my brother got married. They actually said their vows outside overlooking the Intercoastal waterway, which is just beautiful. Even though I had been here then, I still thought the house and neighborhood were gorgeous. Tori probably thought I was a nutcase, but I was so in love with her parents house that I couldn't stop taking pictures of all of the rooms! I just thought it was so pretty and decorated beautifully. I am such a girly girl, like her Mom, and I love all things sparkly and pink, and I loved the big front and back porches that overlooked the water and all of that Spanish moss.

 Each bedroom had a theme, and my favorite room was the one Scot and I stayed in, the Mermaid room. I told Tori if I ever had a beach house I would want a mermaid room too! These paintings are actually supposed to be Tori and her sister. I LOVE them! Again, girly and sparkly is all me!

And now for a video of my brother singing Pooperman to Ryder and Brynley. This pretty much sums up why I love my brother so much, and all of his silliness!

Saturday was sunny and hardly a cloud in the sky, so we knew we wanted to hang by the pool. Since the pool was just a few houses away, we decided to walk there and that way we could see more of the views there. These were just some of the homes we passed on our short walk to the pool. Savannah, Charleston, and Hilton Head all have one thing in common (other than being coastal), they have beautiful homes and architecture! Can I just say I LOVE these houses!

And this was the coolest house on the way to the neighborhood pool, which also sat on the waterway which had beautiful views. I'm thinking a celebrity must live here. My sister in law did tell me that Demi Moore has a home somewhere in the neighborhood.

We were pretty much "beached" out from the past week banking so many hours playing on the sand and jumping waves in the ocean, so we were fine with cooling off at the pool. Ryder was fearless when it came to jumping in and he really didn't even want to wear his puddlejumper vest. He also liked the baby pool which was perfect for he and Brynley, although the water was so warm it felt more like an oversized bathtub than a pool! Brynley was just in.love with my brother, and I had never seen him so comfortable with a baby before! He is reliving his youth before they settle down and have babies, and decided one day he wanted to get dreadlocks. Ha! Eric is so creative, artistic, and a musician, so I totally get it, but I had to laugh because I think Ryder was a bit scared of him ha!

After a day at the pool, and skipping lunch for the most part, we were all starving by the afternoon, so we were fine with getting our grub on in Hilton Head! First stop, getting our fill of crablegs at the crazy crab! Ya'll I am new to eating seafood, so I don't have a lot of expertise on this, but these crablegs were by far some of the best ones I have ever had, and everyone else agreed!

Although you couldn't tell by Ryder's expression, he was so happy just to be seated next to the fish tank and this was the best idea our waitress could have had. (I only wish Brynley had quieted down long enough to drink my Gin and Tonic and eat my weight in crablegs too!) But we still had the.best.time! We actually were so hungry since we'd skipped lunch that we decided to go here for a crableg appetizer and drinks, and then head to another place to eat dinner. Hey, they don't call it vacation for nothing ha! There were hard moments while trying to soothe Brynley at the table as she was screaming from teething and being tired, and probably just all of the changes of being away from home over the past week too, but looking back at these pictures I only remember the fun we had!

Ah yes the food was SO GOOD!  Tori wanted to take me to breakfast earlier that morning, so we went to the Original Pancake House. There is one in downtown Charlotte we go to every now and then and it is so good! Tori and I shared coconut pancakes, homefries, and the.best grits I've ever tasted! They were Charleston stone ground grits and they were so creamy and so good that it made me want to buy stock in them. I have no idea where you can even buy them, but I have made it a priority to find out because they were just that good. No more instant stuff for me, thanks!

After our crableg appetizer, it was on to our next food adventure, to eat Hibachi at the same steakhouse Eric and Tori had their rehersal dinner at. We took Ryder a few times before, but he really doesn't get into it like I thought he would. I think his favorite part was when the chef made a choo choo train out of the sliced onions.

 My love. He has my {heart}

 After dinner, we girls got comfy and hung out on the back porch, enjoying the breeze and waiting to watch the sunset off the waterway. Brynley just was not her self this trip, after being away from home and out of routine for over a week at this point. She would get really fussy, but then she'd also be really cute and was all smiles, so I did have a hard time while we were in Hilton Head, but the good moments outweighed the hard ones!

 Ryder: "Hey Brynley, look at this guy, he's your size!"
Brynley: "Maybe he will talk to me"

 Brynley: "Do you want to dance?"

 My sweet Ryder was such a delight the entire time, and I love this age. Yes he can be very defiant at times, and more often than not, but I have also seen more independence in him lately and he has started following rules much better, so maybe the "Terrible Threes" are almost a thing of the past!

Here are some of my favorite moments watching the sunset. It was such a fun weekend with my brother and sister in law and we have already told them that we want to start doing more vacations with them. I was really surprised that the roles switched with them, being around our kids all weekend. Tori thought she was ready for babies, but later told me she thinks she's good another year or two because she wants to travel more and doesn't think she's ready for all the crying just yet ha! As for my brother, earlier he would say he didn't want babies for awhile and was terrified to hold a baby in case it cried, but by the end of the trip I was most shocked by the change in him, and he always came to Brynley's rescue if she started to fuss! I definitely think he will be a great Dad one day!

I'm already wishing we were back there already, and it's so hot here today minus the pretty beach views and the ocean breeze!