Last weekend, our family got to take a trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for an Army Strong Bonds Family Retreat.  For those of you not military, these retreats are something they do to help strengthen marriages and families, and they usually go all out.  Ours was at the Kingston Plantation Resort, and it was very well done – we felt well taken care of, learned a lot, and had a blast together.  Here are some of our favorite parts.

The Beach

We are a beach family.  We LOVE the beach!

Playing in the Lazy River and the Pool

The resort had a fantastic pool complex, complete with water slides and a lazy river.  Unfortunately, the water in the water slides was freezing, but the lazy river totally made up for it.  It was heated and was so nice and warm that I even went in :).  We spent a long time in there, both Friday and Saturday.  The main pool was also heated, although not as warm – warm enough that we got some great playing in though.  Derek would have stayed there all day jumping in to Kevin, if we hadn't had to get ready for dinner.

Staying in a Condo

Because there were so many families there, the hotel had us all spread out in their timeshare villas as well, which meant we got to stay in a nice secluded condo.  Derek freaked out at first, because he thought we were staying in a house instead of a hotel, but he warmed up to it very quickly.  And the best part was that there were two TV's, so we could watch what we wanted, while the kids watched what they wanted.  Nice.

All the Yummy Food

They catered all our meals, and it was really good food, especially the desserts.  We made sure we all got something different each time so we could sample some of everything.  The chocolate mousse cake and the lemon cheesecake were my favorites.

Burying the kids in the sand

Lily begged us to bury her in the sand, and so all three of us got involved, until only her head was poking out.  Kevin even put the bucket on her head to make her disappear completely.  She loved it so much, Derek wanted to try it.

Derek, who loves the sand and is always rolling and digging in it, was actually pretty happy and excited about it, until he got a bunch in his mouth when he was trying to break free.  Poor guy kept using his sandy hands to try and get the sand off his mouth, which made it worse.  Oh well :).

Taking Portraits at the Beach

I did some portrait sessions for some of the families at the retreat, as well as Lily's 7 year old portraits (Her birthday is coming up in a few weeks).  It felt so great to be taking pictures, especially out on the beach.  Lily stayed with me for some of the sessions that I did in the morning after I took hers, and she sat contentedly reading on the beach next to me.  I just had to snap a picture :).  (To see the pics I took of the families, got to my photography blog: www.thatbrowngirlphotography.blogspot.com - for Lily's, you will have to wait a little while)

Getting Derek to go in the Ocean

Derek is the opposite of his sister when it comes to the ocean.  He hates the cold water (or even when it is warm in the summer), and he is afraid of the waves, and so we are always trying to trick him into playing in the water, or at least getting in.  Kevin kept trying to have Derek chase him into the water, but Derek stopped at the edge every time.  He did get him to get his feet wet, and even got him on the boogie board once, but Derek was not happy about it, and promptly rolled around in the sand to feel better :).

Going with Kevin to the Classes for the Parents

The chaplain and his wife taught classes on the 5 Love Languages and how to have better communication with your spouse.  It was actually a lot of fun, and while we were there, our kids were having a blast in the childcare room with the other kids.

Watching Lily and Kevin play in the waves

To say that Lily loves playing in the ocean is a huge understatement.  It didn't even matter that the water was cold and it was only 70 degrees outside, she wanted to play out in the waves with her dad.  They stayed out there for quite a while, with wave after wave crashing down on them.

Netflix "Play it Now" movies

They totally saved us, since somehow we only ended up bringing Dora and Diego movies with us on the trip.  Instead, we all watched "Bolt" as a family through Netflix :).

Free Vacation

Not only did we get to have a great vacation, but we only had to pay for getting there and back.  It is nice to know that Army does appreciate  families, and that they even show that to us sometimes :).  It was a perfect weekend away.