Me and Mike and the boogie boards

After dinner the tide was high and the waves were rolling. Mike and I decided to take the boogie boards for a spin - we had a GREAT time!

Thanks.

Probably the best thing about being here on the Carolina coast is that I was able to bring my parents here. Spending my childhood summers here was great and I thank my parents and grandparents for making that possible. So tonight as we were getting dinner ready I saw them on the deck watching their grandkids and thought life really is good!

More beach...

...because it was AWESOME!

First , I want to point out that Clara took this pic of Thor:


and this pic of Pepe - Mike and I were impressed, perhaps a future photographer?

A glimpse of her girlie attitude

More attitude...

The first day at the beach!!!

Everone was thrilled - Mike, Dad and I were quite nostalgic with past memories and Timmy, Thor and Clara had a great time discovering the wonder of the Carolina coast.

Airport boredom

On Saturday we were off to the second part of our vacation - two weeks in Hilton Head! Saturday was a wasted day with 3 flights and 11 hours of travel. This is the airport before the final leg - Atlanta to HH. I don't know what was worse - my 3 year old or my 10 and 12 year olds picking on each other the.entire.time...

A girl and her blankie.

More attempts at keeping cool in this Ohio heat!

A day in the life of Minnie Mouse.

Retail therapy...

OK. I finally caved. For years I have been drooling over the Christian Louboutin shoes covering those celebrity toes on all the red carpets. Wanting to caress those gorgeous red leather soles... by chance I happened to see in the paper that they were now available at Saks - so I high-tailed it over to Easton mall to check it out for myself. There were many fab styles to choose from, but being the "smart cookie" that I am (translation: at that steep price, this was my one pair for the decade) I chose a classic black pump.




Oh, and yes - they are surprisingly comfy on the feet.

Waterslide fun!

Well, us Europeans are not used to the Ohio heat and humidity. Thankfully, there was a fun swimming pool just down the street!

Just like mommy...

This is what I found when I walked into the bathroom. (be sure to take a close look at her eyelids)

Happy Birthday Cécile !

Cécile turns 10 on September 12. She has been a bit sad because papa will not be with us on her actual birth date. What better way to cheer her up then to let her open her presents early. She was eyeing those big brown boxes with the "American Girl" return address all afternoon , and considered it some sort of parental torture that she could not open them right away. Later that evening when everyone was home she had her moment...






More smiling Grandnana. She was quite impressed with the dolls!

Catching up with Grandnana

With the passing of Poppy a few weeks ago, it was a bittersweet return visit to Ohio. But this time I brought the three kids, and it certainly was nice to see Grandnana smile. She was often fussing about to ensure her candy bowl was filled.