Myrtle Beach, Part Deaux

As tempting as it was for Ashley and I to take part in "amateur night" over at Thee Dollhouse,  we opted for more kid-friendly entertainment during our stay in Myrtle Beach.  Maybe next time.  We got in all of about two hours at the beach during our 5 days there but we made the most of it and the kids had a blast.

This is Jordan with Reid and Gavin.  They were our two stowaways for the trip down since their parents were not able to make it and Travis wanted them there at all costs.  

Gavin is our nephew who we love to have around.  He is known as "Happy Feet" on the team because he is always on his toes and is one of the fastest kids.  He also comes from a home that is far cleaner and more organized than ours.  Although we tried to keep it together on this trip, it was very hard to manage all the stuff with that many people and everyone had to fend for themselves on more than one occasion.  Whenever we would ask Gavin where his toothbrush/belt/socks were, he would always scratch his head and say, "I don't know.  My mom always puts them away for me."  He also came up to me several times and said, "My hands are dirty."  or, "My shirt needs to be tucked in."  Sorry, Tricia(his mom), but my response was, "Okay, just go wash them off" or "Tuck it in, then."  Gavin had to share a bed with Reid for the first three nights and got pushed to the floor several times.

Reid is a bit of a crazy sleeper.  He is known as "Big Papi" on our team.  He has two older brothers at home and he has the funniest sarcastic personality from getting teased and pushed around by them all the time.  He kept us laughing the whole trip because he always says exactly what is on his mind.  He reminded me of that kid from the Sandlot movie who was always talking trash to everyone and I was expecting him to rattle off one of his lines during the whole trip.  Some of my favorite Reid moments were these........we turned on the tv one night and the movie, Flashdance, was on, right at the part where the girl is dancing for the judges.  Reid yelled out, "Hey, leave it here, this is my favorite part!"  Then he proceeded to tell us in great detail, all the highlights of the movie.  He also was very confused and puzzled as to why we made him brush his teeth every night before bed.  "We are just going to wake up and brush them in the morning, why do I need to brush them at night, too?"  He was such a tough kid until his mom would call him and then he would let his guard down and say, "Its just hard not to have hugs and kisses everyday."  

Originally, Reid's mom was going to come down to MB after watching her other son play in his World Series in Chicago.  Well, his team ended up going to the championship game so rather than make the 18 hour drive, she decided to stay there.  We were totally fine with this except for the fact that we had only booked two hotel rooms for the first three nights and just one for the last two, when she was going to be there.  The rooms were all sold out at that point so it was either split up to two different hotels or just rough it in one room.  We decided to make-do and squeezed 9 people into one room with two double beds for the last two nights.  What could have turned into a very miserable experience turned out okay.  I told the kids that we were going to be camping out and tried to make it fun.  I think I fooled all of them except for Reid, who was not too thrilled about sleeping on the floor.  Use your imagination and maybe you can conjure up the image of the mayhem of uniforms, bags, towels, and smells that come with that many people all together.  We didn't spend much time in the room.  And did lots of laundry.

While we were at the beach with the kids, it was in the evening so we were some of the only people there.  There was a fully-dressed guy sitting not too far from us just enjoying the waves.....or so it seemed.  After a little while, he got up and proceeded to undress, down to his purple briefs and then went running into the ocean right next to the kids.  They thought it was so funny and I was laughing right there with them.  When he was finished playing in the water, he came back to his pile of clothes, tied a sarong around his waist and then slipped off his briefs.  He then took them to the water, right next to where my kids were playing, and rinsed out the purple briefs in the water.  

Disturbing.  I didn't know whether to feel sorry for him or be grossed out by his lack of social graces......and lack of appropriate swimwear.

Anyway, now that I am home I can laugh at all the craziness.  I know now that any trip involving a baseball tournament will be just that, a "trip".  Not a vacation.  Thank heavens for dvd players in cars and a peaceful sleeping baby on the way home.  We are glad to be back!