It feels like summer this week!  We must have skipped a few weeks of spring because it is roasting today.  All of the sunshine reminded me of our trip a little over a week ago to Hilton Head, SC.  It was Emmy's first longer road trip on US soil and she did great.  I feel like I keep thinking, "This one is going to be really hard" and she keeps proving me wrong.   She road well and the older kids were a great help at keeping her entertained, helping get her snacks, and also staying quiet when she slept.  She is the first kiddo of mine that will actually sleep in the car.  She doesn't sleep as long as she would at home taking a nap but I was happy to get a little over an hour of sleep in her.  They all enjoyed being at Pappy Lee's house and getting to be outside without the same tree pollen that we had here.  She also had her first experience riding in the Joyce "choo choo bike" which is what the older kids named the bike trailer years ago.  We went on a long bike ride and she rode with Eli in the bike trailer happily the whole time.  We saw lots of cool things such as alligators, a fox, lizards, snails, fox squirrels, and beautiful birds.

What is more fun in the sun than the pool?  The first day we had just gotten there and it was a bit cooler so we just looked at the pool.  The next day we made a trip to the pool for Emmy to get in for the first time.  We thought we were going to do this on our trip in China but Mike nor I ever felt up for it nor did we feel like we needed something to do as we had plenty entertainment just walking around.  Landon, Ella, and Eli jumped right in and Emmy and I sat on the side with our feet in the water.  After 10 minutes of watching the others in the water she was ready to get in.  She enjoyed it a lot although wasn't as much of a dare devil as she is climbing things.  She enjoyed being held in the water or sitting on my lap near the zero entry side.  For a minute or two she decided to sit beside me but after feeling the water move her around a little she was ready to sit on my lap again.  Landon, Ella, and Eli had a great time swimming around and splashing each other.

On Sunday we took a trip to the beach.  It was a beautiful day and the beach was PACKED!  The water was cool enough to make you breathe in deep at first touch but if you were willing to keep your toesies in for a bit you would get used to it.  It's always when that one larger wave comes in or you get the next bit of dry bathing suit in that you remember - this is cold!  Emmy was just fine to watch the water from a distance or encourage her brothers and sister to bring a bucket of ocean water up to her to play in.  She is also still very sure to not walk on surfaces that she isn't familiar with; sand, grass, sloped hills, or wet surfaces.  With that said the sand was like a really cool toy for her hands but she didn't navigate it with her feet.

Sure feel like today would be a great day for the pool but have to wait a couple of weeks.