We’re back from vacation and loving being in our own home again. Vacation is always so wonderful, but the reality of getting back to your own bed and routine is also a joy.

We had a great time and I’m going to try to summarize it all because, well, a week’s worth of beach, sun, and family reunioning can tend to blur together rather quickly.

Kevin, Henry, and I left Iowa Friday afternoon and drove (and drove and drove and drove) until 1:30 Saturday morning, when we grabbed a hotel for a few hours of sleep. We had been very nervous about how Henry (currently 8 months old) would handle the long drive and he surprised us by being completely happy-go-lucky about it. (It’s about an 18-hour drive…so…that’s a long time for me, but even more so for a baby.)

We got to Edisto Island, South Carolina around 6:00 PM Saturday. This vacation was a huge family reunion with my mom’s side of the family so we rented 4 beach homes and split up between them. I was so excited that my sisters and their families, my parents, and my younger brother were all in the same house.

It was a short walk to the beach and, while we were on our own during the days, everyone gathered together in the evenings for dinner. Our house was the biggest so it was the evening dining spot (for about 60 people) and each of my mom’s siblings’ families took turns being in charge of an evening meal. That being said, you can count on it that we didn’t go hungry for even a second and we ate like kings the whole week. Our family was in charge of dinner on Tuesday night and we were still eating leftovers for lunch on Thursday.

One evening we went out to the sound to watch the sunset and were lucky enough to see several dolphins playing around.

On Wednesday morning, we had crafts day for the kids. It included making little fish magnets out of shells that the kids painted and lobster shirts made of hand prints.

My sister, Megan, and I took my parents out for some photos one evening. They celebrated their 44th anniversary during the week and it was fun to get some photos to commemorate it! (Megan and I also swapped family photos so that was awesome!)

This was the entire crew. You can see why our house sounds super quiet right about now. (Photo by Megan.)