"AUGUST" - the month called the "dog days of summer". I have heard this saying since I've been knee high to a grasshopper and still don't know the definition. Do you?

AND how can it be August already?  These past few months have flown by, sure wish it could slow down a little before everyone has to go back to school. I just know August will fly by, we have birthdays and more birthdays plus our Anniversary of 48 yrs on August 3rd! Then more birthdays in September. When I was younger I didn't think about how fast time goes by, but now,  at my age I am  very aware of the time, it just keeps marching on. C'est la vie!

It's been two years since Ron & I  went on vacation. It was exciting to know that we would be going this year and to the ocean! I didn't think we could make it happen. I did the happy dance  (short version!) when it came together. For the first time in quite a long time all 7 of our grandchildren  & us under one roof for a couple of days. 

It would of been ideal if our other two sons & their girls were able to be with us. But there were plans already made and health issues to deal with. The last time we were all together was at the Outer Banks and Anna was not born yet, so about 6 yrs ago if not a little longer.

We went to Myrtle Beach this year. We were there back in 89, when we went with all of our neighbors. That would be a story in itself to write about, talk about fun and crazy times. Never knew you could have so much fun with all those people and kids.

Myrtle is just as beautiful as ever. We went to the Surf-side part of the beach which is a quiet area to lay out,  nice and not overly crowded. Not over run by rowdy teenagers or blasting music. Just young families building sand castles or covering their kids with sand like we did with some of the kids.

The only drawback was the lack of bathroom facilities. If your not staying ocean front you could be in a pickle.Thank goodness we were not - in a pickle, even tho we were not ocean front :-)  One day Jeff found a parking area that had outdoor facilities and it was a good feeling to know if we did get in a pickle we had somewhere to go .  Jeff & Erika made delicious lunches with drinks,( they are pros's at this and make a great team) so we didn't have to go back to the Condo for lunch.

On the beach we didn't worry about losing some one or being smack up against another canopy, everyone had room to stretch out.  I found it hard to read my book because of the wind plus I kept looking up to watch the kids and the ocean. I love to see the waves roll in and crash against the shore, so, OK,  they mostly didn't crash , they just rolled in and dissipated, but I liked that to (lol).

I got teased because I would not take my  Kindle, I-phone or I pod down to the beach- I was afraid of getting sand or water in it. My sons said "you have all those electronics but are not using any of them".

I said, well I have my camera and my book and don't have to be so careful. They think I'm crazy,  but what else is new? (lol) Its great to have a paperback to read,just stick it in your bag and it goes where you go just like a Kindle or Nook.

 There is so much to do in Myrtle, especially at Bear's Landing. There are quite a number of cute little shops, a bull ride to try (not real) ,ice cream to eat, fireworks to watch, merry go round to ride and good restaurants to choose from if you want to eat. The kids enjoyed it and the fireworks were one after another, each one sounded like the final finale. Loved it. Honestly, that part of Myrtle reminded me a lot of Hilton Head. It was set up almost the same way.

 It was fun to watch Ron playing Frisbee with our sons and their kids.He kept up with them pretty good. It was heart warming to see them just hanging out watching the kids at play. That's my happiness, just being around everyone. I would loved to have tried to surf and skim but even though my head wanted to, I knew my body would say -"Are you kidding or what".  It's true that your mind wants to do so much but your body rebels, at least mine does

 We were all impressed with the natural ability the kids have in doing the surf board and using the skim board.  Ha - at first when I asked what  the board was called , I thought they said the "skin" board! Silly me! It was so cute to watch Anna stand on her surf board waiting for the ocean water to take her out and she could not understand why she didn't go anywhere. She is such a doll, they all are , but she is our youngest and tries to keep up with her sisters and cousins. She did do a good job till it came to the surf board, finally she just left it and sat down and started making a damn.   Jeff had a Canopy that did wonders for keeping the sun at bay. It was a life saver for me and Ron. Ron did a lot more then I did. He is a young pup still!

The only thing we did not do was play games in the evening. I was looking forward to doing that, but I did get a kick out of watching my daughter-in-laws putting their girls hair in wraps. That is truly a lot of work. And even though I am a hair dresser, OK. a broken down hair dresser to be honest, that is still one skill I would not offer in my shop no matter how much the pay. You need patience and more patience and yes, even more patience.  It has to be a mother's love that let mom's have the patience to do this! The end result is really cool as the kids would say and as I would say, really pretty. The kids were into watching the Pirates play ball. It mostly rained in the evening and stopped us from playing miniature golf. The kids really wanted to play but it wasn't to be. On the last night we were there, (after Jeff and family left to go home) it did not rain so we went to play miniature golf. I lasted not even half way because of the sweat that was pouring off of me, so I went back to the van and put on the air.  I was the "Party Pooper" for sure.

I can understand a guy sweating but surely there is another word to use for a woman.

 A lot of families plan every year for vacations like the one we took. In fact many families book their vacation for the following year before they leave. How do people do that? How does someone book a whole year ahead of time and put half the money down without being sure what will be going on then?
Do you plan it like a wedding? I guess you sort of have to do that. Make sure you all put in for your vacations at the same time and have the money to put half down or however much they ask. Then you make it your business to go at that time. But if something comes up then the money is lost.
We have tried to do that, but not everyone wanted to commit. And it would depend on them to say yes so we would know what kind of a beach house we could afford.

Ron and I were so happy to spend time with our family, Hopefully we didn't hold them back from doing whatever. They had built in babysitters too!

Ha Ha this inserted picture was to be of our vaca - I goofed!