A Family Camping Trip, Wedding and a Honeymoon

Well the SC Russell clan just went on a two week hiatus or a family vacation. Our trip started out with CAMPING!

You read it right folks... we- ME, Barry, Isaac and Eli....Did I say ME? Went camping!!!! Can you believe it? Well I did and boy was I a trooper. Just ask Barry. He told me he was very proud of me. Any ways enough of that, let me tell you just how awesome this campsite was.

We went to Hunting Island, SC. For those of you who have never heard of it, it is between Beaufort and Hilton Head and it is amazing. It is also known for some major Hollywood films too. Forest Gump's war scene's were filmed there and so were G.I. Jane's. The place is absolutely beautiful, peaceful, beautiful...did I say it is beautiful? It is!

Any ways back to our trip. We did an old fashioned style of camping, you know in a tent on the beach. I wasn't really sure what we needed to pack so I left the camping part of the trip up to Barry. He told me what to bring and I did. We got there on a Sunday afternoon and set up camp, started dinner, and enjoyed God's creation. The whole time we were setting up I was like "man I wish we'd brought this or that". And then I'd say, "next time we go I'm bringing this or that." But it was fun. Isaac enjoyed getting and staying dirty. Barry enjoyed showing me the outdoors. Eli, well he really didn't enjoy much of it at all, he had an allergic reaction to something and got hives, but he survived. I enjoyed it, but did decided on a few things that we will need next time or eventually if we continue this. My list is..

1. warm and cool clothes- the first night there it got into the 30's and we were NOT prepared. We ended up putting both boys in bed with us for us all to stay warm.


2. outdoor carpet- poor Eli had to stay in a Pack-n-Play the WHOLE time. If I had the carpet I could've put it down and put the play yard up for him to crawl around.


3. broom- I had to use a palm frawn to sweep out the tent. The nice people next to us saw me and let me use theirs.
   
4. cool decorative lights- all we had was campfire light or a lantern.


5. a Pop-Up- lots of people had those and it seemed a bit easier. You know the kitchen set up and the beds, but you still could open it up and feel like you were in a tent.

Well overall it was a blast. We did all the sight seeing stuff and really enjoyed one another's company. I'm pretty sure our fellow campers were ready to see us pack up and head out though (Eli cried most of the night...errrr..)

Check out ALL the pictures to the left under the Family Trip 2009.

After camping we headed to the good old Titusville, FL to drop off our wonderful children to grandparents, visit very quickly with family, do laundry, re-pack, and head a little north to St. Augustine. It was a short visit in Titusville, but me and Barry were SO looking forward to our best friend Chad Kane's wedding and of course a mini-honeymoon too.

Chad's wonderful parent graciously blessed us with 5 days and 4 nights at the Renaissance Resort at the World Golf Village. It was amazing! Barry and I had not been alone with no children, not our own or teenagers, since 2003 when our best friend Brandon got married. We so needed this little get-a-way. We got to sleep in, lay by the pool with no children to worry with, and watch whatever the heck we wanted to on T.V.!!! It was great. We also got to enjoy time with good old friends that we grew up with. Being with Chad and Brandon made us want to start an annual get together with them and their beautiful brides.

Anyways we really enjoyed the time we had, but the wedding was amazing too. Check out the pictures that I took in the Kane Wedding photo file to the left.

After the wedding Barry headed back to SC to take our students to Atlanta for a spring break mission trip. Check out his blog to hear about that. I drove south to pick up our boys and visit a few more days with family. Then me, the boys, and my mom flew back to SC. This was exciting for Isaac. He has flown several times, but this is the first time that he can remember and right now he loves planes and the idea of flying. He was really cute the whole time. And once we got way up in the air where you couldn't see any land below, he turns to us and says "look we are in outer space!!!! Look at the aliens!!!!" He had just gone to see Monsters vs. Aliens a couple days before so he was for sure they were after us. Eli on the other hand enjoyed the flight, but the ones of us traveling with him (everyone!) did not. He hates to be contained or held actually and he loves to hear his voice echo. So needless to say the two combined was not a good mix. I was SO ready to get off of the plane.

Overall our little vacation was much needed. We live, or well Barry lives, a very crazy life and schedule. So it was nice to not use cell phones or Internet for a few days and just completely depend on each other for enjoyment. The boys and I both needed that focus from our hero...daddy, babe, Barry.