Back in May, I slipped up and told Kenly that we were going to the beach with Nana and Papa. I swear she woke up everyday for a month asking, "Beach today?" So, we began a countdown of sorts. Adam finished school. Kenly and I did our best to give him a glorious Father's Day. We took him bowling. We made him his favorite oatmeal cookies. I cleaned his bathroom so that he could enjoy an "infection free" Father's Day. We also took him to an Indian restaurant he's been wanting to try for awhile. All I can say is that the okra fries are to die for if you ever get a chance to eat at Chai Pani. Kenly and I also made Adam a CD--Fatherhood: The Soundtrack. The CD contained all the songs Adam has been singing to Kenly since she was in the womb.
So, on Father's Day we got up, hooked up Pop Secret (the pop-up), and set off toward Huntington Beach State Park. Kenly was so excited that she refused to sleep. The trip took almost 6 hours, so we had to get very creative in entertaining a sleepy child who was dying to get to the beach. Setting up the pop-up is always hard because I have to entertain the child, who moves faster than lightening, while Adam does all the setting up. We managed to get everything set up while slapping at mosquitoes and pouring sweat. (We picked one of hottest weeks on record to camp at Myrtle Beach.) Kenly finally settled long enough to eat some dinner and then she looked up at me with exhausted eyes and said, "Bed please."
A bird woke us up at 6:30am, and since quiet hours don't end until 7:00, we took Kenly and the dog down to the beach for their first glance at the grandeur. Kenly was so excited. Nana and Papa arrived later that day and then the fantasy that she had been dreaming about for a month finally became a reality(June 2oth-26th).
The don't tell you that an AC in a pop-up doesn't necessarily mean that your pop-up will remain a chilly 65 degrees morning,noon, and night. The pop-up AC worked wonders at night. We woke up with icicles on our noses almost every morning. We were wishing for more blankets, but at high noon with no shade in sight, the temperature would shoot up to 94 degrees with the AC running at its coolest setting. This made it hard for Kenly to take a nap in the pop-up. Adam and I decided to go get a second pack-n-play so that Kenly could nap with Nana and Papa during the day and still sleep with us at night without having to break everything down twice a day. Four stores and nearly two hours later, we finally found one. We also discovered that our pop-up had some loose wiring that could have resulted in a fire. Papa saved the day and fixed us good as new. After all the drama settled, we could finally relax and let loose. As loose as you can be while chasing a toddler around and trying to save her from peril at every turn. :)
We all took turns cooking so that no one person felt like the were working his/her vacation away. Adam is cooking kabobs here. All in all we ate so well on the trip--kabobs, low country boil, BBQ, hamburgers and hotdogs, and a night at Nance's Seafood.
Kenly enjoyed roaming her patch of grass. You can tell she's all hot and sweaty in this picture. 
Kenly and I made Papa a present for Father's Day. He's a big fan of eagles, so we created a hand print eagle for him to wear.
Each part of the eagle is made either Kenly/my hands. I think he likes it. :)
We did a little kite flying. At one point Adam gave Kenly complete control over the kite. Needless to say he wound up chasing the kite down the beach. She's a little ADD that way, and the kite quickly lost its appeal when it didn't put on a song and dance.
After that experience, you could always see Adam with a firm grasp on the kite's string.
Kenly loved playing in the sand at the beach. She didn't quite know what to make of the waves. She wanted to go out in the water. She would coach herself by saying, "It's okay. Don't be afraid sweetie. It's just a wave." I think the sound/motion combination was a little too overwhelming most of the time. By the end of the trip, Nana had her sitting in the surf to let the waves wash over her legs.
Nothing like a mouth full of goldfish on the beach. The girl looks like she's got attitude in this shot.
Poor Nana spent most of her time fetching water for Kenly to pour on the sand. As soon as she would get settled, Kenly would look up at her with those chocolate brown eyes and say, "More water, please." 
Kenly really enjoyed sitting in the huge puddles Adam would uncover as her dug holes in the sand.
We had a wonderful time camping with Nana and Papa at the beach.
Papa and Nana took us out for ice cream after eating at Nance's. Kenly was a huge fan of Papa's Butter Pecan ice cream.
I think if we let her, Kenly would start hiking to the beach today. I'm sure she could get a ride. After all, she's really darn cute.
**Side Note**Nana and Papa kept Kenly for us for a night so that Adam and I could have a date. A runaway night away from the child. We went up to Myrtle Beach and played a million boardwalk games. Adam played a baseball game for hours until he finally won a stuffed elephant that we promptly named Myrtle. Kenly loves Myrtle. Our favorite meal of the night was a slew of steamed oysters and a shrimp po' boy. Yum...my mouth is watering just thinking about it.
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