Beach vacation: Part 2

After some shopping and beach time, we decided to make a fun day all about Hayden. It's tough going from only child to big brother, and he's handled it pretty well. We decided to reward all his big boy behavior by taking him somewhere we knew he would love: the aquarium! And lucky for us, there's a small dinosaur exhibit at the aquarium right now, so it was win-win.

He loved looking at all the dinosaurs, and only got a little scared when they roared at him! We walked around, looking at the mermaids and fish tanks and all the fun things to see. There was even a tank where he could touch turtles and crabs, and the big tank where we could see huge sting rays and a few sharks. The big draw of the aquarium is the long, moving sidewalk that has a tunnel overhead full of fish, eel, plants and of course, LOTS of sharks!

The aquarium was a little smaller than we'd expected, but it turned out to be just enough for us to enjoy without the kids being too overstimulated. After we'd seen all the fish, we headed over to Margaritaville for some lunch. Hayden was fascinated by the people on stilts and got a pretty cool balloon-sword. Lila continued to enjoy lemons, and mom and dad got some fancy seafood dishes and adult beverages.

After some good rest, we took the kids down to the rides for a little fair-like fun. Hayden was so excited to ride all the rides with his dad!! He rode the Caterpillar coaster, some helicopters, and most exciting...the Ferris Wheel!! They waited patiently in line while Lila and I cruised around until it was finally their turn. He loved being up high and waving down to us. Such a fun night, complete with a few games and a lot of family time.

All good things must come to an end, and we returned home on Sunday after a quick lunch in Calabash to put us on the road around 3pm. It was a long, hot ride home but we had a great time in Myrtle Beach. We can't wait to go back!