For my final journal entry about my trip to North and South Carolina, I'll share about my last few days spent at a beach house in the Isle of Palms. The beach was lovely. Where our house was, we could take a golf cart (or a bike) about a block and reach a private portion of the beach.
It wasn't that our section of the beach was more or less fancy than any other, nor was it gated off. For some reason, no one wandered to this area, so we had a good stretch of sand to ourselves.
This made a perfect place for Lukie to play in the waves, Ali and Amy to ride their bikes, and the rest of us to lay towels across the warm sand and read.
On our last day at the beach, we got word that there was a big sand-castle-making contest. We were told that there would be some beautiful sculptures. I'd heard of these things before, and we all gathered up our water bottles, beach towels, and cameras, and headed out to see what the fuss was about. A couple of miles from where our usual section of beach was, this portion was crammed with thousands of people. Why so many chose to fit together like sardines on one strip of sand while the beach lay out for miles, I'll never understand.
Honestly... the sand sculptures were neat, but they weren't jaw-dropping. I must admit though, that I could never form sand into anything more than a lump with a stick-flag placed feebly on top, so I don't have much room to talk.
We took some pictures as a family today, so I'll happily share these as well. I sure do love my family, as quirky and odd as we all are. We still fit together well.
Luke is growing fast. Less than a year ago, I was taller than him, and look at him now. Talk about a growth spurt. He's hoping to reach Grandpa Frank's impressive height of 6'6. We'll see.
Here is a picture of Grandpa Frank, Courtney (my aunt), and my siblings and I. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of Grandma Marcia! But she is lovely and has a heart filled with kindness. You'll just have to imagine her.
And for those of you who have messaged me and asked, "I haven't seen anything about Ali in a long time! Are you not friends anymore?!" Yes, we are still very much friends. Ali is still very much a part of my family. However, when we go to separate universities in cities hours apart, it becomes hard to see each other. But when we do, we are quite happy.
One memorable moment was the second-to-last night of our trip. Somehow, I managed to accidentally persuade Ali that there were vicious spiders all over our room. There were water bugs that had found themselves on our ceiling (don't ask me how) and Ali was convinced they also were spiders. All it really took for me to push her over the edge was to show her a photograph of a spider that had crawled into someone's ear overnight.
Yes, I'm one of those sisters.
Needless to say, this is how Ali spent the rest of the night, after thoroughly checking her sheets for homicidal spiders.
Overall, this vacation was wonderful. Last semester of school was so draining and difficult; the most challenging I've had so far, other than my first homesick few weeks of transition as a freshman. It's funny how the Lord so faithfully provides for me in just the way I need. As the summer began, I was yearning for rest and family time. It's exactly what I received.
By the time we returned home, I was able to head straight back to work with the energy and rejuvenation I was lacking when I left on our vacation. I'm so thankful for being able to spend these two last weeks doing nothing but spending time with loved ones, taking time for myself, and soaking in the beauty of God's creation.
Two years ago: Boarding the Ship
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