A Review of Myrtle Beach & Dunes Village

Early this summer, I started thinking it would be nice to take a family vacation this year, but I had no idea what to do.  We've been to Disney World twice and totally loved it but wanted to try something different.  Everyone in Catlin seemed to be going on beach vacations this year, particularly Myrtle Beach, so I thought, why not check it out?  I googled something silly like, "best hotels with preschoolers in Myrtle Beach" and came up with Dunes Village.  I had no idea what to expect on prices or if this was even a reality but was just messing around on the internet more than anything.  I saw that they had a fall special going on for a little more than $100/night.  These very rooms were going for almost $400/night in the summer!  I read more and found that September is actually one of the best times to be in Myrtle Beach weather wise, but crowds are obviously down due to school being in session, so the rates are great.  So, after bugging Josh about it just a little bit, he said "book it!"

Dunes Village is a large resort with lots of different room choices.  I believe there are actually 17 different types of rooms.  We ended up going for the Oceanfront Queen Suite, which slept up to 8 people, had a full kitchen with dishwasher, fridge, microwave, two TVs/DVD players, a Jacuzzi hot tub (love), and maybe best of all, a balcony looking straight onto the ocean.  Unbelievably, this was one of the cheaper/smaller rooms.  We did pay a bit extra for the wonderful view, but it was worth every penny!

So, in review of the vacation overall, I would say:

-Myrtle Beach is a great place to vacation, with lots of family friendly activities.  If I could do it over, I would go there again, but we both agreed that if we ever do another beach vacation, we'd probably visit another beach just to do something different.

-Dunes Village was a great, economical, family friendly resort on the ocean.  If I had to do it over, I would also go there again simply because the room was so amazingly nice for the money.  We couldn't get over it.  There are some minor frustrations, like their website wasn't great, their prices change by the minute, and I didn't think all the workers were super friendly.  But, for the room and the price, I cannot complain!!!  It was very nice and very clean and very affordable!

-September was a great time to go to Myrtle Beach.  The weather was picture perfect every single day.  We had no rain and 80 degree weather.  It was never too hot or too cold!  And the crowds and prices were both down!

-This was our first family beach vacation.  It was a very different pace than our last two vacations to Disney World.  It was definitely an adjustment, but there's not much laying around with a 1 and 4 year old!

-Speaking of having a 1 year old on vacation, I realized the last 3 Downing family vacations were with a 1 year old!  We went to Disney when Hannah and Jacob each turned 1, and Jacob was still 1 on this trip!  I'm just guessing this is not our last vacation with a 1 year old in tow....

-Driving 14 hours wasn't as bad as I thought it could be, but the DVD players in the car were our saving grace.  We hardly heard a peep out of the kids.  On the way down, we did 9 hours the first day and 5 hours the second.  We only stopped once the first day and not at all the second day.  Our theory was if the kids were happy, we weren't stopping!  And we finally had to stop the first day because Josh and I were hungry, needed a restroom, and needed gas!  On the way home, we did the whole 14 hours in one day with about three stops.  No matter how good the kids were, that was a long time to be in the car.  Both times, we started our travels when everyone got up for the day.  If I had to do it again, I would do it the same.  Everyone (including Josh and I) were well rested and in a good mood.  The last hour home was our only rough moment...we were all ready to just be home... the kids took turns crying, and Josh and I felt like crying!!!  I offered to drive several times throughout the trip, but Josh always insisted that he was fine.  He did the full way there and back, what a trooper!  I got to read 4 books to pass the time!  Overall, it gave us confidence that we could handle another road trip someday.  And the minivan was definitely a luxury that came in handy.  We might have been able to do it without, but not as comfortably or as conveniently.  I've had moments of guilt for buying that van before we really needed it, but when I was packing the van up, I was glad for the space!

All in all, it was a great vacation, and I'd do it all again!

30 for 30

This year, Josh turned the big 3-0.  I wanted to do something a little more special but had a hard time coming up with something.  We unintentionally scheduled our Myrtle Beach trip right between our 30th birthdays (which are only 5 weeks apart), so we said we could count that as our "big" thing, but I still wanted to do something a little more special than normal the week of his birthday.  I had a few big ideas that I gave to his parents.  His dad took him to a Cubs game that he really wanted to go to, and his mom got him a Soda Stream machine that he wanted.  But I still wanted to do something myself, so I finally came up with giving him 30 presents for his 30th birthday.  It wasn't an original idea (my friend Andrea just did it for her husband), but it was fun to put together!  The kids and I literally walked every aisle at Wal-Mart for inspiration.  We got him lots of little things like a new belt, candy, a swim shirt, sunglasses, a water bottle, a CD, a movie, and a Sports Illustrated subscription.  We also counted everything we made, like his ice cream cake, birthday cards, cinnamon rolls, and ribeyes.  A few of the things on the list were a stretch, but we made it to 30!

(About 15 of his 30 presents!)

Josh's company gives them their birthdays off as a holiday, but he ended up taking the day after instead, so we went to his office on his actual birthday with Chinese food for lunch and a balloon and a big tray of homemade cookies.

 Hannah & Jake had to try out the Speedco Motorcycle.  

Josh also lucked out to get to go to three big sporting events for for his birthday-for free!  First, his dad got great seats to a Cubs game on bobblehead day.  Then, Josh got Colts tickets at work for the day after his birthday.  They were club seats and were in the 6th row!!!  And then, our family got to go to the opening day of Illini football and use his family's club seats!  Wow-how cool is that?

 We are not Colts' fans, but we sorta dressed the part!  Lucas-Oil Stadium was pretty cool, and our seats were awesome! 

 Illini ice sculpture at the pre-game breakfast!

 Josh's birthday at his mom's house

Emily and her husband Keith did a great job of finding things at Dollar General in quantities of 30--stickers, trash bags, and prostrate health pills (I didn't even know those existed, haha!).  

All in all, Josh had a great day.  He (half) jokingly said that he wished I didn't do so well because now the pressure is really on for my big day....

Hannah's 4th Birthday

Hannah's 4th Birthday was a whirlwind of fun.  We started at The American Girl Store early in the week.  Then, on her actual birthday, we had some fun at home.  She opened presents from mommy and daddy before daddy went to work.  For her butterfly themed party, we had ordered some caterpillars and watched them turn into butterflies, and she let the last one go on her birthday morning.  

Then mommy made a special breakfast of confetti pancakes and pink scrambled eggs.  We stayed home that day and had fun playing with her new nailpolish and reading her new book and making her Cinderella birthday cake.  

Grandma Teresa came over with a birthday present that she had made--Ariel's pink dress that Hannah had been wanting for months.  

We went to Pizza Inn for her party with the Downings that night and had a lot of fun.  

The next day, Josh took off work, and we took the kids to The Terre Haute Children's Museum.  

We had never been there before, but it was a nice place, and the kids had fun.  

Then on Sunday, we celebrated with the Sudlow clan.  I made her a pink and purple butterfly cake; she had been asking for that specifically all year!  

Then, that next weekend, we had a family trip to the Illini game and a birthday celebration with the Gurtlers. 

Grandma Jody ordered a Barbie cake and gave Hannah a few more surprises from The American Girl Store.  We had so much fun celebrating Hannah's birthday.  We love you, Hannah! 

For the Young Mother: Ministry, Guilt, and Seasons of Life

Mothering calls for the best in us as women. As mothers, we shape the souls of our children and ultimately influence the world. Children are our gift to the future. So accept your calling from God to serve your family. It is not godly guilt that would call you away from a wholehearted investment in your little ones for his sake. Don’t feel guilty over making your children your primary ministry investment when they are young. You are teaching the younger generation to form intimate emotional bonds with others. Your sensitivity, availability, devotion, affection, and unhurried attention are irreplaceable. 

An excerpt from: For The Young Mother

American Girl... Meet Marie-Grace!

To kick off Hannah's birthday week, she and I got to go to Chicago for a night away!  Even though we missed daddy and Jacob, it was really good to have lots of one-on-one time with my sweet girl.

We left on Monday morning and caught the train from Champaign to Chicago.  I had never done that before, but it was a piece of cake!  Hannah loved watching movies and having a Pepsi on the train.

Less than three hours later, we arrived at Union Station in Chicago and caught a cab to Michigan Avenue.

Josh's mom was up there for a work conference, so she invited us to stay with her.  We took our bag by the hotel room and headed straight for The American Girl Store, our main destination.

We had so much fun looking around the store and choosing our favorite dolls and looking at all the cute outfits!  We had a late lunch at The American Girl Cafe with Hannah's Bitty Baby that she got for her 2nd birthday, which was a really fun experience.

 After lunch, we looked around awhile longer, and then shopped all over Water Tower Mall.

Grandma Jody met us there in the evening after her meeting was over.  She let Hannah pick her favorite doll for her birthday gift, and she chose Marie-Grace.  She is IN LOVE with this doll.  She could not be strayed!  She knew she was the one she wanted, and she was SO HAPPY to get her.  She also picked out a couple of outfits, and then we went to dinner at The Rain Forest Cafe.

She liked having the waiters sing to her!

After that, we headed back to the hotel for the night, and Hannah got to wear her new outfit to bed!

The next day, Grandma had more meetings, so Hannah and I had another mommy/daughter day.  We started with breakfast at our hotel.

Then we walked down Michigan Avenue.

We went to the Disney Store, and since we were the first ones there, Hannah got the honor of opening the store for the day.  It was pretty cool!

After that, we headed back to The American Girl Store for a special preschool activity, and Hannah decided to use her piggy bank money for a couple more small items.

Then we just had time to kill so we shopped for quite awhile.

After we had enough, we caught a cab back to Union Station.  Before leaving, we had to find a bowl of broccoli soup; Hannah had been asking for it for days!

We shopped just a bit more and then jumped on the train and headed home to see our boys.  Hannah was exhausted and slept in my arms much of the way home.

It was so great to have so much one-on-one girl time.  I caught a glimpse of her baby years when she slept in my arms on the way home on the train.  But I also caught a glimpse of our future, going shopping and out to eat and just having girl fun. 

I love my birthday girl!!!