Myrtle Beach 10/31 - Sunday 4th

We wanted Indigo to meet her Aunty Clare, Melanie's sister, who lives in Myrtle Beach. Late on Wednesday afternoon of Halloween we left for Myrtle Beach. I was concerned about how well Indigo would do in the car seat considering our past drives have taken as long as 8 hours or more. Indigo was truly amazing. The good news was the drive only took 7 hours, but she only slept for about an hour. She snacked (a lot), listened to music, looked at books and played with mama who sat next to her. Our Expedition was filled to the brim because we also had our two dogs and cat, along with all the luggage (how can such a small person require so much stuff, the pack 'n play, stoller, booster, etc.). Melanie was sick with a bad head cold but was excited to be visiting Clare and for us to be having a mini vacation.

We had the most marvelous time in Myrtle Beach. Indigo loved her Aunty Clare and we got to spend a lot of time together. On Thursday, November 1, it was our four month anniversary of having Indigo in our lives - it is remarkable to us every day how phenomenal she is and what an impact she has had on our lives. Not a day goes by where we don't say "we're so lucky to have her". It's been an amazing four months, and now as we post this so late, it's almost about to be five, and we're planning our six month post-placement report with the social worker which is required by China. On the Thursday, Josh, Clare's boyfriend was working but we were able to go out with Clare and Jacob (Josh's son). We had a lovely lunch together and then took the kids to the carousel and other rides at Broadway at the Beach. Clare and Jacob had a great time on the rides. After that we went and fed the ducks and these incredibly large fish. They have vending machines to get food out for them and the fish just climb all over each other with these vast gaping mouths. That night Melanie cooked dinner for everyone and Clare made a divine dessert which Indigo just loved. Indigo was kissing her Aunt and then they were throwing their heads back laughing with one another. After the children had gone to bed we watched a movie. It was a great day. On Friday we had another lovely day - very mellow. We ran some errands with Clare and then went to visit Josh's mom. Indigo enjoyed being there and was very happy to ride the large rocking horse and then had a tentative try on the trampoline with her Aunty Clare. We spent the evening at Melanie's Uncle Bernard's house. He is her father's cousin and he and his wife live down the road from Melanie's parents. His daughter Marie Louise (Melanie's second cousin) and her husband Tom and their two children Eleanor and William came in for the evening and we all had a very nice time together. Little Eleanor was very sweet playing with Indigo.

On Saturday we had the most superb day at Brookgreen Gardens. We went in the morning with Clare, Josh and Jacob and had a fantastic time. The weather was glorious and the gardens are so magnificent. Their vastness is indescribable - huge place. It's filled with amazing sculptures and fountains. We all loved this one of the muses running across the water. We had a lot of fun including all rolling down this big grassy slope. Later we went to the small wildlife protective area there and saw otters, fox, owls, hawks and other water birds. It was a great day.

On Sunday we hit the beach in the morning and Indigo just loved it! She could not get enough of wading in the water and ended up with her pants soaked but she had such a great time. After we returned from the beach, it was time to pack up and be on our way. We were sad to leave and little Jacob was so sad that Indigo was leaving that he cried. We're looking forward to our return visit over the December holidays. We had a really good trip home. Indigo slept more than on the way home and was just very good for the whole journey. We had bought her a doodlebug and she really got into scribbling on that and then getting a kick out of erasing her scribbles.