We’re on the homestretch of our family’s spring break trip to the beautiful South Carolina island and we’ve been making the most of our time away from home. We rented a house we found on VRBO and it is within walking distance of the beach which has been fabulous! We’ve filled the past few days with plenty of biking, swimming and exploring with the boys, Sadie, my mother-in-law and Les!
Ryan and I initially tried to find a place in Palmetto Dunes where we stayed when we visited Hilton Head Island back in 2017 but all of the places that were pet-friendly and large enough to accommodate our group were booked due to a big golf tournament in the area. We found what we hoped would be the next best thing and rented a house in the nearby Shipyard Plantation community.
We met my in-laws at our rental house on Monday evening and hit the ground running! We biked to a local grocery store and picked up food for pizza, sandwiches and ice cream back at the house before calling it an early night. Well, it was an early night for the adults anyway. We admittedly stretched the boys a bit and let’s just say whiny voices and an intense baby meltdown made us pay for that one. Ooph! At least we learned our lesson early on in our vacation and made sure to stick to more normal bedtimes for the boys for the remainder of the trip.
Tuesday + Wednesday
I’m always curious to know how people handle travel and vacationing with multiple children so I figured I’d share a rundown of the way our family approached this trip with two kids and varying nap times to consider. We took full advantage of early morning hours and usually did something fun with the boys before Ryder’s morning nap. On Tuesday morning this looked like a trip to Lawton Stables, a beautiful farm located in Sea Pines. It was a big hit with Chase during our last visit and since he was a bit older this time around, we thought he might enjoy riding a pony!
Chase was a bit apprehensive at first, but once he had his helmet on and grabbed onto Dusty’s saddle, he was all about it!
Chase and Ryder both loved looking at the other animals on the farm including goats, sheep, miniature donkeys, pot-bellied pigs, alpacas and some very active and vocal chickens!
On Wednesday morning, we spent Ryder’s pre-morning nap time at a little park across the street from The French Bakery. We grabbed breakfast to go and enjoyed a little picnic outside while Chase played and Ryder discovered the glory that is quiche Lorraine!
Both mornings we made sure to be back at the house for Ryder’s morning nap since it’s always his longest and best nap of the day. On Tuesday, my in-law’s offered to stay back with him which was so nice and gave me and Ryan a chance for some Mom and Dad time with Chase!
We ended up biking on the beach and around the island for nearly two hours before grabbing seafood from The Sea Shack, a little hole-in-the-wall place that we tried to visit the night before but opted out due to an hour wait time. Somehow we lucked into no wait on Tuesday afternoon and ordered a bunch of seafood to bring back to our house to eat with our whole crew and it was fantastic! Totally worth the hype!
On Wednesday, after our breakfast picnic, Ryan, Chase, Diane and Les headed off to the beach while I stayed behind with Ryder and worked for a bit while he napped. Once Ryder was up, I joined the gang on the beach and we had a blast!
As for the afternoons, the the pool and the beach called to us and I have a feeling we’ll be spending a fair amount of our remaining vacation time swimming and playing in the surf and sand!
The pool and the beach proved to be the perfect afternoon activities on Tuesday and Wednesday since the weather was nice and sunny! Despite the sun, Tuesday was a bit chilly for the beach (and the pool, if you ask me but Chase and Ryan were troopers and swam!) but by Wednesday afternoon it was nice and warm and the beach was hoppin’ with people.
Ryan set up our new beach tent and we brought plenty of snacks and toys and the boys were in HEAVEN.
(Thank you guys again for this beach tent recommendation! We saw three other families with the same one and it was fantastic! It was very easy to put up and take down and perfect for a shady spot for our family. I also love the way you can open the windows and allow the breeze to flow through.)
During our time at the beach, Chase was all about the tide pools and played in them for hours and hours. He loved looking for hermit crabs, splashing around with other kids and playing with his beach toys.
I remember thinking Hilton Head was the perfect beach for kids during our first visit and that rang true again this time around. There is a ton of shoreline and hard-packed sand for playing and biking on the beach and tide pools are everywhere! The tide pools were the hit of the beach for the younger children since they allowed for the ability to swim and splash in shallow water without the need to get in the ocean and battle big, crashing waves.
Ryder is our water baby through and through and splashed and crawled around in the tide pools like he was part fish. He was in his element for sure! His favorite game was crawling after Chase and trying to get to whatever beach toy Chase most recently abandoned.
As for the evening hours, we spent Tuesday and Wednesday back at the house and Sadie took full advantage of having extra people around to give her a little love.
She’s our little 40-pound lap dog.
We took turns making dinner at home which worked well! Ryan and I made chicken thighs using my favorite chicken thigh marinade along with baked potatoes and roasted veggies on Tuesday night and last night Diane and Les made spaghetti with garlic bread and it was fabulous! Diane also took care of happy hour and outfitted everyone with margaritas both nights and I almost forgot how much I love a good margarita, especially after a day at the beach. YUM.
Last night we took a quick trip to Hilton Head Ice Cream for ice cream for our crew and I loved the turtle flavor I ordered. It tasted like buttered pecan ice cream with chocolate chips and I was all about it!
As for the remaining days of our vacation, we don’t have any concrete plans on the agenda but hope to spend some more time on the beach today! I’ll try to take more pics and recap the rest of our trip when I have time but if I don’t get the chance to pop in until Sunday or Monday, I hope you guys enjoy the rest of your week.
Thanks so much for stopping by PBF today!
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We have stayed in Shipyard for years. I recognize so many of your pictures because we have rented in Tennismaster so many times. My in-laws used to own a place in The Greens, which is right across the street. Our kids are now 26 and 25 and I still remember all the hours they spent playing in the tide pools. It was so perfect when they were little and could play for hours with no worries. I am looking forward to doing the same with my grandchildren some day. :). I hope Sadie is enjoying the beach too. Our pub just loves it down there! Forget to check out Sunrise Café if you have the time.
We are renting in Tennismaster, too! It really is such an ideal place for a family vacation. Love that you have so many special memories here, too!
Hi Julie!! I know babies can be a bit easier, but wondering how do y’all handle naps for Chase on such a wonderful vacation like this where he’s probably so excited with everything to do and see?!
His naps have been a pretty big fail! We’ve just tried to do quiet time/downtime at the house after lunch for him and after our first night experience tried hard to get him in bed at his usual time. It’s worked well so far but I am going to try to do a “real” nap for him today though so my fingers are crossed it works!! In my past experience, naps on vacation for Chase are pretty much nonexistent so we will see!
Your body is unreal. I have an almost 1 year old and still don’t feel like I’m back to myself. She is truly a miracle baby so I try to focus on that but you are definitely a goal for me. I am 5’7 like you so I feel like I’m always comparing myself to you (I know we are all individuals) but you truly provide me GOALS.
I feel like I wanr to reply back to you after seeing Julie’s bikini pics here and on Instagram. She does look fabulous not even a year post partum BUT please mama cut yourself some slack!!! Not all bodies recover as quickly and from what Julie posts she clearly eats very very cleanly and works out hard. Not all mom’s can afford or have time for gyms with childcare etc. And some mom’s like a cheeseburger, wine, sometimes (or all the time)?. Julie this is no dig at you, you clearly work hard and eat healthy for your body but I sincerely worry about other post baby Mama’s seeing bikini pics and beating themselves up! And Hilary, good luck on your post baby return to health and fitness, it’s a different beast with a kid added in!
Not to mention that frame sizes are different. Just because you are the same height as someone, does not mean that you will ever look like them. If you looked like Julie to begin with, then maybe you could eventually look like her again, but if you never looked like this in your life, you probably have a different frame size than Julie does, and that is more than OK! I had a serious eating disorder in college, and despite losing an unhealthy amount of weight, my weight and height still distributed approximately the same way…just on a smaller scale. I learned then that our body was designed to store fat/muscle in a consistent distribution. We can alter that through serious efforts, but our body has a setpoint that it really wants us to be at. And that’s ok! It would be so boring if we all looked the same.
Sounds like such a great vacation! I’m laughing extra hard at the picture of Sadie now…my boyfriend and I just adopted a 35 lb German Shepherd mix and she is also quite the “lap dog.” Haha!
Ha!! We love the cuddles but it definitely looks ridiculous!
We use a beach tent too and it was a lifesaver last year! Looks like you guys are having a great time!
Worth every penny!!
Looks like such a fun trip! We are headed to Kiawah Island, SC in June for vacation! Can I ask how you are handling potty breaks with Chase at the beach? Is this when kids learn to pee in the water? :0) When we went last year, my daughter was in diapers so this is our first go at having a potty trained kiddo at the beach! Would love any tips you have!
I love this question because I definitely wondered the same thing! We lucked out and happened to set up camp really close to some public bathrooms which worked well for potty breaks but if that wasn’t the case I don’t think I would have any trouble saying it is okay to pee in the ocean if it’s just #1 🙂
I’m dreaming of a beach vacation right about now 🙂 Is your green jumper nursing friendly? If so, can you link it? It’s adorable!
This looks like so much fun!! I’m curious about your car packing situation with two kids and a dog? Do you have a 3 row car or minivan? Enjoy the rest of your vacation!
Julie- where did you get your adorable leopard print slides?! So cute!
They’re from White Plum a few years ago!
Where are those overalls from!?!? Perfect for breastfeeding!
How do you drink margaritas, eat spaghetti with garlic bread and ice cream and have abs like that!? I am so impressed! I know you workout and eat healthy (you earn it,) but genuinely wondering if you have any tips for a flatter belly. I eat really healthy and work out, but still can’t get rid of my round stomach. I don’t like depriving myself of occasional treats, and I know you have that mentality too, so wondering how you’re able to find success with it.
Thanks Julie 🙂
Thank you for your kind words! Honestly I don’t have any big tips other than just trying to consistently work out and make mostly healthy decisions… but not stress about treats and eating “unhealthy” food, too. I love all food and just don’t do well when I feel like I can’t enjoy food I love, especially on vacation! That being said, when I found myself ready to focus on losing a bit of the weight I was still hanging onto postpartum, I had the most success when I focused on eating meals and snacks that had protein, carbs and fat in them. I naturally gravitate towards foods higher in fat and carbs and can easily neglect protein so trying to remember to include protein in my meals and snacks seemed to help me the most (and it helps me feel more satisfied, too)! I will also add that I naturally carry my weight in my butt and hips and am a pear shape through and through so my mid-section has been slimmer all my life but I have a lot more cellulite and softness in my booty, legs and hips. I think we all have areas that are a struggle for us and it sounds like you’re already living a really healthy lifestyle!
Aw Julie you’re so sweet. Thanks for the tips. I know a flat belly’s not important in the general scheme of health, but it helps me feel better in a suit! Thanks again- I’ve always sincerely admired your approach toward health, fitness and nutrition (and treats 🙂
Another fun place for kids and adults…. Harbour Town in Sea Pines. Lots of shops and restaurants right one the harbour. So fun walking around looking at the boats. And The Crazy Crab for lunch there is wonderful.
Also a fun outing for adults and kids is to go to Harbour Town in Sea Pines. The harbour is full of boats to walk around and look at. There are also so many neat shops and great restaurants. The Crazy Crab is one of our favorites. Enjoy!!!
What is the link to your tent again? Such a fun vacation!!
It’s linked in the above post! 🙂
This post makes me so excited because we are going to HHI in a couple of weeks! We’ve been going every year because it really is an easy vacation with kids. Meaning it actually feels like a vacation because we can sit for a minute next to the tide pools while they play. We might need to check out the stables this year because we are staying in Sea Pines. Did you know there’s a red trolley that goes around Harbour Town? It might just be in the summer months but my boys love it because it looks like the trolley from Daniel Tiger!
We saw that when we were biking in Sea Pines & said the same thing about Daniel Tiger! Do you know whether or not you have to be staying in Sea Pines to ride it?
I’m not sure. I think you just need to pay that fee to get into that part of the island and then the trolley is free but I would check first.
Anyone can ride them! Julie, did you see any gators? I have been to Hilton Head island many times!
We love HHI. My aunt has a condo in Shipyard and we went last summer to visit with my daughter (14mo at the time.) We had a BLAST. She loved the beach and the water, we went to Lawton Stables.. it’s so fun with kids without being TOO overly kiddish. I hope to get back every couple of years for a family vacation 🙂
Sorry if I missed this – where is the green overall jumper from? Super cute!
Thank you! It’s from Walmart! 🙂
I have a 9 month old and I don’t know how you manage to leave the house before morning nap! By the time we’ve had breakfast there’s like half an hour until he’s ready to go down if that. Makes it so tough to do anything!
What camera do you guys use when you go on trips? It takes amazing pictures!
Thank you! I actually took all of these pics with my iPhone but edit them using the VSCO app which helps a lot!
Ahhh this is making me SO excited for our beach trip in August!! I can’t WAIT to get both babies to the ocean! It makes me tear up I’m so excited haha. I’m glad you guys are having success with Chase + Ryder on vacay!
Looks like a great vacation! Do the boys sleep in the same room when you go away? Am very curious how others do this!
Not always but this time they did! Thankfully the room they’re sharing has a little hallway going from the bedroom to the bathroom that perfectly fit Ryder’s pack ‘n’ play & Chase slept in a twin bed on the other side of the room. Of the four nights we’ve spent here so far one of the boys has made noise that woke the other up 2 nights but thankfully they’ve gone back to sleep after a little settling from Mom & Dad. It’s definitely not seamless but going fairly well so far!
There is nothing better than a beach vacation when you have little ones! We just got a beach tent last summer and it was a definite game changer.