Hilton Head

Not a week after we were through with Fayetteville, WV, and the kids were in Columbus, we took off for Hilton Head Island for a gathering of the Gates-Gates-Hopwood crew. The beach was fantastic, the pool was lots of fun, we had comfortable sleeping arrangements in the house, and dinners were amazing.

One evening Grandma Paulette & Grandpa Doug kept the kids so the Hopwoods could visit Palmetto Bluff and Jenn and I could visit Beaufort. We took a really cool walk around Hunting Island then had a wonderful dinner at the Old Bull Tavern. The food, service and drinks were incredible... one of our better restaurant experiences.

The beach where we were at, a stone's throw north of Sea Pines, was perfect. Long and gradual, with a nice tide pool during low tide that was great for seeing wildlife: hermit crabs, horseshoe crabs, blue crabs, minnows & mussels.

The bike paths around the island are neat, and good for running in the shade, but think long and hard before you take bikes for young kids. Lincoln (7) was a good age for using the paths. Lydia & Henry (4.5) needed lots of (stressful) guidance to keep them on the correct side of the path and out of others' ways.

Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge was a morning stop for us that was fantabulous.

We loved the ocean...

... and, of course, the pool...

There were crafts, a visit to the local diner, sand castles, a light house climb, planet sightings, alligators, and just a whole lot of fun. (And notice the alligator just behind the kids in the photo below!)

Closing out 2013, Bring on 2014

A new year is here, but as there is catching up from the end of 2013 to do, let's close out the last year first.
Christmas seemed less hectic this year. It was nice having Grandpa Dave, Grandma Laura & Auntie Haley stay with us for the days leading up to Christmas. It also helped that the kids were just a bit older and a bit more mature. Lincoln, especially, was really good with all of the coming and going, the presents here and the presents there.
But perhaps his tonsillitis had something to do with it, as well. After being up and down with a fever and his activity level, he was really struggling by Mullen Christmas on Sunday. He even fell asleep in the loft (never had a Gates-kid ever done this) during some of the gift-giving time.
He bounced back on Monday, but I took him to the doctor on Tuesday. Even during sickness, he had a great attitude.After a round on antibiotics, life is back to normal.
The days following Christmas are always an adventure. Overstimulation, constant entertainment, lights and colors everywhere… and then everybody goes home and there are no more presents. How can kids not hit the wall?

But now it's New Year's Week and I've got a couple of days off. Jenn's been getting the house back in order and the kids have been bouncing back and forth from one of their gifts to another.

A while back at the Clinic, some of my staff were talking about running in the Great New Year's Eve Race. After some thought, Dad and I decided to get t-shirts for the team, expand the team a bit and pay for their registrations… make it a team-building event.
It's a 5K, and while it didn't snow during the event, it was ~19 degrees with 20mph winds and not a lot of sun. It. Was. Cold.
Jenn, who trains for the longer runs (10K, Half-Marathons and one of these years a Marathon), ran her usual good pace and finished with an official 27:42 (a little less on her Garmin, 27:33) which I submit is more accurate given the clogged starting line). I, who began running with any degree of consistency just a few months ago and am without any real training strategy, finished with an official 27:27. We were both very pleased, especially given the conditions.

And this brings us to the end of 2013. Jenn and I turned in at 10:00. Such was 2013: lots of fun, lots of challenges, and taking advantage of opportunities to rest up for tomorrow's challenges we found to be very worthwhile.