Summer Vacation 2010: Hilton Head - Day 2

8/21/2010: The Beach Will Have to Wait
After an extended travel day on Friday, we all decided Saturday was going to be pretty low key.  We got a good night's rest and decided it would be a pool day.  Island Links has an awesome pool and our unit, like quite a few others, is conveniently located nearby.  We all swam in the morning and the kids and women went back for more after lunch.  Isaac seems to have figured out how to go under the water without getting it up his nose... sort of.  Regardless, he was like a fish by the end of the afternoon.

We also got a good look at the resident turtles and alligators, who seem gracious enough to stay in or close to the resort's... pond(?)... or lagoon... or marsh... or whatever it's really called.

Luckily for Isaac, Uncle Darren thought twice and
decided to save his $10,000 for a rainy day.

Anyway, it was a pretty relaxing day topped off with taco night and Ben & Jerry's.  Mmmm... Ben & Jerry's.  Phish Food.  Half Baked.  Chunky Monkey.  Cinnamon Buns.   Yes, I am a Weight Watcher... and I'm on vacation from that, too.  Man, we killed some ice cream last night, and as some reading this may have assumed, Darren is still the champion.  We also caught an interesting episode of River Monsters that featured the Snakehead fish.  Scary fish with lots of teeth that seem to kill other fish for the fun of it (as opposed to just being hungry).  And they seem to be able to move across small land masses.  Okay, I've already written too much about River Monsters.  We digress.
We called it an early night.  I, for one, dozed multiple times while sitting with the computer in my lap.  I awoke for the third time to the sound of Darren and Melanie snickering at me.  You know, it is funny to watch someone doze off and wake up and try to remember what they were doing and try to function like a normal human being, only to have it happen again within the next thirty seconds... and the next thirty seconds... and then the next sixty seconds, until they realize how dumb they look and go to bed.  So I went to bed.

Today's Good Read: Mark 6:30-44 

Summer Vacation 2010: Hilton Head or Bust!

The McMahons (Me, Rebecca, Isaac (2-1/2 years old), Ella (almost 4 months old)) and Potters (Darren, Melanie, Kristen, Kaitlin (both 10 years old)) are vacationing to Hilton Head!  I haven't blogged about much lately, but thought this might be something worth chronicling if I can keep up.  I welcome all comments from parties involved if any of you would like to contribute to the memories.  That's why McMahonhood exists!

The McMahons and Potters in Hilton Head, SC

8/20/2010: Travel Day
Wow.  Let me first just say... Praise God that we are here and looking forward to a great week!  But I will say that travel day was a little rough.  It started out fine... after taking Lucy to Sleepy Hollow (the kennel), I finished loading up the [new, freaking awesome] Pilot just as the Potters showed up to the house.  Bless their hearts, they got extra biscuits at Bojangles, and all a brother-in-law had for breakfast was coffee... score on the Bacon, Egg & Cheese biscuit!  Not to mention the cinnamon raisin biscuits (?) that Rebecca and Isaac shared - they looked... and were confirmed... delicious.
We plugged addresses into the GPS devices and hit the road around 9:30am.  Travel began peacefully -- the sun was shining, music was jamming, Isaac was enjoying a movie in the back seat and Ella was sleeping.  All was well through our lunch stop at noon.  Assuming we got back on the road about 12:45, the next six hours... yes, SIX hours (for a total of 9+ hours)... remains a blur of one gas, potty, and nursing break, three typhoon-like torrential downpours (the last of which lasted about the final 45 minutes of our trip and caused us to pull off into a car dealership), slow traffic (from rain and one tractor trailer accident), an insane amount of crying, a wife about to lose her mind, and the smell of poop.  And for being the one who reeked of poop in his pull-up, Isaac was remarkable for the whole trip.
After managing to miss a turn on the GPS (the whole reason I bought the thing) and adding another 2 miles to a trip that had already been long enough, we made it to Island Links Resort and checked in around 6:45pm.
We were starving like Marvin (...I don't know) and quickly unloaded vehicles and ordered up some delicious pizzas from Bella Italia.  The ladies unpacked and made a grocery list while Darren and I picked up the pizza.  Dude that hit the spot after a LONG day.  We were all exhausted, but sleep would have to wait until groceries had been bought.  Darren and I hit the Bi-Lo (not to be confused with "Buy Low"... expensive!).  And even after all our exhaustion, we stayed up chatting (not the kids) until about 12:30am before we dragged ourselves to bed.  After all, it is vacation, right?

Today's Good Read: Matthew 8:23-27

Ella Riley McMahon

Baby Ella has arrived!  Okay, so it was nine days ago.  Fair to say I've had a few moments of time when I could have probably published a quick blog entry; however, energy has been at a premium over the last week, and I've been waiting for the dazed and confused fog to pass.  So this is it!
Early on the morning of May 2nd, Rebecca spent most of the morning sick with a stomach bug and became very dehydrated.  We all know what causes dehydration, so I'll leave it at that.  Rebecca felt awful and began to have mild contractions, so we decided to go ahead and get to the hospital, figuring she was due May 8th, so this might be magic time.  Turned out that the dehydration can cause contractions, and after a bag and a half of fluids and a little rest, the doctor sent us home to spread news of a false alarm.  She could have induced (one was scheduled for May 4th anyway), but preferred to not make Rebecca go into labor feeling the way she had for the previous 12 hours.
So we got home around 10:30am and Rebecca headed back to bed.  I knew she really felt drained because (a) she didn't want to vacuum anything, and (b) she killed a 32 oz. Gatorade and loved it -- she hates Gatorade (but I've told her that Gatorade only tastes good when you need it and she's not the jock/sweaty-type that has ever much needed Gatorade... you follow me?  Anyhoo...) She spent the next 10 hours in bed, quite literally, other than to pee and finally get a shower around 9pm.  And then, the real labor began.  I called my mom -- and aren't moms especially great in times like these?! -- and she came over and sat with Rebecca as I got Isaac ready for bed.  We began timing contractions around 9:45pm and at 10:30pm decided that this was no false alarm.  It was time to go!  Mom spent the night at our house with Isaac, though obviously didn't plan to sleep much.
We got back to the hospital around 11pm and told them we were there to stay this time!  The details of the next four hours are a little fuzzy, but they involved breaking her water, getting an epidural, and me nodding off on a bedside stool (I did eventually move to the uncomfortable dad's chair, because when I start nodding off I twitch hard enough to kick a 40-yard field goal and didn't want to destroy any nearby medical equipment).  We both rested through the early phase of contractions, but eventually the nurses came in, I half-woke up, and it was time to have a baby.  Don't worry, I eventually gathered my wits and did an outstanding coaching job.  Rebecca was awesome, breezing through the [no-doubt painful] "hard part."  After only 35 minutes of pushing, out came our baby girl.  And yes, I cut the umbilical cord... without realizing I had grabbed it with my left hand to help stabilize it.  It seemed incredibly strong... and slimy.
So while big brother Isaac slept, Rebecca and I excitedly welcomed Ella Riley at 3:08am on Monday, May 3, 2010.  Only a half-ounce separated her from her big brother's size at birth -- 8 pounds, 6.5 ounces and 20.5 inches long.  She has a full head of dark brown hair and seems to favor the McMahon side of the family... she looks like my dad and brother Kyle!  What?!  Scary, I know! :-)  No, really she is absolutely beautiful, and we are blessed beyond measure.  Praise God!

Today's Good Read: Psalm 139:13-16

A few pictures... see more on Facebook!