Today is the first Wednesday of June which makes it National Running Day! Make sure you strap up those laces and get out for a run… or maybe a barefoot run/walk on the beach if you’re on vacation like us 🙂 Our little guy keeps running circles in the sand, getting enough exercise for all of us.

We’ve been loving this trip for so many reasons. HHI is a gorgeous island on the coast of South Carolina and is often referred to as “America’s Favorite Island.” There is so much to see and do here! We rented a beach house at Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort with extended family and it was PERFECT for having an almost-18-month-old. You could go to the beach in a matter of seconds without having to load up the car and you could easily go back to the house when the toddler melt down kicked in and nap time was evident! We were very pleased with the clean community, which had several pools, and would go back again.

The week was full of a tiny bit of relaxation and down time, but mostly activity and adventure. Between the seven of us we flew kites, played volleyball, went running, rode bikes, collected shells, took long beach walks, golfed and tried various water activities. I guess we wanted to see how much we could cram into one week! 

My sister-in-law, Carrie, has me loving yoga lately and I did my first ever beach yoga session! We used beach towels as a mat and although the flow was a little slower than I’m used to, I really enjoyed it. The sound of the waves was almost meditative and I look forward to doing beach yoga along more coasts!

When we got back to the beach house, Carrie made sure to squeeze in some more #stopdropandyoga and even got the little guy involved! 🙂

Since we had the whole Gellenbeck crew together, it was essential to get some family beach photos. We got dressed in coordinating coastal colors, scurried out at sunset and were able to get some great shots to capture the memories. 

Although we made so many great memories, the highlight of the trip was definitely the big “proposal!” Jake asked Carrie to be his wife… and she said yes! 🙂 I was lucky enough to be a part of the process and was secretly hiding in the sand dunes to capture the whole thing on camera. Yay for a new family member and brother-in-law! Guess we may not be coming back next summer… because now we have a wedding to plan!