Silverman 5: Thanksgiving at Kiawah

My family has been going to Kiawah Island with two other families for about 15 years now. We booked our flights in January for this Thanksgiving even before Avery and Ryan were born! Unfortunatley, there are no direct flights to Charleston, so we knew we would be in for some long travel days, so we decided to fly down on Monday and back on Sunday. Luckily, we had the weekend to get organized and packed! Andy and I have both been very busy at work the last few weeks and were both looking forward to a week with family and time away from the office.
We left our house at 6am on Monday morning to catch our flight. They did great on both flights and the layover. It was after 6pm by the time we got to the house. My parents got there the night before so they were settled in already. My mom and dad were very excited to see Avery and Ryan! To make things easier on Avery and Ryan and us, we kept them on Denver time. We had dinner at the Coulters house that night and enjoyed shrimp and grits. Lauren (6) and Meredith (4) loved playing with the babies.

Avery trying on different headbands

Ryan playing with his cell phone

Tuesday, it was a little cool and rainy off and on, so we took it easy and waited for Greg, Shyloe, and Taiten (and their dog, Sterling) to arrive. We went with my parents to check out the Sanctuary (High end resort) and take Avery and Ryan to get their first view of the ocean and the beach.

Gramps and Ryan

Ryan and Avery enjoying the view of the ocean

Avery and Ryan on the beach with the Sanctuary in the background

Family photo on the beach

Grams and Avery

Daddy and Ryan

Amy with Ryan, Taiten, Avery, and Meredith

Wednesday, we took Avery and Ryan for their first bike ride - they rode together in the Hurley. They seemed to enjoy it and it put them both to sleep! That night, Ryan, Avery, and Taiten wore matching outfits (thanks to Aunt Shyloe) - they were so cute! Of course, it wasn't easy to get a picture of the 3 of them sitting still. Taiten is always on the go these days!

Avery and Ryan hanging out on the couch

Ryan and Avery bucked up and ready to go

Avery asleep on top of Ryan

Taiten, Avery, and Ryan in their cute sweater outfits!

Thanksgiving Day, Avery and Ryan woke up in their cute Thanksgiving day jammies (thanks to Aunt Shyloe!). They then switched to their 1st Thanksgiving onsies (thanks to Grams!). This was our best weather day and we made the most of it! Avery and Ryan spent some time hanging out on the beach and got their first taste of sand. Avery only tried it once before she decided it wasn't for eating, but Ryan kept eating fistfuls (typical boy!)! In order to burn some calories before our big dinner, we took a long bike ride out to the Ocean Course with kids in tow during their nap time. Once we got to the Ocean Course, they ended up waking up, so we got some cute pictures of them on the grass. We had a great thanksgiving meal with over 20 of us that night. Greg and Vance did a great job with the fired turkey - it was delicious!

Andy and I have so much to be thankful for this year! Avery and Ryan amaze us every day and being parents is more rewarding than we ever could have imagined!

Ryan and Avery in their cute Thanksgiving jammies