This morning, I said goodbye to my mom and brother as they started off on their 17 hour trek* back to the west coast. Because their time in Myrtle Beach was so wonderful and because we will all be reunited again in a short couple of weeks, it wasn’t an emotional farewell like it sometimes is. This time it was all about hugs, smiles, and dry eyes.

My mom and Glen came to South Carolina for Sloan’s baptism. They definitely accomplished their objective. While I hope to go into detail about the baptism ceremony in a separate blog post, for tonight I want to just recap the special weekend we all had.

It was a blessing to have my mom and brother come to Myrtle Beach for Sloan’s baptism weekend.

Thursday: I arrived home from work to find a couple travel weary visitors! Well, at least one travel weary visitor. My brother was asleep on the couch while my mom was holding Sloan. It was so great to see my family members again in the flesh. Sidney, Sloan, my mom, and I went to the grocery store to buy groceries for the weekend while Glen slept off his jet lag. By the time we came back home and stocked the shelves, we were ready to go out to eat.

Because both my mom and Glen had never seen Downtown Conway before, we went there and ate at Rivertown Bistro, the town’s most well-known restaurant. Sidney’s parents met us there and we had a delicious dinner that really impressed my mom. We came home and watched a new dating show called “Love Connection” and I made us all ice cream sundaes.

On Thursday, my mom and brother got to hold Sloan after a long trip to get to Myrtle Beach. I also made some pretty refreshing sundaes.

Friday: I worked a half day on Friday. When I returned home, it was almost deja vu from when I walked in on Thursday. Mom, Sidney, and Sloan were conscious while Glen was asleep on the couch. I woke him up and the two of us went to satisfy one of my brother’s requests for the trip…eat at Chick-Fil-A. We scarfed down our spicy chicken sandwiches and enjoyed each other’s company. We returned home and the five of us (I am including Sloan) talked in the living room. We then all went to a children’s clothing shop and picked our a baptism gown for Sloan. Glen, Sidney, and I then went to a local watering hole called Longbeards to have a couple drinks and swap stories. When we finished there, we came home to a very content lady who was enjoying every second with her granddaughter.

During the day on Friday we went to Chick-fil-A, purchased a baptism gown for Sloan, and went to a place called Longbeards.

For dinner, Sidney made a cheesy potato casserole dish that was delicious. We ate and then watched Jeopardy. My mom then watched as Sid gave Sloan a bath and put her down for the night. With Sloan sleeping soundly, my brother, mom, and I went to Broadway at the Beach. We walked around the revitalized area on a warm evening as we bought salt water taffy, watched a fireworks show, and sat out on a back patio of a frozen drink establishment that overlooked the water. We then came home and ate a midnight snack of peanut butter chocolate chewy bars that Sidney had baked.

The fireworks at Broadway at the Beach were great. Sidney cooked an amazing dinner (cheesy chicken potato casserole).

Saturday: With my mom, Sloan, and myself the only ones up at around 7:30 a.m., we went for a walk around the neighborhood. My mom and I took turns pushing the stroller as we took Sloan all through our residential area. We came home from the walk and replenished ourselves with breakfast. Glen and Sidney soon arose for the day and they joined me for a fun outing. With grandma taking care of Sloan, the three of us went down to the Boardwalk. We played a baseball antique arcade game that was also one of my brother’s requests while throwing our money into the many other games offered at the area’s arcades. We found a bar to hydrate at before playing 18 holes of putt putt. We went to the Captain Hook course where I came out on top.

We came home and then my mom and I went right back out the door to pick up ingredients for dinner. She enjoyed her first experience at Publix as we purchased blue cheese stuffed and cheddar cheese stuffed hamburgers. Once we returned home, all of us got ready and we went to St. Andrew for 4:30 p.m. mass. We worshipped in the place where Sloan would be baptized the next day as she practiced by once again being a great baby in church. After the service we drove back to the house and Sid cooked up the burgers. A little while after we ate, Sid went to the store and bought the Family Feud home version game for us to play. It was a lot of fun as we all did our best Steve Harvey/Louie Anderson impersonations.

With grandma more than happy to watch Sloan so the three of us could continue to have fun, we went to the newly opened Dave & Buster’s. I will write more about this experience later but we had a really fun time. When we exhausted the funds on our D&B cards, we walked to American Tap House where we had a beer and watched baseball. Once back at home, we chatted with my mom who was still up.

Saturday was a fun day spent at the Boardwalk and Dave and Buster’s. We had some excellent hamburgers as well.

Sunday: This was the big day! We woke up and lounged around the house for most of the morning. Once we were all ready, we headed off to St. Andrew for Sloan’s 1 p.m. baptism. Deacon Robert Jones officiated the ceremony and did a great job explaining what was going on and welcoming everyone who was there. In front of family and friends, Sloan didn’t make a sound as she was baptized in the name of the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. At the conclusion of the sacrament, we took time to snap photos of the joyous occasion. We left the church and returned home to change. We then went right over to the house of Sidney’s parents for a lunch reception. All of us talked and enjoyed each other’s company as we ate fried chicken, numerous sides, and peach cobbler. Sidney and I also opened up Sloan’s baptism gifts.

Sloan’s baptism was beautiful.

Once the reception in Sloan’s honor concluded, I went to the mall with my brother and mom. Once back at the house, Sidney set up the Wii as her and Glen competed against each other in various games. With most of us full from lunch, it pushed us to have a late dinner. Sid, Glen, and I ordered pizza for carryout. While our order was prepared, we went to the neighborhood tavern for drinks. It was a low key environment and a great opportunity for us to relax and recap the trip. We returned home with the pizzas and we ate in the living room while we watched TV and I posted photos to Facebook for my mom. We then indulged in ice cream and watched a movie.

We made the most of the brother’s and mom’s final night in Myrtle Beach.

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This brings us back to this morning’s joyful goodbye. I am so thankful that my mom and brother sacrificed so much to come to Myrtle Beach for Sloan’s baptism. It was a memorable weekend. Don’t Blink.

* This is no joke. I am not exaggerating. Due to time in the car, time in the plane, and a couple layovers, my mom and brother are traveling for 17 hours today. It will be 3 a.m. on the east coast when they arrive in Spokane.