vacation, all i've ever wanted

why I love(d) my week at the beach:

Makeup is optional- I already have a healthy sunburn/tan going on, and my skin has never looked better (okay well now after I am back, my face has started to break out).
No one can judge anyone else for wet/gnarly beach hair.
There is salt/sand everywhere. Having little on you is impossible, and having a lot is not too "gross," just natural.
Ryan can actually smell things because of the saltwater! I love that. :)
The houses here are absolutely gorgeous.
The weather was almost always spectacular for enjoying the beach. The only day it was not superb was the day a tropical storm came through haha.
Hello? Swimsuits, all the time!
I love the smell of sunscreen (which is very serendipitous, as I had to apply it all the time).
I can actually boogie-board.
I felt like a badass (and a terrified meal) going into the ocean, with a warning of sharks, while on my period.
It ain't even expensive!
With lots of families, it is a happy place (if you can get past the children and the occasional screaming).
Running is so much more fun on the beach than anywhere else.
I love seeing my footprints in the sand.


what I love(d)/learned concerning my week with my boyfriend's family/friends:

I learned that I could spend a week straight just fine with my boyfriend and his family (I think I could even go a while longer haha). ;)

Kids kind of stress me out. Especially when there are four of them. EIYA.

I love my boyfriend. Like I feel like a good number of people question our relationship (and sometimes I honestly do too) because it is not conventional, but there are just these little moments that hit me and I am just reduced to damn, this is how it's supposed to be.

I learned that to correct Ryan's thundercloud phase all he needs is a good sweet tea and/or a tickling.
His family is not as crazy as I had thought haha. Like I remember in the beginning of our relationship thinking man, I will never fit in, and suddenly I feel like I am actually a part of this family- all of this in a deeper, more fateful sense than I had thought before. It is amazing, and I love it.
I need to be healthier. It is a lot more fun and I feel so much better.
I found out that I/things in general have changed a LOT since last year. I was so much a high-school, dramatic, shy, insecure girl when I came to Myrtle Beach last April, and now I am a "lady" (I dislike the word woman) who can stand fairly strong in her security and loves people. I am so much happier now.
I miss the mountains too! I know that that is a weird realization to have following a week at the beach, but driving back home through the mountains made me miss Gatlinburg and my family's trips there.
I need to go zip-lining, and soon-ish. I did not have the chance to go this trip, so maybe I will for my birthday or something. :)

And, possibly my most important realization: there will be more adventures in store for me- this summer, this year, and beyond! True, I have some growing up to do, too, but I can honestly say that I feel everything is how it is supposed to be at this point in my life.