Random things on a Thursday - beach edition

Yesterday JP and I drove down to his family's house at Pawley's Island for our annual 4th of July vacation.  I have to say, this is one of my favorite times of the year and spots -- our days are filled with playing games, crabbing, picking crabs, eating crabs, kayaking, bocci ball on the beach, sleeping, and one very small town parade that is taken quite seriously.  You know, the usual.  Of course, it's raining today which means lots and lots of game playing.

Cthulu figurines!!

The game of the hour is Graverobbers III: Suburban Slashers from Sunnydale Street where the object of the game is to create a B-horror-movie.  Which is of course quite appropriate for JP and I since we tend to be big fans of B-horror movies.  Last night we played Smallworld (an easier and more fun game similar to Risk but without the inevitable fights Risk always causes) and pretty soon we'll probably transition into A Touch of Evil (with expansions -- similar to Arkham Horror but I think more manageable and a little easier), Unspeakable Words (scrabble with Cthulu figures), Bananagrams (word game) and the old standbys Arkham Horror (with too many expansions to fit on our table) and Dominion (with expansions -- always a favorite).

All the games took up most of the trunk for the drive down here -- clearly we are a family that loves games :)

In the writing world I'm working on revisions for book three (The Dark and Hollow Places), working on a few proposals, working on some short stories, trying to catch up on my reading and trying to catch up on various odds and ends.  Yesterday I jumped for joy when I found Ally Carter's latest installment in her awesome and fun Gallagher Girl series, Only the Good Spy Young.  I LOVE Ally Carter's books and can't wait to dive into this one.

I also brought a bag of other books to read -- more of Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series (of which I've already proclaimed my love), a few ARCs and some books I'm reading for my proposal :)  I'd say what space wasn't taken up in our trunk from games was taken up with books.

Is there any other perfect vacation than one that starts with books, games, and a suitcase full of shorts, tank tops and bathing suits?  And of course my wonderful husband and his family!  Going to be a fantastic week!  And when this one is over I'm heading up to Isle of Palms to spend a week with my family -- one mom, two sisters and six kids under the age of seven :)