Memorial Day

We woke up....and unfortunately several of the kids....got a little over baked yesterday!

So we SLATHERED them this morning

Then we spent another morning in the pool

Daddy showing off his moves...

THE GIRL showing us her moves....

TWINKIE BOY....

Get ready.....

Get Set.....

Go!

Randy has really enjoyed having a chance to hang with his brother

They don't get to see each other much

but when they can they enjoy catching up!

After spending the better part of the morning at the pool we did head to the beach for a little while.

more digging for clams and body surfing for the kids.

The grownups actually sat and talked for a while....which this is the first time in a long time we have been able to do that on vacation with the kids.

Life is getting a bit easier as the littlest ones in the family are 4-5 now! 

Our last family beach trip we had a 2 year old and 4 that were 3 year olds.....so this trip has been MUCH better and MUCH MUCH MUCH more relaxing!

The kids were worn out by late afternoon

So they spent some time hanging out on the porch

Snacking

Watching movies

and snoozing.

Daddy and Pepaw took the big kids to see Pirates of the Caribbean.  They were happy to see it and all seemed to enjoy the movie.

Then.....

Aunt Rhonda and Uncle Barry made dinner tonight: Hot Dogs and Hamburgers with Mac and Cheese and Green Beans

Then we had a Wii Karaoke Contest

Ummmmm.....we are NOT good....but we did have fun!

After ALL that fun....the melt downs began....Twinkie Girl....went CrAzY and decided we should go home so she could sleep all by herself....and several more children decided they were having sleepovers with various cousins in each others rooms.....lets just say that didn't pan out either.  At last they are all tucked in and THE BIG BOY is watching the history channel with Daddy and I'm about to scoot him off to bed and call it a night.  Tomorrow......we have a whole different adventure planned!

Vacation....Day 1

What a precious sight to wake up to this morning!

The kids were ready to go from the moment their feet hit the floor.

Sand!

Surf!  I was constantly counting to make sure we had all the kids!

The GIRL loves riding the waves.

THE BOY LOVES the Boogie Board!

The big surprise of the day was GRANDMA Halsey showing up on the beach!

Not only did she walk down to the ocean

But....she got into the ocean!

Grandma Rocks!

Walks in the waves!

This is how we keep up with the rascals....we bury them up to their necks in sand!

TWINKIE BOY Loved playing with Pepaw

After a morning at the beach....we went back to the house for lunch and my kids had "Roomtime"....YES....even at the beach....I am hardcore!

While the kids had roomtime....Randy encouraged me to go to the beach for an hour alone and enjoy myself..

Let's just say he didn't have to ask me twice....This was the view from my chair.

What a WONDERFUL hour!

Ahhhh!

The hour ended and then it was POOL TIME!

Daddy put together a basketball goal....we had to have something for the kids to fight about!

Cousin Tyler!  He's had fun long boarding, biking, riding waves, and playing video games.  Tyler and THE BOY always have a good time together.

TWINKIE GIRL....testing out the hot tub.

THE BABY playing with "her" Belle water toy.  Grammy and Pepaw bought them for the pool and she has not set "hers" down.

Love my sweet boy!

After a while at the pool we decided to head back to the beach for another hour.....more fun digging in the sand.  Caught lots of clams.

Then the kids swam in the pool with Daddy while I made dinner.

We each take a day to cook and clean.  Today was my day.  I made Rigatoni....because it is quick, easy, and feeds a bunch of people.  I served it with bread and a salad.

After dinner we talked while the kids played on the deck.

Then the girls: Grammy, Aunt Rhonda, Aunt Elizabeth, and I went to Khols and Walmart and a few beach stores.....while the Daddy's stayed home and watched movies with the little ones.

We have some crispy critters....we all got a little burnt.  So we slathered up with aloe and tucked everyone in for the night. Getting ready for bed.....and we have the door to our room open so we can hear the ocean.  I LOVE THE BEACH!!!!!

Vacation 2011

It is time for our Vacation!!!!

and Boy oh Boy are we excited!!!!

So we pulled out our markers and decorated our van.....and it looked very cute and festive for the first few hours....however after the rainstorm.....it looked like a rainbow on wheels rolling down the road...oh well....we still had fun!

We stopped out our favorite "going to the beach" restaurant.....YUM...YUM!

Yep....this is where we are staying this week! Whoo Hooo! THANKS to my GENEROUS in-laws for including us on this wonderful trip. WOW!  My kids keep calling it our hotel....they don't realize it's a house.  It is HUGE and BEAUTIFUL!

Our backyard!  The little square is a "baby pool"  I am loving it!

We played at the beach and the pool some after we unpacked and then had pizza from Dough Boys for dinner!  My kids were so excited to see all their cousins!  Especially our "Texas cousins" who we don't see nearly enough!

After dinner I got to go on a walk with TWINKIE BOY.  It was fun to have some quiet time with just him.  He loved looking for shells.  We had a few races.  It was a special time for us.  I love the one on one moments I can rarely find with the kids.

The rest of the night was filled with vegging.....and snuggles

sweet little boys

and girls

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Visiting

Fun Times!

Looking forward to a week of FUN!

Goodnight!