Life here...

Thursday, May 19, 2011

The Beach!! Photos in the sand.

This past week we spent soaking in the fun of family and the sounds of the surf! We were in Duck Island, NC for a family vacation with Steve's side of the family. All members were present. 32, I think the count was! Steve is the fourth of 8 siblings. Now that those original 8 are all grown, Steve's mom and dad are adopting three girls. That brings the total of kids up to 17! You can bet that with all those kids and cousins, there was a lot of good times being had!

It was off-season so we were able to get a very nice beach house for a great price. We split the cost and took turns making meals. It all went very well with everyone chipping in to help and everyone got along so well!

The house had a pool out back which was supposed to be heated but wasn't, I don't think. Anyway, that didn't stop the kids from jumping in! The breeze provided great kite-flying weather. Above, you can see Max taking a turn flying Aunt Lulu's kite.

The temps were in the 70s most days but somehow, it felt perfect in the sun most of the time and lounging, walking, and playing in the sand was very comfortable. Jeans were fine but so was a bathing suit. Perfect!

Hannah had fun digging a giant hole in the ground and laying her towel at the bottom of it. Trouble was, she didn't take the towel in with her and then the tide came in....
Below, you can see Steve and Annette helping her dig it out again.

Can you see that little hint of orange? That's the towel. Keep digging!!

Grayson even donned his swim trunks and sun hat for some sand and sun time.

Most of the time, this is what Gray thought of the sand.
He felt better if he just snoozed instead:

Here, Steve came down to the beach and asked if I wanted to go for a walk. See that little red towel rolled up behind him in the sand?

That's my boy!
When he wasn't in the towel, I carried him in my front carrier.
I really enjoyed walking along the beach.

There's Steve's footprint and little guy's beside it. So tiny and sweet.

When Gray was awake, he posed for pictures.

Yaaawwwnnnn.... All in a day's work for my little man.

Ivy was a little more energetic:

Jenny and little Audrey, who really enjoyed the beach.

Bekah.

Look at those tiny toes...and the big ones...no, look at the tiny ones instead. Aren't they cute?

Annette

Selena

Hannah

I hope you've enjoyed our fun vicariously through the pictures! There are more, if you've missed them in the two posts below this one.

And, later, I may throw in a post with a picture of the sand castle that Bekah and I made. I took it on a different camera and I'm a little too lazy to go and find that right now. I also don't think that the pictures turned out that well, unfortunately, but, we'll see. It can be a surprise.

Around the beach house...

One of the key things about the time at the beach was all the baby-holding! Grandma was in her glory! We never lacked for a pair of arms to hold the little ones. They barely touched the ground.

Aunt Mary got some Grayson time in, too.

Grayson gets a little 'floor time' before heading out to the beach. I love his little red and white outfit. Perfect for catching some rays in the sand.

Grayson lookin' mighty sweet and beachy. Ooo! I need to find him and kiss him! ....

.....OK, I'm back...

I don't think Ivy's hair got brushed much. She surely had a good time, though! And never fear, she's tangle-free again now.

It was Mother's Day the day we arrived at the Beach house. Our family stayed the night before with Steve's sister Jenny and her husband, Will. Jenny and Will have a little baby girl, Audrey, who is one month older than Gray. It was fun to meet Audrey and to see the two babies together.

Those two were together quite a bit that week! Below they are hanging out with Aunt Lulu, the nickname for Steve's sister Laurie. There are two Lauries in the family. Two Jenns too, for that matter.

Laurie made this outfit for Grayson in honor of his womb-name. Doesn't little Chicken Bob look cute in his chicken-print clothes? Even the buttons are little chickens!

Jenny led the get-in-shape club that I abstained from joining. Max was her Jiminy Cricket and made sure she got out her videos each day. They had quite a few members! I did don my front-carrier and take evening walks on the beach with the bunch. Gray really enjoyed those walks, or, as he called them, naps.