beach trip 2012

We just got back from a week at the beach with our family, and the pictures say it all- we had a great time! The kids LOVED the beach, the water, and the sand...and they were at such a good age for it! I must say it was the most relaxing beach trip I have been on as a Mom. Me, Monique, all of the kids, and my parents were there the full week. Jared, Erinn, and David were able to stay until Wednesday. The boys squeezed in lots of golf, and the rest of us hung at the house and at the beach. Was so much fun!

We spent A LOT of time in the water! I still felt like they needed an adult in close vicinity, but they really did great with the waves and salt water. I had to make them take breaks so that I could sit for a minute!

They had sooooooo much fun with their cousins!!!

This picture was cute in theory, but the glare was just a little too bad and the kids couldn't open their eyes!

Goofy kids!! They played so well together all week. It was such a blessing!

Love these pics...have some from years past and they are always my favorite! 

We tried to coordinate the jumping- but this is all we got! Funny!

Braving the waves with Aunt Erinn!

We did have one "incident" where a wave completely took out me, Erinn, and the kids. It was so scary and we were lucky that the worst that happened was that my Ray Bans (my "two you" Christmas bonus! ha!) were lost! It scared all of us. I was really shocked and proud though that the kids were back in the water less than 10 minutes later and they didn't let it ruin the trip!

The fresh air seemed to relax Mac and he liked to snooze on the beach! Miss Mae was a little too busy to nap on the beach...that's a girl for you!

I love this sweet pic of all of the cousins in the matching bathing suits that SuSu and G gave them for Easter.

Elise loves to hold sweet Mae.

My Mom always gets the girls (me, Mo, Erinn, and herself) pj pants for the beach, and so Mo and I decided to continue the tradition and got the kids matching pjs as well.

Bennett reading to Mac.

Lila snuggling with Mae.

David turned bath time into fun time in the jacuzzi!

We are so grateful to my parents for the amazing trip! It was great to have such a long stretch of family time. We cherish all time together, but normally the visits are shorter, and I loved having the extended time with Mo, Mac, and Mae. It was especially nice to be together after losing Grandpa not too long ago.

I hope this is something that we can continue to do, because I know as the kids grow it will only get more and more fun for everyone...by next year Mac and Mae will be running on the beach as well!