We're Home......(and some of my favorite pics from the beach)

We had a wonderful time!!! The weather was perfect and the beach was ALL THAT we remembered it to be!!! I so enjoyed my break away from the computer, toys, laundry, etc. The beach, the pool and the bikes were ALL the toys we needed :) !!! The kids even did well driving back home...We normally drive over night so they aren't awake, but we actually drove some while they were awake..and it went surprisingly well!!! So, without any further ado....let me share some of my favorite pics with ya:

My older 3 were a piece of cake...the girls know how to swim now and Hal is learning...so we could trust them a bit...BUT...the two babies were LOTS of work on my part!! LL decided she LOVED the water and would throw herself under water as much as possible...George even enjoyed the baby pool this time and would quickly escape as I was pulling LL up from diving under water!! They both scared me to death the whole time...but THEY had fun which is all that matters :)

LL even decided she LOVED the beach and the ocean...She would run straight for the waves and try to throw herself into them...I'd save her life to only look up and see George wandering away or stripping his clothes off (one of his favorite two year old tricks)....Neither one could be trusted a bit!! :) Again, they did have a lot of fun though....but Momma was ready to pass out each night from chasing those two down!!

This year at the beach we had Helen at 8, Julia 6, Hal 5, George 2 and LL 16 months!!!

There are so many activities to do while at this beach...We played Croquet, tennis, baseball, we flew kites...Above, we have LL in Croquet jail!!! :)

Oh, and we ran lots of races too!! :) This community also has free concerts and movies each night....it was lots of fun for the kiddos!! :)

I caught a few pics of Daddy playing Frisbee while holding LL!! She thought it was lots of fun!!

We attempted one night where we got the kids dressed up and headed to where my sister Kelly was staying so she could take our pics....These AREN'T the pics she took...I hope to get those soon...These are just some of the pics I took with my camera while in between our little photo shoot!!! Above, LL was NOT happy that I put her down...She wanted Momma to hold her!!

Yes, I have on a scarf that my two sisters made fun of and told me to take off!! I am always chilly so I thought it was cute...but THEY strongly disagreed :) They said I wasn't suppose to wear a scarf with a sundress on the beach... Oh, well...I kind of liked it :)

Above, we have 3 out of 4 of the sisters!!! Karson was at home still recovering from having her second child a couple of weeks ago..AND..packing to move!! yes, she is moving towns with a new born!! Not fun :(

Then on our last day, the kids all wore their matching tshirts!!! If we didn't already get a lot of comments everywhere we went...well...the matching tshirts seemed to send the whole town over the edge...We had people coming out of stores to look at the kids prancing down the sidewalks....LOL...it was funny!!! And, yes, we were a walking advertisement for adoption with LL on our hip!!! We had many GREAT conversations with people about adoption..I sent several new friends to our blog and video....So...who knows the hearts that were stirred!!! We shall see!! :)

And, we had a great time with the cousins all week too!! We are so glad that they could join us!! Their two kiddos completely entertain our older 3 the entire time...it was great!!!

Above, one last family pic before heading out the door!! I could have stayed two more weeks it was so nice!!!

Oh, and a HUGE thanks to our new friend Lilly from Atlanta!! This 12 yr. old girl befriended us and would come knocking on our door and go to the pool with us!! She was amazing!! She was so creative with the kids and came up with so many great games!! She LOVED LL, and we were sad to say goodbye to our new little friend!! Man, she was SO AWESOME that if she lived next door, we might actually consider using a babysitter!! :) The kids loved her and we hope to see her again some day!! Thanks Lilly for all your help...you were truly a little angel sent from above!! :)

****That's it folks!! I give all Glory to God for such a great week!! I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to travel to the beach, and I never want to take one trip like this for granted!! It was truly a wonderful family week filled with lots of lasting memories!!! Hope you enjoyed the sneak peek into our trip!!! :)

Happy Sunday to you all, kj