This is how I picture my beach vacation, but unfortunately with two babies this was the only time I put my feet up all week! Vacationing with little ones is so much work! It isn't a vacation at all. But it's all about making memories and spending time with family. We were able to have a very large crew at the beach this year! My parents and siblings were all there, David's parents and his sister and family also joined us, Uncle Michael (my mom's brother) and Carly (Donovan's girlfriend) were also able to come.
While technically this was the second time the twins had been to the beach (we went to Folly Beach, SC back in March), this was their first time actually touching the sand and water.
Jackson was first up from his nap and into the water. He seemed to really enjoy it!
Grammie & Abuelo had fun looking for sharks teeth with Finley.
Anytime we have only one baby with us we think "Man this is so easy!". LOL!
This picture is so Jackson. Totally chill baby.
At last Hunter awoke from his nap.
He enjoyed the sand, but not the water. Maybe it was a little too cold for him?
My mom brought a kiddie pool to the beach and we filled it up with ocean water. This way the babies would have a safe place to play in the water and also the shade.
Finley would occasionally dump critters and fish into their pool for safe keeping.
"I'm gonna each both of these sharks!" - Hunter
We were so glad Aunt Michelle and Uncle Donovan's schedules worked out so they could join us!
Thank you to Grammie and Abuelo for the shade tent!
We literally packed up our whole house to bring with us to the beach. The play yard, aka prison, was a big hit!
The young love birds.
Sleep was not happening at the beach. Not only because the twins were in a new place, but also because we would stay up way too late playing games with family.
We were grateful for all the help during the day though!
A few days into the beach week the Beans arrived! Piper, now three years old, got along great with the babies. They didn't play together necessarily, but they did play near each other!
Smash ball: Tami v Finley
The Women's World Cup was also going on while we were at the beach. It was so much fun to watch it with my dad. He also spent a lot of time on the phone doing interviews about the players/games.
Finley and Gabi opened up a massage parlor to earn some money. They gave great massages! If only they hadn't used their money for pranks and tricks all week long!
We spent way too much time working on a very difficult Harry Potter puzzle. If anyone wants to borrow it let me know! LOL!
Sometimes we were tired and cranky at the beach! It was hard to find windows to get down to the beach or get the babies down their with us. Trying to juggle their feeding and napping schedules makes it hard to go anywhere or do anything! We usually got them down to the ocean for at least an hour a day. Not always at the same time though.
Piper enjoying her signing time videos. She knows so many signs!
Cousins!
Greg's birthday is on the 4th of July! Of course we celebrated with cake and fireworks!
Donovan brought some pretty amazing fireworks!
Ta-dah! Finally finished on the last full day!
We also had a bocce tournament. After donating one ball to the ocean and ordering a new set (Thank goodness for Amazon's free and fast shipping) we were able to complete our tournament. David and I were victorious and won the whole thing!
Finley and Gabi measuring their balls very closely.
Family games were fun and always intense!
We also had a photographer take some family photos. It was challenging trying to get everyone looking at the camera, but here are a few of my favorites:
To quote my friend Sarah our trip was "Real and it was fun, but it was not real fun!" LOL. Maybe next year will be easier and less exhausting? Fingers crossed! At least the company and views were worth all the work and sleepless nights!
