frisbee, Father's Day, and friends

We were able to enjoy watching AJ play ultimate frisbee one night. I thought Selah would be running all over the place but this leftover apple kept her busy the whole time.

Some of the games run late so we have to stay behind to get ready for bed, but that didn't stop them from wanting to cheer for "Team Daddy" with matching bandannas ahead of time.

We've had a revolving door of extra kids come and stay with us while their mom was sick in the hospital. Although it wasn't ideal the circumstances that led to them staying with us, we sure did have fun playing outside in our yard and also at the splash park.

The kids requested a picture since they thought it was funny their ages were pretty much stair-step. Here they are at age 8, 6, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. (Evangeline refused to smile since she didn't get to pick who she sat by. *sigh*)

We celebrated Father's Day a day late and made up for it by going to Ella's Frozen Yogurt. YUM. (Evangeline didn't want to smile. Again. *sigh*)

And for some reason they think it's so much fun to go behind Ella's and throw rocks in the pond after we are all done eating our treats. (They do it once and think it's a must every time we return, because kids are predictable like.)

When I heard my kids getting out all of their winter gear out I couldn't believe that they actually wanted to wear it outside in the 90 degree weather. They were pumped :) I shouldn't have been that surprised though because the only thing they wore this past winter were summer clothes. I wonder where they get their strangeness...

These boys are second cousins. Aren't they too cool for school? We were thrilled to be able to celebrate his birthday with him.

Evangeline made a friend along the way.

The weather held off and they were able to enjoy lots of water time with their other second cousin.

And then we had another birthday to celebrate the next day. This time it was just me and Ari. These boys were also too cool for school...or maybe just too cool for a picture.

Or maybe they were just so excited to ride this train. I know I was!

Then they played on a playground and got loaded with sugar.

I just had to throw this on here because they are as cute as can be. The girls had a good time relaxing in the pool while the boys played inside. This was a fun reunion after not seeing each other for a whole month.

Hilton Head

So a few weeks ago we traveled down to our favorite vacation spot. It was relaxing and  we were all soaking in every minute of daddy since he didn't have to be away. Here are just a few pics.

Oh wait...there was no way to recap our vacation with less than 50 pictures :)

Kids were so excited to be on the beach after traveling all night. They did great sleeping in the van while we traded driving on and off.

You never know how little ones are going to react to new textures...either they will love it or hate it. Thankfully Selah didn't mind the sand.

There aren't many waves on this part of the island but they still managed to jump a few.

It was so bright the kids could barely keep their eyes open! But they did enjoy some seafood and walking down a pier to look at some boats.

Grandma doin' her thang.

It was a little chilly (and windy) this particular day but the kids still wanted to explore. There were so many different types of crabs running all over the place.

A few close-ups for fun...

They loved digging in the sand...

and going to the pool...

and being buried in the sand...

and finding surprises at the beach...

and having daddy with them 24/7.

My mom and grandma were able to spend the week with us. I knew my great-grandparents when I was young and am glad they get to make memories with theirs.

Our bigs being cute.

Our bigs being normal :)

When the tide was out there were still tidal pools to play in.

The kids really enjoyed being on the boogie boards and "surfing".

Or being pulled along for a ride.

Babies in the sand are so cute.

The thought of being buried in sand makes me cringe...and want to go take a shower. But the kids loved it!

We walked around a harbor and they enjoyed climbing this statue.

We also enjoyed the Salty Dog Cafe for lunch. It was particularly warm so we decided to get a quick picture and come back later that evening to enjoy the large playground.

Oh and also to enjoy some ice cream :)

It doesn't get much better than ice cream on a beach.

This is one of my favorites.

I'm pretty sure our kids asked to go to the pool more than the beach. Most of it was 3 ft so they both could touch and get around just fine.

And yes...we went back again for some more gelato...oh the choices...

This was Selah's response when she saw a spoon with a bite for her...she was bookin' it!

Three generations.

Four generations.

The trees here are so beautiful...and perfect for climbing! 

One last trip to see the beach before we had to head home. This view never got old.

It's always bitter-sweet at the end of vacation because you've been spoiled all week with luxuries that you don't have often but at the same time you're ready to just be home. It was so fun having us altogether for a whole week with nothing to do, nowhere to be, and no other responsibilities. This time to get away is very special to us and we are thankful to be able to take vacations.