Seabrook Island

Beach days are our favorite days!  

We were fortunate enough to run away to the beach for a short time just before school started.  Though we may have a missed an orientation here and an open house there, we were thrilled to have one last time together as a family before the madness of school ensued.  

 My family means the world to me, it is my dream come true.  Large family life is not at all easy and I do find myself stressed a bit each day and ready for a break.  I told Ryan its like going back to the days when our boys were infants and demanded so much of me - he would walk in from work and I would hand the baby to him so I could have a little break.  That has been our world this summer except I have been handing him a certain two year old and sometimes a little four year old too!  While they are both precious to the core, they are also a hand full of spunk and spice!

 We were lucky enough to have our sweet friends visiting Seabrook with us!  I found this pic on my phone of AG and Maryn.  They really just loved playing together all week!

 Moana is the princess of choice and she made an appearance during our trip!  These girls were all about posing and pics!

 It is a rare moment that Chapman goes off to play by herself.  She tends to stay in the thick of things 99% of the time.  However, we captured this moment at the beach of her playing in the sand and loving every moment while the others were fishing and dancing on the beach.

 Our last night led us to Pelican's Nest, a restaurant favorite on the island.  It isn't so much about the food yet all about the oceanside atmosphere.  I told them during dinner that I had one request and that was to get a photo of them all together.  Most of the time they humor me with my pic taking.  However, on this night, they were all done, lol.

 A stranger offered to take a pic of our entire family and I jumped on the opportunity!  I knew they would agree for her! Ha!  

 The boys were all about surf fishing.  They didn't really have time to catch anything because of the storms rolling in but they loved having the anticipation of catching the biggest fish in the sea!

 Maddox received Pie In The Face Showdown for her birthday.  It is the messiest yet best game ever!

 We all enjoyed our moment of getting slapped in the face with whipped cream.  Except Pryce.  Pryce had no time for whipped cream.  During our first round, he had to excuse himself because he was feeling a bit ill in the stomach - the child has the funniest eating phobias ever and whipped cream is one of them!

 Spoons.  This game never gets old.  We played and played and played.  I even won the first round which egged them on to keep playing.  Nobody wants to get beat by Mom!

 A little slice of happiness.  This little girl was on cloud nine with her Moana necklace and being allowed to get as dirty as she wanted!

 My boys....

 the beach for them included fishing, playing pool, swimming, golfing, bike riding, basketball...they are just so easy going and keep the calm in the crazy!

 Adoption Rocks

One of my favorite tees....and when momma forgets your pjs, you wear her t-shirt!  The added bonus was breakfast of champions beachside!

 To spend a day with Chapman is to spend a day laughing...she has every personality trait in the book and is just busy, busy, busy usually into everything that she isn't supposed to be into, including her sister's sunglasses!

 Thankfully, I had several pairs of sunglasses so everyone was happy!

 Many days this summer I have had to remind myself that the littles won't stay little and though the days are long, the years are so short.  I know this all too well having a 17 year old that I feel like I was just pregnant with yesterday.  This pic of Chapman just holds time for me....she is oh so precious in every single way and I do pray that I don't wish time away too quickly in the tough moments.  

 The beach just makes us all happy....parents relax, children play....so good in every way!

 On this day, Chapman went down for a nap as usual in her bed....she woke just an hour later, walked into the living room where I was trying to do a little work, she climbed onto my lap and fell right back asleep.  People were coming and going and watching tv and playing yet this little needed to rest.

 Being the baby of six is tough work for this little....she doesn't want to be left out of any situation.  The independence is real and the need to help is even more so!

 Chapman came to us very fearful of water.  She would not even get out of my lap at the pool a year ago.  Instead, she would sit quietly in my lap and watch everyone swim.  

 Thankfully, our trips to the beach and the pool have given her a love for the water!  

 AG and Maryn came home four months apart.  They are both from Guangdong, China.  We have been blessed by her family's friendship and we love watching these two together.  At the age of 4, they were just the cutest two on the beach as they imagined together and laughed hysterically at things only 4 years olds would dare to laugh at!

 Three little bow-heads....LOVE!

 Tidal pools are the best....and snacks with your sister in the tidal pool is even better!

 Mommy dared to swim.  It isn't too often that I get into the ocean but on this day, I was in my element with my three littlest girls.  We all giggled, we all talked about random things, we all just enjoyed the time together.