Skim boarding is still a thing though we made it through the entire week without a broken bone or fierce fall....
This time last year, we were waiting patiently to receive our Travel Approval from China stating that we could jet over and bring our girl home forever! Thankfully, we have her home now and she was thrilled to be a part of the annual Garden City Beach travels.
Frisbee with cousins is always fun....anything with cousins is fun.
Sisters
Minnow catching has always been a hit....they all needed to take a look at the newest additions to the minnow bucket.
This little landed herself in the middle of the boogie boarding excitement....
her squeals could be heard for miles as she played and played in the water with her new boogie board.
The water park is still the water park....filled with all sorts.
There were races with the bigs....
and swimming with he gators for the littles.
And more racing....these guys were not giving up!
Fun was had by all but all things must come to an end....
Tubing in the ocean was a hit this year....
even when they were tipped upside down, the girls were thrilled with these additions to our rafting/floating adventures.
Boogie boarding expert....
Chapman had so much fun jumping in the waves....
these girls worked together at different points to build and create some beach activities....
Maryn enjoyed the art of making sand castle foot caves....so fun! I remember doing this as a child!
Colin's crazy hair....the salt/sand/sun combo can do amazing things to one's hair.
Ice cream, ice cream....get your ice cream! The ice cream truck learned quickly that we had ice cream loving children in our house so they came by daily for us to have treats by the pool!
Gran shared about Red Nose Day....
the children were all intrigued with this red nose goodness!
Even the boys joined in on the Red Nose games!
Many hours are spent on the beach catching up with my sister and cousins....we see each other often but it is at the beach where the resting allows for some good conversations!
Maddox and Jay spent some of their beach time creating tidal pools and dams as the tide came in....
Maddox loves make-up....at the beach, the next best thing to apply was sunscreen!
A girl, her daddy and her thumb....
My boys...pictures come few and far between with these two....they are growing up too fast for this mama but I am forever thankful that they love being with their family and they will still allow for a photo op every once in a while!
Jumping waves....Chapman was a fan
These sisters LOVE playing with the baby so long as the baby is compliant. Thankfully, the beach gives ample opportunities for the sisters to all play happily together!
Our six + Emma and Jay....and then there is Ryan! I was trying to get the traditional photo in the ocean....Ryan was less than thrilled because he had no intention of getting wet during the shoot! Bless. The things this man does for us!
My two favorite parents.
They make this trip happen each year and we are grateful for the time we all spend together under one roof!
Beach sunsets are breathtaking
There are moments when everyone is all done with photographing....this was one of those moments. It was late. I was trying to hold a body part of each little child because we were on a dock. Everyone was ready for dessert.....and I just wanted ONE picture! Ha. Got it even though Maryn is crying over one thing or another.
My dad didn't mean for my camera to snap when it did....so glad I got this shot of him acting up!
Thankfully, dad put on his normal smiling face to make for a great pic of my parents!
Pop and his grandsons....these three have some good memories together and we look forward to many more to come!
Little girls....a few new toys and they spent hours playing peacefully at the beach. This was the goal:)
And my precious Maddox Ren...she loved her new ring float!
The littles are so easy to capture....they make my heart so happy when they are happy!
This girl was cold and tired....
This little was all prepared for a swim in the pool!
Our morning at the pier. We had to drive two cars this year to accommodate our growing crowd.
They humored me with one pic of them looking at the camera and smiling....and then they were off to find the sharks....
No luck this year in seeing the sharks so we headed into the arcade for a few early morning games!
And then it was breakfast and to the beach for a little fun in the sun, corn hole and a last day of relaxing.
Maddox could live with a computer, Trash mix and her blanket all the days of her life....this is her happy place!
