Annual Beach Trip

Since summer is quickly coming to a close and fall is right around the corner I figured I better wrap up all my summer posts so we can move on to fall.  Have I mentioned that fall is my favorite season of the year and I can't wait for all things fall-y things to begin.  Let me get back to our fabulous week at the beach that was spent with my three childhood friends and their families. 

If you have been following my blog over the past few years you will remember that I have been taking this trip to the beach with these girls since second grade with only a few years as an exception.   So needless to say these are very special friends that have been through almost every stage of life together.  I know these friendships are rare and I don't take them for granted.  

Here is the whole crew...

As you can see the four girls have multiplied quite a bit over the past 23 years.  First, with our four husbands and now with a total of six kids and two more on the way!  

The 14 of us spent lots of time at the pool playing, splashing, swimming, laughing and catching up. This was the first year we have taken all the kids and it was loads of fun having them there and watching them become friends.

Thompson and Will were the two oldest kids and they were inseparable all week.  

We would load the kids up on their bikes, wagons and strollers to make our way to the beach.  It still never ceases to amaze me how much you have to take to the beach with kids.  It seems you spend at least two hours putting on bathing suits and sunscreen, packing lunches, diapers, wipes, towels, beach toys, chairs, umbrellas, books, magazines and plenty of drinks all so you can spend maybe two hours on the beach before loading it all back up before the pre-nap meltdowns start happening.

Anna and I used to always take our matching baby dolls to the beach and now we have our real babies that are only a few months apart.

Sweet hugs.  Sweet friends.

While we were there Will started to look like he was a part of a different race.  Or maybe he just became a different race than his dad:)  Have you ever seen such a tan line on a four year old?

The second day we were there was the Fourth of July so after chowing down on some homemade lasagna we went outside our condo to watch the sky light up.

Molly Jane and Shepherd were completely fascinated but a little nervous about the loud noises. 

While the "big boys" loved it. 

Such a perfect evening sitting on the dock of the bay watching the fireworks light up the sky while the boats slowly passed us by.

During the week the kids did their fair share of playing their hearts out inside the condo. 

Molly Jane couldn't stay away from sweet baby Lucy.  She gave her lots of lovin' and kissin' and got some good practice for being a big sister soon. 

A bedtime movie to help calm the crew down.

The last night Anna's mom came down to babysit the kids so we could have an adult night out to dinner.  We made sure all 6 of them were sound asleep before we headed out.  What a fun night we had!  Dinner at Louis (same owner as the Red Bar) followed by frozen yogurt gave us lots of time to have uninterrupted conversations.  I think we dominated the restaurant with our laughter.  What a total blessing these friendships are and this opportunity to spend a week at the beach with them!