Jami and I are smiling in this picture because of our precious friends on the left, Lauren and Sarah. They were our babysitters last year at the beach and graciously agreed to join our wild crew again!
We had great weather (ahem, not like 4th of July!!) and this was the first year my kids could make it for semi-long stretches on the beach
Even this little diva (who is going through an awkward stage with her hair...and sadly I am a "boy mom" trying to learn)
Heath and Jim drove down Tuesday and all the kids LOVED playing with the daddies in the ocean. This is the first year the Henderson family primarily did the beach instead of the pool. We are not scared to go down to the beach and never see the sand, just hang at the pool, but we grew up this year! And Turner thought the ocean WAS the pool and he was a fish. He could have stayed in for hours and hours and hours.
One really fun thing we did this year for the first time was a Pirate Cruise! The last time we were at the beach, Heath's cousins' kids went and we heard it was a hit. They were right!!
Jami and Jim and Heath and I took the older kids - luckily we were able to leave Collins and Sims back with Sarah and Lauren. I don't think they would have had the best pirate experience:)
It was a 2-hour cruise and we all had fun. The captain asked the parents to sit back and relax on board, and promised they would entertain the children. Done and done!
They mopped the deck, had sword fights and water gun fights, sang songs, practiced the chicken dance (which John Burke continues to relive), had face painting and tattoos, shot cannons, etc.
Constant entertainment!
We even had some dolphin sightings!
The best thing was a treasure hunt. There was a map they had to follow all around the ship that eventually led to an orange buoy in the water. "Jake" - one of the pirates on board, led them all in a line for a "heave, ho" until the kids pulled out the treasure chest themselves.
The adults were equally fascinated
And then the kids got to go around in a circle and pick out their doubloons and treasure. So perfect for our little pirates! Highly impressive and a fun cruise for the adults, too.
Another fun thing was the date night we took to George's at Alys Beach. We had always heard great things, but none of us had been. It was so delicious and relaxing and entertaining to hang out and talk without our precious children. It happened to fall on July 31st - our anniversary.
Happy 9 years! I love you!
Did I mention we love our babysitters? Sarah with my boys at the "dive-in" movie one night. Writing this I am realizing we did a lot more organized activities than we have in the past, but our kids are getting older and are always on the go. The little turkeys!
On Friday, Pap and Tappy came down and spent the weekend with us. We had a great time playing and hanging with them! Here they are talking Pap's ear off at breakfast. They were nice enough to let Collins sleep in their room, so they got to bond with her even extra time:)
Shameless with his Tappy
Pap was even a sailboat captain and took the boys on a fun sailboat ride with Tappy, Heath and Jim
So so fun!
And Pap let each of them "drive" the boat - a little boy's dream
Jami, Sarah, Lauren and I sacrificed and stayed back and watched with these 2 cuties
Such a peaceful and wonderful week as a family and with friends. What a blessing - I thought I would be glad to be home, but I would go back in a second!
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