Okay, in an attempt to eek in the rest of my final favorite vacation photos all into one post, I’m afraid things may be a bit disjointed and long. Hm.
I’ll see what I can do to make it interesting for you.
To begin, a Faires Family photo shoot. Far from perfect, but very honest. Four out of six have shirts on, and five out of six are wearing pants. We definitely call that a success! There may even be three sets of eyes on the camera!
A fleet of jellyfish arrived overnight to make our final beach day a bit less comfortable than all the days before it. Most of them were very small and their stings were hardly noticeable, but during our evening swim Ryan spotted a pretty good-sized one and caught it for us to examine more closely. (I’ll be honest, I didn’t go back in the water after seeing this guy. And neither did my child, thankyouverymuch!)
If you’ve never touched a jellyfish, it’s really nothing like you would expect. Much firmer and less squishy than you might think – sort of like a gel bike seat cover, with the texture of a dolphin’s skin. Very solid. Pretty cool and a little scary.
Proof that Mom was on the trip (I realized the final night we were there that I hadn’t gotten any photos of her so I snapped a quick on of her and Bea in the sand. She is such a fabulous Grandma to our babies!):
Hazel was padding around in the sand with Oliver one afternoon and I just thought her little footprints were the cutest things. Had to capture that sweet baby moment.
The four oldest kids were having some down time after lunch on Thursday after Ginny read them a book and did a craft with them. They wanted another story, so she gave a book to her oldest (Micah) and everyone circled around while he read aloud to them. They were so sweet all huddled together.
One day we found ourselves listening to good, old school beach music in the main room of the house and none of us could resist jumping up for an impromptu dance party with the kids. (You can see in the picture on the right that Oliver had just accidentally wriggled his way right out of his pants.)
And of course, Audrey and Lizzie took such good care of all nine children all week. They served as extra sets of eyes at the beach, extra arms when the littlest two needed rocking, and were so sweet when the kids woke up with the sun and Moms and Dads weren’t quite ready to begin the day yet. They even tackled bedtime for all nine kids alone one night so we could go out as a group of just adults for dinner. They are brave souls.
It doesn’t hurt that our children adore them, either.
We try our best to reward them however they will allow us. We know for sure that they speak the language of dark chocolate and Jones Soda. :)
Also, I have a very fun and very special secret about our Audrey. And I get to tell you very soon!
(next week, I think!)
Okay, all out of my system. Even if it was a bit disjointed. Beach photos over and now back to normal life.
(Which, in my little corner of bloggy land, means a fun post tomorrow about our play room!)
Happy Tuesday, friends! Blessings!
>Lovely, lovely! Had such a blast with you. Already dreaming of next time :)
>cutest grandma in a swimsuit ever award goes to your mom!
>Oh man. Your sweet little family just makes my heart happy! So glad you all had such a great time! :)
>Looks like you guys had so much fun! I loved seeing the vacation posts!
>Looks like a great time! Seems so different from the beaches here in Southern CA. I'm sure coming home was just as nice, and getting back into your normal routine comforting. Good luck with the laundry! ;)
>Thank you for sharing your trip with us!!! I would run to the computer during morning nap to live vicariously through you and your beautiful family…. precious… xoxo
-katie
>What a spot-on jellyfish description :) Thank you times a million for the lovely time, the swimming pools full of Jones Soda, and for not posting any of the neck pictures. You're great.
>Looks like a great time had by all. I was waiting to see your mom and even baby Rowan in the pictures. I am so happy everyone showed up :) Our beach vacation is coming soon!
>I've loved the vacation photos. I am loving Bea's, your mom's, and your bathing suits too! Where'd you get yours?
>Ashley – my red suit is from J.Crew. I think that's the only one that I've shown a photo of, so I'm guessing that's the one you're asking about?
Bea's suit is actually from J.Crew too! :)
>You have such a photogenic family! I really think your children would be perfect baby models. :)