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Right before school got out last week, LuLu called to see if we wanted to skip the last half day and meet her at Myrtle Beach.

We didn’t have to think twice.

We took off after school on Wednesday and headed east. We drove to Columbia and got there about 1:30 am.

We were a little tired, but sooo ready to see the beach!

We had a great long weekend and stayed through Memorial Day.  We went to the same place we went to three years ago and had a great time visiting with “The cousins” which are LuLu’s amazing cousins. They are such precious people who love all over my kiddos and are just a pure joy to be around. You can see pictures from our last trip with them here.

We also got to spend some amazing time with our dear friends, the Swaffords. April called me on last Monday and said, “Guess where I am? The beach!” I said, “Which one?” and she replies, “Myrtle” to which I say, “SHUT UP, we are going to be there Thursday!!!!” I have no doubt God was all over this one in allowing our families much needed time together! We were phone tagging each other to figure out when we could do a weekend together this summer and low and behold….He already had it worked out!  April wrote about our time together, as well!

My precious girls. I am so proud of all they accomplished this past year. They are now a 3rd and 2nd grader!

Also, as my public service announcement, Landsend tugless bathing suits are AMAZING for girls! Modest, cute and no tugging!

Suits have been very hard to fit my girls and these worked great!

Bradley did a lot of this….

and this…

and he refuses to be left out of this….

I did a lot of this…..

Emery did a lot of this…..

and this….

and of course, this…

but, she really loves to do this….

Parker spent a lot of time doing this….

she also enjoys this….

and just being able to do this….

and this….

And, together they really love to…..

kid around…..

We were able to take some cleaned up beach pictures….

and I even got one with my man…..with whom I share a love of the beach…

To say that I am back in reality is putting it mildly! I just left the girl’s school, after picking Emery up, with Parker having a complete meltdown because she wanted to go with me. Then, Bradley cried half the way home for Parker. Emery was upset because her take home book from her teacher is way below her “skillz” and she was not happy about it!

So, since Calgon can’t take me away, I am going to settle for some beach pics!

The highlights of the week:

• Date night with Jason- I must say that it is nice to go with family or friends to the beach because you have a built in babysitter. We traded off date nights with the Hales and it worked out well. We ate at Landry’s, which is one of my favorites! It did not disappoint
• Riding the waves. I spent hours riding the waves at Myrtle Beach as a kid, so I have a deep love of doing this and watching my kids starting to learn! The waves at MB are so much better than Orange Beach. So, I spent some time braving the cold water and caught some waves!
• Eating out every night! Such a blessing to not cook.
• Watching the kids play with their friends. The kids were so good this trip. They all played well together. Poor B, got tattled on, continually. It was like having 5 sisters, as opposed to 2. He didn’t stand a chance!
• Being with friends. The Hales have been such great friends to us since we moved here, almost 5 years ago. Our girls have been bff’s since they were 2. We have been in small group with them, watched Nathaniel come on staff at our church, walked through the early years with twins with them, had countless laughs and gone on trips together! We value their friendship and feel very blessed to share life with them. We also got to spend time with the Sullivans. They are a precious young, married couple who celebrated their first anniversary while at the beach! We were amazed that they chose to spend time with us old married people with 6 kids between us! We had a lot of laughs and fun with our friends!
• Sleeing with the door open to the balcony and hearing the waves crash. LOVED IT!
• Having quiet moments with the Lord, early in the morning, listening to His Creation.
• Going to Alligator Adventure with the kids. We saw a lot of alligators and crocodiles. We also saw snakes and “wiserds” as B calls them. Loved being with my family.

Here are a few pictures (we didn’t get any formal shots on the beach this trip because we waited to the last few days and it was cloudy or rainy. Live and learn.)

Fudruckers Stylin Hat!

This is the kids at Alligator Adventure- a reptile zoo. This is what most of our pictures
look like with B!

Group Dinner!
Me, catching a wave!

Putt Putt Extravaganza

Bradley and Reese chasing each other, which they did for hours!

A rare moment!

They found a tunnel and proceeded to inspect it!

Filling up holes with water- hours of entertainment!

Evan, Emery and Parker- catching waves

Recovering from catching waves!
Ryan playing in the sand!

I am a beach person, if you have failed to figure that out from reading my blog. The beach and the ocean have a way of relaxing me, reminding me of the Greatness of our Creator and refocusing my heart, like few other settings can. I love the sand, the waves, the time with family, the time away.

So, are you a beachy person? What place relaxes you?

Here are some of our family pictures from our time with a paid professional! (Allison, there is no one like you!) We found a photographer in Orange Beach who will give you an uncopyrighted disc with the pictures, so I am excited to get a lot framed. I highly recommend using a photographer if you want beach pictures. It takes the pressure off of you to get the right photo. We only had an hour and I would have preferred more candid, less posed pics, but we are pleased. I am also curious to see Jason work some magic with Photoshop, though.

Where it all started over 40 years ago

The whole gang- Mom, Dad, Kim, Kendall, Morgan, Lauren,
Jason, Kelly, Parker, Emery and Bradley

The Grandparents with their grandkids

Our offspring!

The Stews

Snaggletoothed! (She pulled another one the first day of vacation)

AHH, the backside…

Bradley did great for the pictures, and was soaking wet by the time we left!

Pure Emery grin!

This one will be framed

Our photographer put us laying down in the sand, which made us laugh, because
we are not posed picture people, if we can avoid it! I won’t tell you the things J was
whispering to me as the photographer was giving him directions! It was really funny!

My sweet sister’s family

Lord Help us when they are teenagers…

Okay, so I am a little behind on getting the beach pictures up, but I have been a tiny bit busy with the children STARTING SCHOOL.

Let me just say, that I adore being at the beach. I knew going into it that it was NOT ABOUT ME and what I wanted to do, so much as, being with my kids. They are a handful right now, with the added Bman factor. He requires one on one, while around large bodies of water, which leaves the other parent with the girls. So, there was not much of us just sitting by the pool or the ocean. Although, I did a little more of that than Jason did. He was so amazing to watch. The girls are finally old enough to get IN the ocean and RIDE some little crests of water called waves! They were by no means large and at times looked like the lake! Even Bradley was catching some waves. So, we had a great time and were EXHAUSTED by the end of the day. But, we made some great MEMORIES.

So, here are some highlights:

Can’t wait to go back!