Family Reunion Part 2

We didn't just swim and soak up sun on our trip. We had lots of activities, games, and good food. Each family took a turn cooking dinner, it worked out great! And Grandma and Grandpa planned lots of games for the kids, complete with prizes like sand toys, coloring books and sunglasses!

Natalie and Brooke are little peas in a pod, they even look a lot alike. They worked for days to put on a play for us. Natalie wanted to do it on the life cycle of a crab, but it evolved into a story of a crab who meets a lot of ocean friends. It was pretty cute. Act one went over so well, they made an Act two. They wanted to make even more acts, but we had to stop somewhere. 

The cast and crew

Natalie was the narrator; look how focused she is.

There was a night of "Just Dance." Our family had never played before. Natalie loved it so much she used her birthday money to buy one of the games when we got back home! She says she wants to beat Brooke next time they play.

Even Kai and Nicole loved it. Party!

Grandma getting her snuggles with baby Sam. He's so cute, who could resist that smile and awesome hair?!

 We went to Ripley's aquarium, it was really well done and a lot of fun. They had lots of cool stuff to see and the kids got to touch huge horseshoe crabs.

We also ventured out for a round of Mini Golf. Apparently, that's what you do in South Carolina; golf! 

There were golf courses everywhere and even more mini golf. And not just any mini golf, these places were crazy over the top: waterfalls, bridges, caves, and large sea creatures. It was hard to choose one, they all have some fierce competition with each other. These aren't like Trafalga, that's for sure!  It sounded fun, and was ok, but SO hot!! The caves were sweat traps and miserable. I think we were all glad when we finally made it through. 

Thanks for the glasses, grandma and grandpa!

(Thanks again to the whole family for contributing pictures!)

Family Reunion June 2013 Part 1

We took a big trip to South Carolina last month and had a blast! Evelyn's family had a reunion, the first time in 6-7 years we had all been together. I know, way too long. Hopefully we can do this again soon.

I have so many pictures to share, so hang in there, it's going to be a big one! And this is just part 1.

We flew to Myrtle beach on a red eye; the kids were so excited because they got to stay up really late! Here they are, leaving the house at 8:30 pm. Our flight left SLC at 12am. 

I don't know if it was because it was midnight or because there weren't many kids aboard, but the pilot brought the kids up to see the cockpit. They even got to push some buttons and things. Made me nervous though, I hoped they didn't mess up some important setting we needed to fly! We all got a little sleep on the plane (the kids, more than Jeremy and I). Then a layover in Charlotte NC and on to Myrtle Beach. 

This was the amazing beach house we got to stay in: 6 bedroom, 6 bathroom, a block away from the beach, with a swimming pool. It was a beautiful house. It even had an elevator inside!

Here's our view of the beach from the sitting area on the roof.

We went to the beach a few times, here's the whole gang (minus Kael, Heather, and baby Sam).

 All the kids loved playing in the waves and digging in the sand.

Their cousins bought some nets to catch crabs. Natalie was hooked, that's about all she did one day. Our kids and their cousins had quite the collection of crabs and little fish. Even some of us adults joined in the fun.

Mathew and William, such cute boys, digging in the sand.

 Nicole preferred the shade with daddy.

The girls kept an eye on the crabs while the boys played a game of beach baseball. Lilly is the cutest little thing, so happy and petite, it was fun to get snuggles from her. There was also some boogie boarding and kite flying. It was a fun day at the beach!

While Jeremy and I like the beach, we prefer to swim in a pool, and we just happened to have one at our house! Here's some of our pool adventures...

Swimming in the rain!

Baby Sam was quite a hit with all the kids! These cousins sure love each other.

There were chicken fights, water squirter fights, sun, and a little relaxation by the pool!

Kai was relentless with his water attacks!

Natalie and her cousin Brooke loved to jump into the pool. Over and over and over! They kept asking poor Aunt Heather to make up new dives for them! haha Here is Natalie executing the "Star Dive!"

All together now! 

That's the end of Part 1. 

(Thanks to all the aunts & uncle's and grandma for some of the pictures. It's nice to be in such an artistic family)

4th of July

We had a get together with our friends to light off a few fireworks; nothing much, but enough to make the kids happy. It's becoming a yearly tradition to spend the 4th together with these friends, good times! I forgot that Natalie had "done" Kai's hair earlier before we left so he had horns that night. We laughed at his shadow, he looked like an alien.

It turns out that we didn't have to buy any, we could've just sat outside watching the neighbor's huge firework show! They must have spent hundreds of dollars! Ours paled in comparison. oh well, it was a fun night with good company.