More Beach Pictures

Amanda was gracious enough to take some pictures at the beach and do her editing magic to make them even more beautiful.  Thank you!  I am especially excited about the picture of the whole group of 17.  This is our first big group picture since I can remember.  I think it is definitely going to need a frame and special place in our house!  After all, these families are my family.  Amanda said it so perfectly on her blog a few days ago.  And she has a better way with words than me, so go on over there to read just how I feel.  We are such a blessed group of friends. 

Over 20 years of friendship!

Destin 2012

Last summer my friends and I decided that we wanted to put together a family trip to Florida.  A year later, we finally did it!  And it was SO MUCH FUN!  So much fun, in fact, that we are already planning another beach trip for summer 2014. 

We went to Destin, FL and stayed from Saturday to Saturday.  We stayed at a 5 bedroom, 5 bath house with a nice ocean view and quick walk to the beach.  The house also had a pool, which turned out to be such a blessing because the kids liked the pool as much as the beach. 

When we first arrived the weather was dark and gloomy.  Tropical storm Debby was making her way to Florida's coast and no one knew if she would hit our area.  We were so lucky that the storm stayed mostly east of us.  Saturday and Sunday were cloudy and rainy but the rest of the week was PERFECT beach weather. 

I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story...

Jackson's first day on the beach.  He pretty much stayed out of the ocean the entire trip.  The waves were big and current strong and the first time he stepped in he could feel the water pull on him and it scared him the rest of the trip.  As a matter of fact, because of the storm, the water was closed to swimmers on Sunday.

Sunday's gloomy view.

Ryan's first day on the beach.

Ryan loved the ocean water!

Kaitlynn, Luke, and I bury Jackson.

Snack time.

Nice weather at last!

There was a great community pool we went to one of the afternoons.  The kids enjoyed being tossed up by Jeff.  Here goes Ryan.

And Jackson.

Family picture at the pool.

Here is our view from the patio of the house on a much nicer day.

Laine, Jeff, and Jim hanging out.

Our house is the one in the middle.  This is the view of it from the beach.

Here is the "Tangerine Dream" from the front. 

Jim and Laine chatting in the ocean (in the distance) and Jerry and Alex playing in the sand (right.)

Ryan hanging out in the hole the kids dug.

Jacob, Ryan, and Jackson playing in the sand.

Water balloons!!!!!!!

Ryan and Daddy.

Take that!

The kids playing in the pool.

Snack time again.

And again...with Sarah and Luke.

Connor and Jacob.  These two are the oldest of the bunch and really enjoy playing together.  They are great buddies.

Daddy and Ryan.

Amanda and sweet Roo bear.  He turned one right before the trip.

Ryan playing in the ocean.

Connor, Jackson, and Jacob.

Jackson is very proud of his junk pile (or sandcastle, in his words.)

Amanda made some fun starfish treats.  I think Ryan enjoyed his.

The kids playing with Katherine and Jim. 

Alex and Jackson enjoyed jumping in the big hole of water Jerry made.

Ryan definitely made a special friend on this trip.  He loved Jeff.  And I can see why.  Jeff is really just a big kid himself. 

Another funny thing that happened - each night after he ate his own dinner, Ryan would go sit with Jeff and eat some of his. 

Our last night in Destin we went out to eat (all 19 of us.)  Here is a picture of the girls.  (Lauri, Amanda, me, and Katherine.)

Ryan and his new bud, Jeff.

We all took family pictures while we were there.  Amanda captured a really great one of our family but since I haven't gotten it yet, here is a preview.  I'll do another post once we get her pictures.

Lauri got some great pictures of the boys.  Thanks, Lauri!

This is where the fun really began.  Trying to get all of these kids to smile at once was impossible!

Ryan, Jackson, Alex, Connor, Andrew, Jacob, Kaitlynn, Luke, and Sarah.

Ryan spent most of the picture taking time doing this. 

The last night we were there we took a big group picture of all 4 families.  Hopefully we got some good ones.  I haven't seen them yet.

We are looking forward to Gulf Shores 2014!