Beach Vacation '09

Get ready...it's a long one.
So, we're back from the beach and we had a blast! We rented a house in Watercolor which is right next to Seaside which is my favorite place on earth. I mean, seriously, one of my goals in life is to own a house there and live close enough to go once a month. If I achieve that I will die a happy woman. I know that is so materialistic and none of that really matters in the big scheme of things but I can still dream. And while I'm dreaming I might as well dream big! I know most people like to do condos and stuff on the beach but we like to do a house and ride bikes everywhere. The house was awesome and I think Clayton and I both wanted to tear up when we had to leave. We did what everyone does at the beach: we did the beach, we did the pool, we took afternoon naps on the porch, we ate popsicles, we ate good, we dressed all in white and took pictures, we watched fireworks and listened to good bands...and so on and so on. Then we did some things that most people don't do at the beach like take five children to the beach, the pool, out to eat, etc. Of course there were meltdowns but all in all they did pretty good. You know on Jon&Kate Plus Eight when all the kids are screaming bloody murder and they're out in public and they're just like we're going to do this so we'll have the memories. I so felt like that on more than one occasion. But the memories are worth it. I hope all of our kids have fond memories of the beach like I did growing up. We were there the week of the 4th so we spent the 4th in Seaside listening to Rollin' in the Hay and watched a great firework show! So on to the pics:
Henry did know about the ocean at first:
But he decided it was okay:

Charlie and William on the other hand jumped right on in:

We buried kids in the sand (Charlie)

And William sporting my sunglasses:

Wasn't I just in labor with him yesterday? I mean, when did he get so big?

Mary Collins LOVED the beach:

And Margaret Ann was content on her towel. She's more of a pool girl herself.

My Henry man

We played in the sand

Clayton liked his chair

4th of July

Clayton got fireworks from Publix. It was like a pack of I don't know how many little fireworks and it was only $9! Best $9 he ever spent! They were just right for the boys. They made lots of sparks without all the noise. In their words "they were totally awesome!" We also got them some sparklers b/c no 4th of July is complete without them.

Western Lake is also in Watercolor and our house was right down the street from it. We even caught fish at the beach. The kids love to fish and though we brought their fishing rods with all the fancy stuff they actually caught fish with a good ole' cane pole with some shrimp for bait.

Of course we took our annual family pic in Grayton when we went to eat at The Red Bar. We got a really nice lady who was walking by to snap us real quick. They're not fabulous but when you're a family of seven it's a more like an act of God if you actually get everyone to look at the camera and smile. So we'll just settle for these.

Then I attempted to snap a few of the kids:

And that's our summer vacation! I have some pictures of Mary Collins crawling from the towels down into the ocean but that's another post and I'm tired. So that's all for now!