On Thursday we planned a trip to Florence to visit the Sea Lion Caves and Sandland Adventures.
I only have an outside shot of the Sea Lion Caves, 'cause I didn't go down into the caves with everyone. I've been before and decided to sit this one out. Graham and Ellie went with the group, but mom and I shopped a little in the gift shop, munched on popcorn, and watched the sea lions play in the water.
We grabbed lunch to go from Subway on the way through Florence and made our way to Sandland Adventures so we could check in for our reserved dune buggy ride time.
The ride was great fun and everyone enjoyed it (for the most part!) Jacey wanted us to stay moving and got a big smile on her face when we went fast. Ellie got a little tired of sitting too - it's an hour long ride! The driver was telling us that he had seen a bear out there not too long ago, and just as he finished talking about it, a little black bear came running out across the path in front of us - yikes!!
This is my favorite part of the ride - approaching the beach :)
My kids napped on the way home from Florence (not sure what went on in the other car!) and when we got back home we played, showered, ate (grilled brats, hamburgers, and potato packets), and got ready for the family pictures.
We met the photographer and his wife at the South Beach State Park and walked in to the beach. Everyone did a great job of smiling and posing....
We've seen the previews of what he shot and I'm so happy we did it. More on that another day :)
Some Friday morning goings on....
LOVE this picture of me and my niece/goddaughter Aubrie and our morning hair :)
More coloring - I think we have a great colletion of work to show from all the coloring and drawing that was done this past week!
Mom and I stayed at the house with Graham and Eleanor while the rest of the crew went back to the Lighthouse to explore the tide pools. They had a blast and came back with great stories of what they saw and learned.
We tried to go down to the beach but it was pretty windy and cold - the kids were getting sand in their eyes so we packed up pretty quick and went back up to the house for lunch.
After lunch Graham spent a little time in the hot tub with Nana and Papa, Joel and his family went down to the beach, and I stayed in the house with the sleeping babies (Ellie and Jacey).
I finally got to get a couple games of Yahtzee in with Aubrie - she rolled a Yahtzee of 1s right off the bat!
I didn't do much in the kitchen this past week (no one really wants me in the kitchen I don't think!) but on Friday night I took over to make some homemade pizzas for our last family dinner.
It was still a bit chilly and windy, but Joel made one last fire and helped the kids make a few s'mores...
One last dip in the hot tub was a great way to wrap up the day.
We had done quite a bit of packing and preparing on Friday, so Saturday morning was just finishing touches on that, loading up the cars, and doing what we needed to do to close up the house. It's hard to see this week end, but it's time to get back to the real world, our homes, and our routines.
I asked for one last picture....
....and then we were all on our way!
My ride home was uneventful and the kids slept for half of it. The rest of the family had a much longer day, but they got home without incident as well.
I'm incredibly glad we were able to have this time together - it was such a gift and an amazing vacation. I'm grateful that everyone was able to be here - I know it it's not easy to pull off, but so worth it!!
I leave you with a link to a collection of photos from the week - Beach Vacation - August 2011 - and some video clips that I shot on Friday - Beach Vacation Video - August 2011 (I'm not much of a videographer nor do I know much about my editing software - sorry!)
