This may be a frightfully large photo post. Or I may decide halfway through to break it into two posts. I’m not sure yet. But there are just SO many pictures I want to share. I was picky, and took out LOTS that I would have loved to add, and we’re still over 60!! Maybe I’ll purge as I post. I make no promises. But hey, you came for pictures, so here they are!
First, this is how our packing turned out!
I am SO thankful for our big van, and all the cargo area it offers! Also, I am very thankful for where we stayed, and that we had room to spread out and pack in tubs. Win!
Our first night in, we fed the kids easy food, and Brady and I ordered asian take out after they went to bed. It was actually pretty delicious. Though seriously, who named that restaurant? Do they really think “Asian Station” rhymes??
FYI, it doesn’t rhyme. But the food made up for it. Can’t complain about that!
The next day, we hit the beach in the morning! Our kids built sandcastles for a little while, but the the real game became filling holes with water. Brady and I would dig, and the kids would run back and forth to the waters edge with pails, and bring back water to pour into the holes. Rowan would scoop sand back into the lake (yup) and Solly either hung out on the blanket and played with shovels, or he would venture out once in a while.
Naptime at the lake was SO wonderful! We turned off all the lights, snuggled the big kids up in the living room, and they watched some tv and zoned out. They were SO wiped from all the action and fresh air, Laela ended up napping a couple of the afternoons away, so we made sure they at least got LOTS of rest in!
We also went out for supper that day! The kids ate well, with the exception of Laela, who fought SO hard, for whatever reason, and ended up leaving the restaurant with Brady. Luckily he had finished eating already, but I hung back with the boys and helped them finish up.
Clearly, Solly is excellent at drinking water from a cup.
Check it out! I got a bonus chicken nugget in the shape of a dinosaur with my fish and chips! Lol!
Ro and I as we waited for Dekker to use the bathroom before leaving the restaurant. Solly is hanging out in the stroller, just not visible in this picture. Still, it was fun, me and the boys.
We went to the playground afterwards but it was short lived. Laela and Brady came juuust as Solly was feeling very finished. But they got in a little bit of play before it was time to head to bed. Luckily, they didn’t fight bedtime.
The next day felt heavy, being Theo’s due date. The weather was also grey, and therefore, not a beach day. But we hit the playground…
and walked around town, and even took in some ice cream in the evening. It was relaxed and delicious and special time as a family. I wish Theo could have joined us, but it felt like an important day.
Believe it or not, Solly isn’t a big ice cream at this point. I think its just too cold for him, but he vastly preferred to just chew a spoon, or do pull ups on the table. I’m not even kidding. I have a video. He’s hilarious 🙂
We ended it with a walk, to shake off some of the sugar. It was really lovely.
After this pictures, kind of run together. There were lots of times I didn’t pull my camera out, and I think thats a really good thing 🙂 So I can’t tell you for sure which days each of these events happened, but enjoy the cute compilation of my beautiful children playing on the beach or the playground or wherever else they ended up!
So here’s another beach day 🙂 This particular time, pretty much every picture is of the kids going in the opposite direction of me, haha! They were just SO busy! So, lots of butts, basically.
Can you appreciate how hard it is to get a picture of everyone at once?! Its SO hard!! Especially when Rowan is stationed somewhere else, away from the blanket…
Solly got adventurous 🙂 It was cute.
He also got very very dirty. It wasn’t all his fault. We buried his feet and legs many times. He liked it.
Brady dug an enormous rock out from the sand, and was VERY short when he stood in it. It was DEEP!!!
And it was also wide enough to fit three funny-faced kids inside of it!
This is the best I could get for my efforts to take a picture of my family during lunch. Mealtime is just never the right time for a photo. Rowan told me once I gave up and put my phone away “I didn’t smile for dat.” Its true. He didn’t.
In this moment, both Laela and Rowan were screaming, lol! They did not appreciated having their feet dipped in against their will. And Dekker was giggling like a mad man, having reached the point of no return in the water. You guys know what I mean. Lol!
I made SO MANY compilations of the kids, so these were my favorites 🙂 Just to avoid posting more pictures than necessary.
Solly ate a TON of sand! But he was so happy to be at the beach 🙂 Couldn’t keep him in the shade no matter how much we tried.
Our last beach day. The continual hauling of water never stopped, and the kids were thrilled. It was beautiful. Solly even boldly crawled all the way to the water and we had to convince him to sit and splash rather than just diving in full force.
I’m already missing the lake. You know that feeling when you’ve been away, and you’ve really enjoyed your time, but you’re ready to head home? I wasn’t quite there when we left. I could’ve happily lasted another day or two. But we will next summer 🙂 We’ve ALREADY booked our spot for a week long vacation, and I feel like I’ll be counting down until then. Less than a year away, lol! We’ll have five kids by then! WOW! I cannot wait 🙂
I hope this wasn’t too too many pictures for you all, but they are so important for me to save, as well. Hopefully it just made you feel like you were there, smelling the air, eating the ice cream, and chasing the small people around. It was a wonderful, refreshing time! I’m so thankful we had the chance to go!