Bye bye beach house

We rounded off our days in the sun by the pool and sharing a meal before we all did a mad dash to pack and clean the night away. 

Here are some of our final photos. 

The ooey, gooey, green pond. A nice retreat. 

Cheese!

While I had a really good time with my family, I did miss my Aunt and Uncle. I know they were both happy where they were, and that's all that matters. 

Thank you to everyone in my family, for everything. 

A full dozen.

The vacation home now has reached full capacity with a full dozen family members.  Sometimes we all plan a trip together, and sometimes we each go our separate ways. Either way, I have been surrounded by love. 

I've thoroughly enjoyed having coffee each morning with my Aunts and Uncles, and surprising 4 am conversations with my cousin. I don't think I've felt this close to my family ever really. 

Thank you to Laurie, Katie and CJ for the suggestion and all the leg work you did to find and procure this home, so we could not only celebrate the amazing achievement of Laurie's retirement, but also we could all spend this time together. 

My budding photographer. 

Mr. Dude allows his picture taken by my daughter. 

Check me out! 

"Mommy I driving a ship!"

The kids and Daddy sing together. 

Second cousins and the lovely Miss Katie. 

Kill Devil Hills

Kill baby kill!

Despite the name, this place is filled with happy, loving family, with hopefully one more on their way. Here are 

a couple of pics from our first days:

Rocket ship rides before bed. Second cousins get to know each other better. 

Pool time of course. 

Half the clan takes an evening stroll. We watch the waves and the pelicans fly above the water. 

Most of the siblings. We're missing one, but we gave him a loving, howling send off to Italy! His beautiful wife is home, not cooking, and enjoying every moment. We miss you two!

My little man, he's grown so much. 

Sunset from one of the back porches. 

Beach time. Wicked waves meant the kids needed to be held onto the whole time. They had a blast while mom, great aunt and grandma kill their backs to make sure as much glee as possible was had.