The fun continues

Our second full day at the beach went really well. I'm trying not to fill my memory card up with hundreds of pictures of children playing in the sand and the waves, but trust me when I say that there are MANY CHILDREN having LOTS OF FUN playing in the sand and in the waves. We've even had a few pods of dolphins pass in front of us, which has been really exciting.

I know I've mentioned before how many family members we have with us ... there are MANY. Today is the day we'd set aside for our annual family picture with everyone in red, white and blue. Behold:

And now for a few shots of several of the family members ... here are Ali and Adam on the back porch. Their family is very photogenic ... always has been.

Next up are Tiffany and Gary and their kids, Charlie, Anna Kate and Jack. Tiffany is Grayson's niece, and she's two months older than I. They are the apples of one of my reader's eyes (Hi, Beverly!)

Of course I can't let a day go by without attempting to get a cute, put-together picture of my boys, preferably all facing the same direction ... even if not right at the camera. Some days I am successful. Today was not one of those days.

I was willing to settle for one of them looking out at the beach. That didn't work out exactly as planned, either. I got one ...

And I wanted to get a few more. But the baby had other plans. "No more pictures. I'm coming for you, Mommy. Right now."

"Here I am!"

This was also the evening that we celebrate all of the kids' birthdays together. Since they don't (for the most part) get to attend each others' birthday parties, we always have one big party at the beach. Patsy distributed hats. Nathaniel loved his.

Abby loved hers.

Will was a big fan of his. As a matter of fact, he asked for TWO!

SOME PEOPLE seemed to be offended by the party hats. Maybe it was just the elastic chin strap.

Eventually he was able to pull it together. But not without a face that clearly said, "YOU ARE REALLY PUSHING THE LIMITS OF MY EASYGOING PERSONALITY."

With paci in mouth, though, he was good to go for the duration of the party. Well, almost. He finally melted down completely around 8:00 and had to go to bed before all the presents were distributed.

Nonetheless, all the kids loved the cake and ice cream, and much fun was had.

So, we're chalking the evening up to a grand success. And all I want to say about this next picture is, my sister-in-law has a problem. A big problem. This stash should get her through Thursday. After that, all bets are off.

My only complaint for the week thus far concerns the unfortunate fiberglass surround in the shower. For whatever reason, it slants inward toward the tub, which means whatever you place on it falls to the floor. POTENTIALLY ONTO YOUR TOES. Not such a big problem with a travel-size bar of soap, but a huge problem when you're dealing with a huge bottle of Biolage shampoo or Johnson & Johnson baby wash.

So far everything else is lots of fun, and we're hoping that the thunderstorms continue to roll in just at night, as they have so far. We've been lucky that they've passed us by during daylight hours.