Oh boy, get ready for a very picture heavy post! We had such an crazy fun weekend that it would be impossible to choose just a few pictures from it - so I am posting them all!
We spent two nights in Walport with Tanya, Steve and 3 of their 5 kids. Steve's mom has this amazing little beach house down there, and was kind enough to let the 9 of us crash it for the weekend. It's a long car ride, so by the time we got there the kids were itching to get out and run wild. We hurried to put all the groceries away and then hit the beach. Right away the kids found this super cool fort that someone had built...
And decided to get started on building their own out of an abandoned pile of driftwood farther down the beach:
Rowan helped gather sticks (she was so cute that I couldn't bear to tell her that hers were a teeny bit too small):
And Matthew and I posed for pictures:
It only took a few minutes to see how much fun the kids were having before we decided to jump in and give them a hand:
I threw in a few Crossfit moves while gathering driftwood...
While Steve "built" a tree:
Pretty soon, we had everyone building!
Except the girls. They were off sharing deep thoughts while gathering shells. They spent some time standing around and looking adorable too!
Work continued on our beachfront castle - Matthew and I did some heavy lifting:
While the boys stood around looking cool. You can never have too much cool on a building site:
Matthew and I put in a garden (of course, dirty hippies that we are) while Steve and Tanya built a fence:
Things started coming together nicely, and after a few hours of hard work, our sandy abode was completed!
After all that hard, sweaty work, the kids were off for a dip in the ocean:
But it was cooooold, so they didn't last long!
By the time we got back to the house, Killian had enough sand in his shoes to make his own personal beach:
When we got home, everyone was happy to just hang out and relax:
Later that night, Steve built an awesome bonfire in the front yard:
Tanya with Kyialyyn and Trevor:
Hanging out around the fire, with the sound and smell of the ocean in the air, and the company of good friends. It was the perfect ending to an amazing day!
The boys, still sacked out late into the next morning:
Rowan had time to bury herself in the sand in the front yard while Tanya and I were cooking breakfast. Silly sandy girl!
After breakfast, it was back to the beach! The kids headed straight for the ocean:
What a good looking bunch of kids we have!! :)
Further down on the beach is a spot where these adorable seals spend their days, lounging in the sun and surf. I loved how the all lifted their tails when a wave would come splashing in!
Seals playing hide and seek...I count 5!
After a few hours of fun in the sun (and sand!) we headed back to the house for lunch. At some point, Steve stumbled upon a container of water balloons, and as soon as the kids found out about them, the war was on!
Rowan and Kyialyyn snuck out front with loaded arms:
Just in time to ambush Killian!
Killian had to head back to refuel, and found Tanya dipping into the cooler of water balloons...watch out Steve!!
Meanwhile, still out front, Rowan grew bored waiting for Killian and decided on a little manual water balloon destruction:
She probably wished she had saved a few when the action came to her a few minutes later!! The boys got some good shots in at Steve, but with the help of a hose and water spigot, Steve was the one who had the last laugh!
Later that night we took a walk down to the beach to watch the sunset:
All the boys:
I love this man so much!!
I took a picture of Rowan, who wasn't amused:
But then she saw the potential in the situation, and took it from there:
Oh Rowan. You silly, amazing, adorable little girl. You make me so incredibly happy!! Killian didn't want to be left out of the picture taking action, so he did a little posing o f his own:
Oh...
Oh my.....
Oh. My. Goodness. Killian, you have got to be one of the coolest kids I know - always having a great time and ready with a smile. You rock kiddo!
After so much time spent at the beach, Rowan was feeling a little....wait for it....CRABBY:
After the sun set into the ocean, we trooped back up the sand dune towards home (I lightened this picture considerably - it really was dark out when we left):
The girls, tucked in for the night and looking like innocent little angels:
This was the best beach trip we have had in years! I cant believe how much fun we packed into one short weekend. Steve and Tanya are frequent visitors to the beach house, and I hope they will let us tag along again in the future!!
We spent two nights in Walport with Tanya, Steve and 3 of their 5 kids. Steve's mom has this amazing little beach house down there, and was kind enough to let the 9 of us crash it for the weekend. It's a long car ride, so by the time we got there the kids were itching to get out and run wild. We hurried to put all the groceries away and then hit the beach. Right away the kids found this super cool fort that someone had built...
And decided to get started on building their own out of an abandoned pile of driftwood farther down the beach:
Rowan helped gather sticks (she was so cute that I couldn't bear to tell her that hers were a teeny bit too small):
And Matthew and I posed for pictures:
It only took a few minutes to see how much fun the kids were having before we decided to jump in and give them a hand:
I threw in a few Crossfit moves while gathering driftwood...
While Steve "built" a tree:
Pretty soon, we had everyone building!
Except the girls. They were off sharing deep thoughts while gathering shells. They spent some time standing around and looking adorable too!
Work continued on our beachfront castle - Matthew and I did some heavy lifting:
While the boys stood around looking cool. You can never have too much cool on a building site:
Matthew and I put in a garden (of course, dirty hippies that we are) while Steve and Tanya built a fence:
Things started coming together nicely, and after a few hours of hard work, our sandy abode was completed!
After all that hard, sweaty work, the kids were off for a dip in the ocean:
But it was cooooold, so they didn't last long!
By the time we got back to the house, Killian had enough sand in his shoes to make his own personal beach:
When we got home, everyone was happy to just hang out and relax:
Later that night, Steve built an awesome bonfire in the front yard:
Tanya with Kyialyyn and Trevor:
Hanging out around the fire, with the sound and smell of the ocean in the air, and the company of good friends. It was the perfect ending to an amazing day!
The boys, still sacked out late into the next morning:
Rowan had time to bury herself in the sand in the front yard while Tanya and I were cooking breakfast. Silly sandy girl!
After breakfast, it was back to the beach! The kids headed straight for the ocean:
What a good looking bunch of kids we have!! :)
Further down on the beach is a spot where these adorable seals spend their days, lounging in the sun and surf. I loved how the all lifted their tails when a wave would come splashing in!
Seals playing hide and seek...I count 5!
After a few hours of fun in the sun (and sand!) we headed back to the house for lunch. At some point, Steve stumbled upon a container of water balloons, and as soon as the kids found out about them, the war was on!
Rowan and Kyialyyn snuck out front with loaded arms:
Just in time to ambush Killian!
Killian had to head back to refuel, and found Tanya dipping into the cooler of water balloons...watch out Steve!!
Meanwhile, still out front, Rowan grew bored waiting for Killian and decided on a little manual water balloon destruction:
She probably wished she had saved a few when the action came to her a few minutes later!! The boys got some good shots in at Steve, but with the help of a hose and water spigot, Steve was the one who had the last laugh!
Later that night we took a walk down to the beach to watch the sunset:
All the boys:
I love this man so much!!
I took a picture of Rowan, who wasn't amused:
But then she saw the potential in the situation, and took it from there:
Oh Rowan. You silly, amazing, adorable little girl. You make me so incredibly happy!! Killian didn't want to be left out of the picture taking action, so he did a little posing o f his own:
Oh...
Oh my.....
Oh. My. Goodness. Killian, you have got to be one of the coolest kids I know - always having a great time and ready with a smile. You rock kiddo!
After so much time spent at the beach, Rowan was feeling a little....wait for it....CRABBY:
After the sun set into the ocean, we trooped back up the sand dune towards home (I lightened this picture considerably - it really was dark out when we left):
The girls, tucked in for the night and looking like innocent little angels:
This was the best beach trip we have had in years! I cant believe how much fun we packed into one short weekend. Steve and Tanya are frequent visitors to the beach house, and I hope they will let us tag along again in the future!!