Wonderful Weekend

We recently had one of our best weekends as a family that we have had in a long time.  We decided spur of the moment to go to the beach.  My parents didn't arrive until the next day and I "think" this may have been the first time the six of us went somewhere by ourselves without any other family.  As much as I love spending time with our extended family it ended up being really special to do some fun things with just our nuclear group. 

Ryan worked a half day and then drove ahead of us. When the kids and I showed up he had pizza ready for us and everything set up. After dinner we headed to the beach! 

Love love the beach this time of day. 

This was the first time we have ever been to the beach that all four kids immediately ran out and played happily. Progress! :)

They had the best time exploring and finding "treasures" 

We even found a dead crab that the kids insisted that we keep. We ended up hiding it in a special place for my parents to find, lol. 

It's hard to keep this kid away from the water 

Harrison really just wanted his dad 

The crab! 

One of many seashells 

The next morning we went to pick strawberries. This was the first time for A and K. 

We had to walk really far, I definitely should have brought the stroller. 

Kate was great at picking! 

Andrew was not a huge fan.  I'm tell you times where everyone is happy are few and far between! He did okay though. 

The big boys loved it. We ended up with over $30 worth of strawberries and they were gone in less than a week!

"Let me give this one more try"

Surprisingly no one tried to eat any. We did have a talk about not picking ones that were smashed on the ground though. 

Next thing I knew Andrew was done and just took off walking back towards the car!

Kate was so sweet and cute on this day. She was in her element with her strawberry bucket, rain boots, and necklace. 

After we paid it was time for homemade ice cream!

Dessert at 10:30 a.m.- why not? 

Andrew was so funny. His ice cream was melting fast but he can't handle being sticky or messy. Take a lick, wipe his mouth, repeat. Over and over lol. He just couldn't keep up with the rate of melting though! 

Afterwards we stopped by Walmart for groceries and to get a bicycle for the beach house. 

Unfortunately the bike was a little big for the car but never underestimate the power of the mini van! 

Our plan was to go see Georgia in her dance recital but after this morning everyone was in need of a long nap. Next year we will be there for sure! 

While the little kids napped James and Ryan went on a kayak ride and went really far away. I couldn't believe how long and far James was able to paddle!

While they were gone Harrison and I made homemade strawberry cobbler to go with dinner. 

Once everyone was up they all got a turn on the kayak and we played outside for the rest of the afternoon. 

We also tested out the new bike! 

After dinner that night on the deck we had a hilarious dance party and then everyone was off to bed.  The next morning we got a sitter and Ryan and I went to an early morning movie and had breakfast (It was just Bojangles in the car but it counts, right?)  I cannot remember the last time we did that but it was such a fun date.  Before long we were headed home. Thankful for a great weekend together!