Back from the beach

First, Happy Birthday to my "baby" brother who turns 25 today!

Second, we're back from the beach and it was awesome! There were 28 (yes, 28) family members staying in the house, all at once and I think we all managed to have an amazing time. Laney and Alie LOVED playing with their cousins, especially Danielle. I know they really enjoyed the attention from their aunts and uncles and older cousins. It was wonderful to be in such a relaxed environment, spending time with people we love and people we haven't seen in such a long time! It did rain pretty much all day on Thursday, but that didn't dampen the fun. Mindy and I made an outlet run in the morning. After lunch, many headed to the beach (in sweats) for some sandcastle building and football. Friday turned out to be an absolutely perfect day...filled with lots of beach time at a wonderful national park in Dewey. There was lots of swimming, sea-creature finding, sandcastle building, skim boarding, frisbee playing, eating, chatting and most importantly laughing! Glen and family served dessert first for dinner that evening, a delish chocolate and strawberry cake, followed by lasagna, salad and bread. Carl and I took the girls to the rides..and they had a blast. We rounded the evening out with some wine and banagrams play with Dan and Mindy...it really was such a wonderful day!

I must mention how beautiful and absolutely perfect the house was. It was beautiful, less than a block from the beach and the boardwalk. It slept all of us quite comfortably and has some wonderful ammenties and areas for socializing. It had two HEATED outdoor showers and a pool table in the open family area. There was a huge dinner table and a number of stools around the kitchen table, allowing everyone to sit down to breakfast and dinner together. There was a wonderful screened in porch wrapping around one side of the house with lighting and fans which was great for afternoon drinks and conversation or late night game playing.

We are so lucky to have been included in this wonderful getaway. We are hoping to plan another big family getaway in two years or so. It was so much fun to have everyone together!