Florida with the Fam

We had such a fun trip to the beach with our family and are so grateful for all of the forces that aligned to make it happen! These are not in any particular order and I am pretty much leaving them where Blogger has placed them, so be ready for some jumping around on this journey. 

Perhaps it is fitting that this pic of Max crying is first. While this was,  BY FAR, the best family vacation that we have had yet...there were still many moments like this. 

Noni took us all on a Pirate Ship excursion thing and it was so much fun. SO hot, but so much fun. 

I love pics of pure happiness. 

Max loved the ocean and the waves and the sand a million times more than he did 2 years ago. 

Love these 3. 

Many times Max would try to venture out too far and Anderson would have to rescue him. I love this pic because it captures such opposite expressions: Max is elated and Anderson is exasperated. 

Tis the life of brothers. 

Mostly I love my family for not hesitating to put up with all of our kids, including one of mine who was almost always just in underwear. 

Aunt Manda found the BEST house for us to stay in and we are so grateful for her mad skills. 

This house even had a game room!

And, it had a basketball goal, which Anderson loved. 

Never fear-the firefighter costume made many appearances. 

It's been 14 years and he is still my favorite. 

Mom is always consistent with keeping our lives in themes and the beach was no exception. 

Aunt Manda & Uncle Zack!

Noah & Kyler! I love that they are not too old/cool to do these trips with us. 

Perhaps Anderson's favorite thing to do the entire trip was catching lizards. Obsessed is not the word. He was borderline annoying with the constant begging of everyone to hunt lizards with him. 

There was a little coffee shop within walking distance and we visited it quite often. 

In a shocking twist, Max refused to cooperate for the pic. 

He did decide he would at least be in this one, even if he ruled out looking at the camera. 

Amanda & Nicole walked out in rompers, so I, of course, immediately went and put mine on, too. 

Sisters!

Such a grown up. 

It really is so much fun to spend a week with everyone. 

And, we are back to the pirate ship....

One of Brandon's greatest skills is his ability to catch random things. The $1 nets that we brought with us were definitely put to use. 

Our area. 

To keep them entertained at the beach, there was lots of eating,

lots of sand building/digging, 

and kite flying.

We went crab hunting on the beach at night. One night we went to a spot on a different beach and we had to bring them back to our house to show Lily, which meant that I had to actually carry them in a bucket in the car and it was a little bit of a nightmare because...crabs in a bucket on my lap. 

On this excursion, the real hit was finding so many fish bones. I had so many flashbacks to Teddy Roosevelt's seal skull which started his conservationist journey. 

Uncle Hughes rented a golf cart and we totally exploited it. Milkshakes from Sonic for breakfast!

Always on the quest for something to do, we found a splash pad. 

Overpriced snow cones for all!

If you ask Anderson about the trip, here is what he will talk about:

-Deep Sea Fishing. 

-Maybe the lizards, if there is still time after the fishing stories 

All of the guys went along for the ride/fishing. 

He had the time of his life. His favorite part was when Zack almost caught a shark; he will be telling that story for years. 

There was a little minute of some sea sickness, BUT he was not going to let that ruin his trip, so he took care of it and moved on. Incredibly thankful to Brandon for taking care of him and bringing him back alive. 

Ecstatic. 

Levi is the most spoiled baby brother on the planet; his older sisters WORSHIP him and it is to adorable to watch. 

2 things:

1. I was sitting! 

2. Max's "Resting Angry Face"

To prove that we are not irresponsible aunts, God gave us Reese & Max who actually ENJOY each other and willingly play for entire minutes without fighting. 

Every one of us who saw the missing candy on the cake immediately said, "Kyler." And, we said, "Noah," when we saw the raw egg that someone had tried to cook not the patio table. 

 I love those nephews.

Shrimp Boil!

Uncle Zack loves to keep everyone entertained.

Because going with the blue ice cream is always the best choice. 

Reese is everyone's favorite. 

It's a good time. 

Brandon cooked some of the fish that they caught on the trip and it was delicious! 

Max didn't get to go fishing, but he did get a Ninja Turtle ice cream, he pretty much won. 

And, we are back on the pirate ship....in the only air conditioned place there. 

Lily will totally embrace any situation & the pirate ship was no exception. She was face painted first and leading the parade. One thing that I love about the intensity of our older kids is that there are no worries about someone missing something or not being in the front row. 

Brandon rented a kayak and, while I was initially terrified, it ended up being really fun!

The cousins were braver than me and dove down to the bottom a few times for cool stuff. 

We all took turns using it-really fun. 

This baby was there, just being precious and keeping us all on our toes. 

Noni randomly pulled out surprises for everyone. 

This lizard made a pretty quick escape-look closely!

Another beach trip, another puzzle. Or 3. 

Overall, we had an awesome time!

We are so grateful for these opportunities!

Max trying to surf

Max in the waves