The last time the Etheringtons landed in Rosemary Beach was in 2009! We only had 6 grandchildren at the time. Now look at us!! There are 15!! And Jane hasn't even gotten started yet. I predict an even 20 when Etherington procreating comes to an eventual end.
Brooke was kind enough to take all of our family pictures.
I absolutely love the architecture of this little beach community.
This one will probably be our Christmas card in a few months!
Looking at my beautiful little family makes me so incredibly happy!
Life is crazy with all these chiddlers and sometimes I have a hard time even remembering what it was like to be married with just Chase at my side. One day we'll miss all the noise. But until then, we'll just keep on laughing about this lovely chaos we get to experience every day.
We noticed that George was a little "off" the morning we left for the airport. He's normally ecstatically excited about airplanes. He just didn't seem very impressed. Just as we were about to land in Atlanta, he puked all over himself. I had a feeling he was going to get sick because a friend of his came to preschool even though his whole family at home was still vomiting. I hoped it wouldn't happen, but at this point I geared up for the worst. And the worst happened!! George was first, then Sadie the next day. Jack threw up a day after that. I eventually caught the bug and Chase was feeling pretty icky the whole time as well. Liza didn't vomit until we got home from the trip. So basically the whole week, someone was recovering from a sour stomach. Despite the misery of being sick, we still were able to have a great time once we recovered.
Liza and George ended up being our best travelers!
We loved touring the grounds of the resort. I guess word got out about Rosemary Beach over the last few years. I couldn't believe how crowded this beach town has become. When we came 6 years before we practically had the whole place to ourselves.
The kids loved spending time with all their cousins!
Of course Mimi brought some books to read to all of them.
Once George was feeling better we was out on the beach digging. It's his favorite thing to do! Too bad all we had for him to dig with was a little spoon.
After a quick trip to the store, we found him a truck.
His smile says it all!
Liza spent lots of time in her little inflatable bathtub. It ended up being the favorite toy for all the other grand kids as well! Grandpa gave many rides into the ocean with this tiny little tub.
The beach was awesome but the pool ended up being where the kids REALLY had some fun. The hot tub made the pool water nice and warm so even I wanted to get in. The kids often gathered around Uncle Nick while he told his funny stories.
They just loved being together. It's hard being the only one not living in Utah. I loved watching my kids be so warmly welcomed by all the other kids. Family time is precious!
I especially loved snuggling my new niece Emmaline.
There's nothing quite like holding a newborn.
Sadie and I built a pretty fantastic sand castle!
The kids were always searching for hermit crabs.
When we found them sometimes they would tickle us with their little claws. She looks terrified, but was actually just laughing her head off!
Jack got the most sick. He was basically in bed for two days and just when we thought he was feeling better, he threw up on the beach! But once fully recuperated, he played hard and had a great time!!
We decided to recreate a photo we took of these three when we were at the beach in 2009.
Jack was once the smallest and is now the tallest!!
Liza loved the sand and only ate a little after realizing it wasn't very yummy.
"Sugar" coated baby toes are my favorite!
What is it about such a tiny little person on such an enormous stretch of land? I wish she could stay little forever. Thank goodness for pictures so I can always remember her pointed little toes, toothless grin and her eagerness to soak it all in. Love my little Liza Jane!
We all love Liza Jane!
Especially when she's sleeping and we can finally relax. Oh, and by the way, this trip was NOT relaxing. Not even one teeny tiny bit! You can't travel with kids and unwind. Maybe in 10 years.
Of course Grandpa was a child magnet the whole week. George loved digging and making castles with him.
Hard at work!
I love how "busy" kids always seem. It's almost like they have this agenda:
I've got to fill up this hole with water, then I need to dig another hole over here with my truck. When that's done I need to make sure I made a bunch of tracks in the sand. And before I go inside for the day, remind me to release all the hermit crabs from the buckets.
Sadie and Ruby truly had the best time ever!! They loved sharing the bunk beds up in the "girl's room", playing on the rafts in the ocean, giggling in the pool and basically spending every waking second together. So glad these two oldest granddaughters are such great little buddies.
Being such great friends makes it even harder to say goodbye. Boo! One day we'll hopefully live closer to family, but we just aren't ready to leave Texas quite yet!
Airport shenanigans!
