Cashiers - just what we needed

4 Adults + 5 children 5 and under + 3 bedrooms = way more fun than you might think! First of all...check out the view from the back deck....hello beautiful.  And this is on a cloudy day.  

Freedom to run and play!

These three --- cousins who love to play together!  

Uncle Bryan came too (so for one more night add one more adult).  He was a brave man, willing to sleep on the couch....bless him.  He is so much fun to have around and he showed us some new hiking spots.

And the beautiful couple award goes to........my oh my, could they BE any more photogenic?  And, get this....they are also some of the best people we know!!

We hiked, we played, we laughed, we rested, we ate.....all in all...it was glorious.  

someone please...stop all this cuteness right now.  

Let's take this moment to talk about how I hit the sister-in-law jackpot...I hate to rub it in (no I don't).  She.is.awesome!

what's this? a picture where everyone is looking AND smiling?  Aunt Say-say for the win with the camera!

 these two.....so content to just be babies.  Oh my word, I could just eat them up.

By far, my favorite part of our trip was just enjoying life together.  These are our kind of people and we are truly thankful to call them family.

My Beach Babies

5 glorious days at the beach!  This summer the kids are 5, 4, and 1.  Chesson and Anna Corbin LOVE the beach....the sand and the waves.  We spent morning after morning digging holes by the waters edge and karate chopping the waves.  

Simple happiness.  

Anna Corbin calls this her "tiga immertude."  and now that's what we call it.  Sweet thing. 

Walker couldn't have been happier.  He thought the waves were hysterical and kept crawling deeper into the water to have them crash over him.  I couldn't help but remember Chesson first trip to the beach where he did pretty much the same thing.  

Chesson's first beach trip. 

Papa and Corbin taught Chesson how to play checkers.  How can he be old enough to play checkers?  He was so in to it! Little Man is fast approaching his 6th birthday and kindergarten is just around the corner.  WHAT?! again....WHAT?! Should I stop calling him Little Man? (never happening).

Baby Walker turns 1

Just so we're clear.  We will still refer to him as Baby Walker.  Maybe forever.....k?  Here are some pictures of his party, narrated by Walker, obviously.  

Have you seen this ridiculous hat my mom is making me wear?  The balloon on the the other hand, is awesome.  

Mama, who are you kidding?  I'm taking it off.  Seriously. 

Hmmm -- What's this?  It's kind of weird feeling.  

Ha, I got my hat off.   

Oh I get it now.  This is delicious.  What is it?  Can I have more?  

It's my birthday and I'll eat cake in your picture if I want to! 

Smiles for you Gra-Gra! 

The cake was good, but what's happening now?  Really Dad, Really?  

Daddy, that tickles....stop it.  

I'm so grown up.  Check it out.  I can play with Anna Corbin and Chesson.  

Happy Birthday Sweet Walker James!  

Anna Corbin turns 4!

Doodlebug is excited to finally be 4!!  

She spent an entire day celebrating with Gra-Gra.  They made and ate a strawberry cake! 

 She had a gymnastics birthday party.   She and her friends had a blast jumping on the trampoline, climbing in the foam pit, and running on the parachute.

 Anna Corbin is full of personality and loves to laugh!  She enjoys playing with her friends and her "stay home" days with Mama.  Her favorite color is pink.  She likes to play with Bitty baby and her favorite song is "Let it Go."  

We couldn't love here any more!  Happy Birthday Sweet Anna Co! 

The Grab and Go - even more so

We LOVE spending Easter at the beach.  This year was the BEST because Becca and Brian were there with sweet, sweet baby Wesley.  Oh, he is so squeezable!

Unfortunately, the weather was the pits.  It was rainy AND cold AND windy.  This made for lots of quality family time.  Even though it sounds like a recipe for disaster...it was truly wonderful.  We made the best of it....obviously we went to the aquarium.  We also...

put together puzzles on the kitchen floor

snuggled adorable babies

made a birthday cake for gra-gra

had a party!

and flew kites (so windy)! 

Because of the all the rain, the Easter Egg Hunt was cancelled.  (We usually call this the Grab & Go because the eggs are just laid out on the lawn, and the kids pick them up as fast as they can.)  The kids were initially disappointed, until they learned they could still have all the eggs and candy!  They each were able to pick out a bucket of eggs to take home. Anna Corbin picked out a bucket quickly, while Chesson took his time walking around looking for just the right one.   

Chesson is a little smitten with is Aunt Paige....she was so kind to help him do some crafts!