We just got back from a heavenly week on the Outer Banks in North Carolina for my family reunion. Unfortunately Jer had to work, so the trip could have been a little better, but not much! We had the most beautiful weather--every day (except Monday) was perfect, both on land and in the water. No jellyfish or hurricanes, which we've dealt with in years past! I can't remember a time when I've enjoyed my family more--watching Bennett and Ethan sit on the shoulders of my brothers as they got slammed by waves (smiling the entire time), having my dad teach Bennett how to boogie board and body surf, or watching my mom sit on the beach and make sand castles with all of her grandkids--it just doesn't get any better than that! My sister told the kids that a pirate ship from Fiji (where our brother Freddy is on his mission) had stopped by, and she led them on a hunt all over the beach-house finding all kinds of pirate treasures from Captain Junkie. We all had so much fun!
We did some new things this year that I thought worked really well. Each family was in charge of dinner and an activity once or twice during the week--it split up the responsibilities nicely and gave everyone a chance to go all-out with their menu! Some of our meals included: garlic lime chicken and mango salsa, spaghetti with French bread and bruschetta, classic BBQ, meat/veggie kabobs, French Dip and grilled onions. One night we got fresh steamed seafood!
Our nightly activities were a blast--the best one was Friday night, when my brother Dave (who works for the Soundtrack Channel) created the most incredible trivia game to test our knowledge of movie and TV show theme music, songs and lyrics. It was the most fun I've had playing a game in ages... and I'm a game queen!
Anyway, it's hard to document all the things we did or all the emotions I had during the week. I'm just so grateful for my amazing family, and I feel so blessed to be part of this great gang!
Charlotte's giving Bennett some love...
Afternoon cookie baking
Cousin love
More cousin love...
Grammy Robyn is so proud of her namesake
Could this kid be any happier?
Mr. Sandman (and woman)
Can you tell how much fun Grampy had with his grandkids?
He taught them how to shave one night, just like Uncle Junkie on his mission...
He taught them how to shave one night, just like Uncle Junkie on his mission...
We couldn't keep them away from each other, for better or worse :o)
He thinks he's a surfer in his rashguard...
3 comments:
Wow! That IS an amazing menu for a family reunion. We usually have stuff like taco salad, PBJ's. . .
Glad you had a great time. Thanks for the tips, we will have to try that next time. :)
Too fun! Puts our family reunion camping to shame!
We went to Myrtle Beach a few years back while we lived in Cleveland and it was honestly, the best vacation EVER! I'm so jealous right now. What an awesome vacation spot and to spend it with family and cousins for the kids...oh, how wonderful!
we did have one terrific week, didn't we???!!!!! Thanks for all your efforts, Karesy, to make it so much fun. I'm still smiling, thinking about Dave's fabulous game night.
love you tons, mom
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