We have ended our summers at Daytona Beach Shores for the past 4 years. It has been such a blessing to our family. Our good friends bought this place and rent it out for almost nothing. It's a fully-loaded, clean, fun, and relaxing environment. All we bring is our clothing and food. AND it's only a short hour & a half away! Such a change from our long journey we take to Canada at the beginning of the summer. The only problem this year was that football practice started for Alex that same week, so Matt had to drive him home every afternoon at 2:00. It rained every day at that time, so they didn't miss anything... other than sitting on the balcony of the 16th floor, watching the storm roll in... one of my very favorite things! Thank you Grandstaffs!!! We love you and are so thankful for your friendship! Admittedly, I did a lot of thinking this year about how this will be our last summer just "us". Next year will look totally different. New beginnings are always a scary thing. What will next summer bring? Only the Lord knows, but one thing is for certain... We eagerly await the adventure with great "Hope & Joy" (Get it???) :)
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| hours and hours og boogie boarding... |
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| hours and hours of swimming |
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| Ansley worked with Averleigh on her swimming and floating the entire week. |
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| Did I mention that Averleigh does not like the beach? |
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| This was the routine every day: get up at 9:00, eat breakfast, head to the beach from 10:00-12:00, up to the pool until 1:00, back up to the room for lunch, daddy and Alex leave for football at 2:00, Av takes a nap while Aidan and Ansley watch TV, and I read on the balcony while the storm brews, everyone heads to the indoor pool for an hour or so, and then back up to the room for dinner, daddy and Alex return at 7:00, more swimming and beach walking, bedtime at 9:00! |
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| So like the entire time we were on the beach, this was miss Av's demeanor; very unhappy. |
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| "Oh look! Here comes Daddy! He will rescue me!" |
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| "Daddy, it was so aweful! They made me play in the sand and put my toes in the water!" |
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| "These people?!" |
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| "poor baby" |
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| daddy's kisses make it all better:) |
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| And look who drove over one evening to play! Cousin Jacob!!! He LOVED the sand and water! |
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| Gran and John came over too. |
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| My brother and my mom |
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| Sweet Sisters! |
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| Lots and lots of sand burials |
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| Lots and lots of whining |
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| Oh! Look who's smiling and enjoying herself! Love the shades! |
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| He looks so old to me here! |
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| Lots and lots of digging |
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| Lots and lots of rough-housing |
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| and more whining:) |
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| "cheese!" |
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| She looks so big too! What's happening?! I keep telling them to stop growing. No-one ever obeys me. |
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| My baby boy |
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| The crazy crew. We love to take pix on the beach in the evenings, but this week there was no late sunshine, so we didn't get a good yearly family photo to replace my header:( |
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| Our good friends, the Radcliffe's spent a night with us. |
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| These boys and their sports... |
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Alex & Ben (or as they jokingly refer to one another, "Lexie & Bennifer"
BFF's since they were 4-years-old... The sweetest of friends! |
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| And the digging continues... |
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| Miss Jill had the magic touch: shell collecting. Who knew?! |
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| Pete & Jill |
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| Oh look! There's me! |
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| This picture would've been my favorite if that smudge on my lense hadn't taken over Aidan's sweet face. Darn humidity! |
Goodbye Summer!!!
Hello Homeschool and China!!! It's coming y'all!!! It's really coming!!!
Blessings,
Rebecca
Great stuff Rebecca - we too wrapped up summer with a week's vacation - Hocking Hills Ohio - nearest thing to the upper penn of Michigan that you can get to without a 12+ hour drive!
ReplyDeletelook out China - they're coming!
hugs - aus and co.
Hi Rebecca! Thanks for your comment! I've recently started reading your blog too =) Those blocks were at a local science museum...they were awesome! We started homeschooling this week (even though I said on my blog that I was sending the kids to school...I change my mind like that!) I am excited to follow along as you bring those two adorable girls home!! Best wishes!
ReplyDeleteGreat family pictures! We'll have to try those Florida beaches someday too ;-) It amazes me how fast this year is slipping by and how fast the kids grow. Just think Rebecca in 3 or 4 more months you'll be heading to China for 2 weeks! Chongqing is a amazing city in a beautiful province but we didn't have the opportunity to get out into the mountains/countryside and hope you guys do. It'll be a trip of a lifetime and China will forever live in your hearts as it does ours. Best regards, Phil & family
ReplyDelete