Emerald Isle

Every year my side of the family gets together for a family reunion in Emerald Isle, North Carolina.  We have been going since I was Adelyn's age.  This year we got to introduce Lila to a life time of memories ahead.

We spent the week playing on the beach and getting to know the cousins.  Adelyn was so happy!  She would wake up every morning and the first thing she would say was "play water."  She loved being out on the beach!

We got there on Sunday and Adelyn convinced Nathan to take her down to put her feet in the water.  They came back to the house and she was wet up to her waist!  He said she kept dragging him in further and further.  Likely story!

The next day we got her swimsuit on and she had a blast!

She thought everyone was there for her entertainment! 

 She loved playing in the sand...

 

And going for walks...

  

And collecting shells!

 Lila didn't spend much time outside since she is too young to wear sunscreen and I was worried about the heat.  Travis and I had to take turns inside with her or have other family members keep her.  We don't have many pictures of her unfortunately. 

I like doing comparisons! It's not letting me put them side by side though. :(

Let's just take a moment to realize that this was Adelyn at almost a month older than Lila in these pictures!  We used to call her a chunky monkey! (not the best pic of Adelyn!!)

 But Lila took over that nickname!  She is a lot taller than Adelyn ever was!  They look soooo different and have such different personalities!

This was right after she put her feet in the ocean for the first time.  She didn't love it!

At the end of the week, we took family pictures.  Everyone moans and groans about doing it, but I LOVE having an updated picture.  I had a hard time keeping my eyes open because it was so bright, but other than that I think it was perfect!  It wasn't too sunny with weird shadows, the sand was flat and hard from the tide and the colors were pretty.  I love how they turned out!

I chopped my hair off (9 inches) the day before we left!

My parents with all the grandkids!

Everyone minus Andrew who is on a mission.  He will be in the next one!  This is my favorite family picture to date!

With all the different families and schedules and naptimes and time zone changes, we never had the whole family all together until the last day.  That Friday the weather was perfect, the ocean was calm, the kids were in good moods and everyone was outside.  It was by far my favorite day of the week!!  I loved that we were all together and that the kids were getting along and playing so well.  I remember doing the same thing with my cousins!  I will do a separate post of cousin pictures, but here are a couple from that day!

This picture cracks me up!  Look at how she is holding her hands!  There were times that she did not like her hands to get dirty...

And other times that I could not get her away from the sand!!

We all miss the beach and all the easy entertainment it offers!  Adelyn would play outside all day, everyday!  It makes me happy to have my girls share some of the same memories I had as a child!

We have taken this picture every year!

Travis with the girls.

And me with them!

 

I love going to the beach and spending time with my family!  I am grateful everyone gets along! It will get more and more fun as the girls get older! Thanks mom and dad for making it happen!