Labor Day 2014

Dan and I had great intentions of doing something fun with the kids for the first school holiday of the year.  But in the morning, we hadn't planned anything specific (other than a BBQ at my Dad's in the late afternoon) so Dan and I traded off working out first thing.  While Dan was at the gym, our good buddies the T family called.  They were heading to the beach...SO I made Dan a nice breakfast, had a cold glass of water waiting for him, and smiled big.  It was 9:05 and I convinced him that we really wanted to meet up with our friends at 9:30 to head to the beach.  He agreed! 
We packed up a quick lunch, grabbed the essentials, and left about 9:40 to head to Sylvan Beach--a mere 35 minutes from our house.  It was busy but we got our spot staked out, set up our shade tent, and had a blast.  Our kids LOVED the sand and quickly warmed up to the waves and water (especially Brooke).  We splashed and played and tried to body surf and generally had a good, sandy time.  We ate our lunches around noon and stayed a bit longer.  We were home by 2 for naptime.  It was a great morning, great friends, and a pretty decent beach.  I'll definitely go back.

The 4 big girls...

The 2 medium girls...

Jack's first beach trip--he was a fan.  Like most kids, he tasted the sand and liked it.  He also really enjoyed sitting in the surf with me.

Our tent...

Our view...

This pic makes me smile.  Kenzie scratched her foot within about 2 minutes of arriving at the beach.  So this was her parents' attempt to protect her from the flesh-eating bacteria that had been recently found in Texas according to the local news.  She survived.  The taped-on bag only lasted through a few waves :)

Trying to make sand mermaid tails...

Little Mal wasn't sure about the water at first.  Here she is escaping back to the dry sand...

The T family...

I feel like this pic should be titled "Childhood"--I love it!

Candy, 3 years old

Megan, 6 3/4 years old

Brooke, 5 years old

Maddie, 5

Megan T, 7

Kenz, 3

Jack, almost 10 months

And Mal, 17 months

While the kids napped, Dan and I tried our hand at jalapeno poppers (jalapeno half filled with cream cheese, wrapped in bacon, and baked).  They were done just in time to head down to Dad and Sally's house for swimming, dinner, and spending some time with Sally's son Charlie (we met him briefly the day before when he spoke at church after completing his mission in Salt Lake).  I love spending time with my family.  It was fun to swim, laugh, eat, and play together.  Oh and the poppers were SO GOOD!  We will definitely make them again from time to time (but only when we have loved ones to share our calories with!).

Grandpa and Jack...

Amy, Hailey, Zach, and Ty...

The little girls :).  They are as cute as they are loud.  Brooke, Megan, Chloe, Molly, and Candy...