Destin with 5 kids

We decided to embark on a trip to Destin with Gina and her girls.  Kirk had a conference, so we were on our own without our husbands.  It was a lot of fun.  The kids or should I say my kids had their fair share of tantrums.  Silas is a lot like Kirk.  He wasn't much on the beach.  The sand was a little too much for him and he didn't enjoy the hot sun.  Anna on the other hand, loved the beach.  She didn't want to get out of the ocean and kept wanting to go further out.  It is so much fun to watch them grow and to watch their personalities develop.

Gina and her girls are a lot of fun.  It was so nice to spend so much time with Gina.  We are very close, but given we live in Birmingham and they live in Kentucky, it isn't so easy to get together.  Alexa was a huge help.  Adeline is sweet and reserved.  Ella and Silas sometimes mix like water and vinegar, but love each other.

Enjoying his beach chair, which he never got up from!

I would never participate in this activity, but the kids loved it!  Silas was brave, I really didn't think he would go through with it.

Surfing!

Gina cheering Alexa on

Friends Forever!

The Watermelon was a big hit.

Brave Anna swam without anyone holding on to her with swimmies!

Photo Shoot

There is a wall in Anna's room, which has had to empty picture frames hanging for months.  I finally decided to try to get pictures of her to fill them.  Gina and her girls are coming in town soon.  Nothing like visiting family to give you a push to finish unfinished tasks. 

Anna had fun.  Her expressions are cute and it is a lot of fun to watch her personality develop.  Lauren took a few and we ended up deciding on the first photo and the reading photo.

Anna now has curly hair.  It is so cute and it means I can hold off on getting her first hair cut for a while longer.

When did hiking become so difficult

So, I took the kids to one of our old stomping grounds.  The boulder fields reminds me of my earlier climbing days.  I really miss climbing and would like to get back into it in the fall.  The man below happened upon us and really wanted a picture of Silas with his dog.  Harmless, right?  He was a little strange and then proceeded to ask for contact info to send the pictures he took.  I declined and likely will not participate in this type of encounter again. We had fun, but wow hiking is alot harder with two toddlers in tow.  I am blessed to be able to spend so much time with them.  They are growing up so fast.

My budding climber.  Do they make climbing shoes his size...

Si is a pretty good photographer.  I sometimes can't believe I let him handle our camera...  I am hoping I never regret it.