beach day!

i was really looking forward to taking the kids to the beach.  i love the beach and the waves (not the sand, of course).  since we were going to have 8 small children with us, i thought that it would be best to go out to sanibel because there would be less people.  and more shells.

'princess' madelyn brought a dress up crown and mason rested up

mason's first time at the beach!  he loved it!

madelyn was pretty stoked to be there too.

notice, in the video, how mason doesn't know what a wave is and just waves.

it wasn't the sunniest of days, but it helped it from being too hot

i love the expression on maddux' face (otherwise i would not have posted this swimsuit shot)

maddux loving on some sand - for splashing and eating

maddux liked crawling in the water a little too much.

the water was a little rough and the tide was high so not so many shells

how cute is briana?

isn't this a pretty picture of annabell?

big pop circled up the kids for some sand castle building - until ford (i think) took them all down

two boys in a hole - braydon and ford
ford is so like his dad - just pouring the wet sand on his head!

grandma thought that it would be a good idea for the kids to feed the seagulls - at least they liked it

mason was a little sluggish and matt held him like this most of the time - turns out he had a fever

the adults sort of worked the perimeter to make sure no one got too far into the water or down the beach

and no trip to sanibel would be complete for our family without a stop at dairy queen for lunch.

and ice cream with sprinkles!  poor mason was already resting in the car after barely making it through lunch.

i will say having to put three sandy kids in the hot car takes away some of the beach time 'fun'.  we might try to stay at the beach again one time so that we could come in and shower instead.  but still worth the trip.  love.