Early in August we went to the beach with my family. There are 20 of us who stay in the same house. It's crazy and chaotic and I love it! It's fun for a week - I don't think I could do much longer, but it's nice to see everyone and visit with folks I love very much but only get to see once a year.
We've been doing this for 20 years now. Mom and JD have been married for 21 years and we started this tradition the year after they got married, in 1992. For the 20th year, Mom and JD decided we should celebrate by having a beach front home. It was wonderful! It was especially great for me and my family since my kids are still so young. We could go down to the beach for a little while and come back after 30 or 45 minutes and we didn't have to pack up a whole load of stuff. We could also hang out in the pool and not feel so separated from everyone else if they were down at the beach. It was perfect!
We started this tradition before any of us kids were married, when it was just Mom, JD, Sean, Robyn, Erin and I. Then we started getting married and having kids and the tradition continued. It's something I look forward to every year. My mom told me this year that she and JD had always said they would provide the house every year as long as they could afford to and until we all decided we no longer wanted to do it anymore. She said she's really pretty surprised that we still all want to do it, but each family looks forward to the get-together each summer and we'll continue to for as long as possible! It's been so wonderful to stay in touch with my TX family in this way. I certainly owe a big thanks to Mom and JD for making this happen!
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| All 20 of us Each individual family is pretty much grouped together, if you're wondering who goes with whom. :) |
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| Papa, Mimi and the grandkids |
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| The grandkids |
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| Aunt B and Grandma came up for a few days, too. They stayed in a different place - they're not quite brave enough to bunk with the rest of us. I don't really blame them. :) |
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| My siblings and I The wind was awful, so my hair was awful |
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| My siblings and their spouses Front row: My sister Erin, me, my SIL Jill, my stepsister Robyn and her husband Kelly Back Row: My BIL Nathan, David, and my stepbrother Sean |
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