Beach

Let me start by saying that I am a horrible photographer. I always forget to take my camera out. Luckily, I have amazing friends who have fancy cameras and like to take a bunch of pictures! I mostly have pictures of Brooks!

We went to the beach with 5 other families a couple of weeks ago. We met the most amazing friends when we moved to Birmingham for Mike's residency. We were all in a new town and states away from families; these people became family. Now that residency is over, we have all scattered across the southeast (Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Tennessee) but remain close. Our families are growing, but we still have an annual beach trip with the whole group!

The house! When you have 12 adults and 13 kids, you need something large! It was perfect for our group. It even had 2 hot tubs and 2 pools!

The setup. It was great because we set these tents and chairs up and basically left them set up the entire time we were there. We don't have to lug everything (toys and all) back to the house every night, so it is very convenient.

This was Brooks' first official time at the beach. We went out on it in Miami, but it was an overcast day and the water was cold so we didn't spend too much time there. He LOVED it. He didn't mind the sand and took lots of naps on sheets. I think we are definitely going to have a beach baby on our hands!

There were lots of baby naps at the beach! He really was awesome. He took at least one nap every day on a sheet or in my arms down on the beach. Who can blame him--shade, wind, and the sound of the ocean?

Mike and I are obsessed with this photo!

I wish I had closer photo of this! The blue angels were practicing right in front of us on the beach. It really was amazing to watch! We pretty much had a private show 2 days in a row!

We were there during Mother's Day and the guys treated us to lunch and a spa day away from the kiddos. It was nice for all of us girls to get together and talk with no kids around!

All 13 kids on the couch!! They are all 4 and under!

Everyone that has seen this photo has commented to me about how crazy this looks and how this was in no way a vacation. I have to disagree! We had an amazing time with an amazing group of people. I can't wait for Brooks to get older and get to know all of these kids!

We had such a great time and are already looking forward to next year! (We are adding at least 1 kid to the group--not me, one of the wives is pregnant with #3!!)