To celebrate Dennis and Jan's 25th wedding anniversary, and his 60th birthday, they rented a house in Seaside, Florida for all their kids and close friends. It would have cost us over $3K to get our family down there with flights, rental car and car seats, so we decided to make the 13 hour drive. Jason went to bed at 6pm on Tuesday, Oct. 1st and then got all of us loaded in the car at midnight. I thought that I'd be able to sleep better if I stayed up till midnight and then slept in the car, and that was NOT a good idea. The kids had a rough time in the car sleeping, and Camryn was a little bear! She had started getting a new tooth that week and was running a low grade fever, so she was NOT happy to be in her car seat for 13 hours (even if half of it she SHOULD have been sleeping). We also heard "are we at the beach yet?" about 10 different times!
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| At this point, I was actually sitting next to her in the back seat |
It was a little rough and exhausting, but we finally rolled into the Seaside area around 2pm on Wednesday. We stopped at the downtown Seaside area and ate at The Great Southern Cafe, then we headed over to the beach house to meet up with the family!
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| Catching a baby lizard with Papa right away |
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| Chilling with Paityn |
This was actually our first time to meet our new nephew Cooper, so we were all very excited!
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| Taylor holding Cooper right away |
We went to the beach almost every day of our trip! The girls could not get enough of the beach! They were literally so giddy with excitement each day we were there! Taylor was the happiest of all! She would run around like a crazy girl with a huge smile on her face. She rarely sat down!
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| Playing in the sand |
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| Uncle Josh & Paityn |
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| Uncle Josh taking Taylor in the water while Daddy was with Addie |
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| Hanging in the shade with the baby |
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| Papa with the 2 babies |
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| She loved playing in the water |
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| We only brought the pool to the beach one day but it was an awesome idea from Cari! |
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| Pooped out |
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| The tent was great for the kids to nap at the beach |
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| Building a sand castle with Papa |
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| So happy |
On Friday night, we went to a seafood restaurant as a group. It was chaotic with the kids but still got a few cute pictures.
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| All dolled up in their dresses |
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| Being silly at dinner |
Then, we were back to the beach again. This day we brought kites to the beach, played in the water, caught fish, and built more sand castles.
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| Aunt Tara with Paityn |
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| Taylor and Addie could not get enough of Paityn |
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| It will be so fun to watch these girls grow up together |
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| Building a HUGE castle this day |
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| Addie and Mommy flying a kite |
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| Pure joy |
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| Paityn dragging the kite |
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| Fishing |
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| Caught a catfish |
In order to catch fish in the ocean, Joe needed us to find him Sand Fleas. Jason got pretty good at getting these out of the sand, and Taylor was obsessed with finding and picking them up. Glad she isn't afraid like her Mom!
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| Picking up the Sand Fleas |
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| Look at those nasty things |
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| The adults getting into the castle building |
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| Picture with the castle |
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| Then having fun tearing it down |
The houses we stayed at also had a pool. When the guys golfed one day, we stayed at the house and tool the girls swimming.
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| With Papa |
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| The pool was an added bonus during nap time |
Friday night, we surprised Dennis with a 60th birthday party!
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| Decorations |
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| Opening presents |
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| The close friends of Jan and Dennis |
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| Addie jumped right in to help Papa blow out his candles |
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| Jammy with Camryn |
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| Love this little thing! |
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| Paul and Jason |
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| Friends chilling on the deck looking out over the pool |
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| Jan and Russell |
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| We were so thrilled when Aunt Cindy arrived! |
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| Brothers with their babies |
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| Phil with the babies |
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| Aunt Cindy made the girls giggle a lot |
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| Playing a little "Left Center Right" |
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| Taylor was a big winner |
On Saturday night, Jan and Dennis had a ceremony to renew their vows after 25 years together. It was a beautiful night and extremely touching to watch their friends and family love on them and share stories!
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| Jan actually wore her original wedding dress! You go girl! |
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| Pre-celebration fun |
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| All dressed up for the event! |
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| They were excited to watch their first "wedding"! |
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| Josh escorting Jan to Dennis |
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| The ceremony! |
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| Eating Candy necklaces to keep them occupied |
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| Lynne and Larry |
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| Jason did a wonderful job during the ceremony |
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| These two shared very sweet things to each other |
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| And the kiss! |
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| A great reception dinner |
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| The Milners were so sweet to watch the babies for us during the ceremony |
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| Opening presents |
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| Loved hanging out with Tara and Isa |
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| Such a cutie with a tie |
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| Sunday brunch |
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| More playing at the beach |
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| Playing and eating sand |
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| Nap time in the tent |
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| Family pic |
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| Getting buried in the sand |
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| Larry, Dennis & Joe |
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| This backpack was a life saver! |
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| Paityn broke a handle off the cabinet, haha! |
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| Camryn is 4 months older than Cooper |
We actually were able to eat in the Seaside area 2 nights and we really enjoyed it! They have a cool outdoor amphitheater, neat restaurants, and it was so close to the house!
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| Walking to Seaside holding hands |
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| Checking out the sunset at dinner |
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| Isa with her HUGE flounder |
