Travelogue

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

I love the beach.

The family reunion this year was awesome. Barbers traveled from California, Utah and Tennessee to one huge ol' house right on the ocean for a week of sandy bliss. Highlights for us and our kids this year: digging huge holes, burying cousins, boogie boarding, jumping over and into waves, catching minnows, finding shells, soccer, bocce ball, the sound of the water, writing "Cruzes Rule" in the sand, napping in lounge chairs.

Lydia spent about 1/2 an hour straight one morning repeating "Here come water!" over and over (and over) each time a wave would roll in. Emma and Ben were obsessed with going out to the "really deep" part of the ocean. Josh was not scared at all to go in the water this time, and he even shared the enthusiasm for the really deep by the end of the week. Having all of the Barber cousins there enhanced the fun even more. 17 kids all together, and only three of them in diapers. We usually spent the mornings at the beach, then came back to the house for a late lunch, followed by an afternoon of pool swimming (with volley ball and BasketBrawl, a full-contact in-water sort of thing). There's too much to talk about it all, talent show, eating out, races and games on the beach, treasure hunt and carriage tour in Charleston (thanks, Mom and Dad), so many games, and extra-yummy desserts every night. Emma said she wished we all lived there all the time. Might not be so bad...