Fripp Island 2013

Dad, Mom, Eve, Clara, Ellie, Coleman

our FAILED attempt at a family photo

a little bit better

Poppa bought all of us an ice cream cone one night on a golf cart ride :)  

That makes for one sticky, smiley bunch of kids!!

 Clara chose Cotton Candy

Ellie chose SUPERMAN

Coleman and Daddy shared SUPERMAN in a cup

Eve LOVED her RAINBOW SHERBET

Coleman was a snuggly dude all week... He always loves to snuggle with momma, but this week, he also got to Poppa...

 Mimi ...

and Yaya :)

The beach was a lot of fun, and a lot of work!  

Eve and Clara loved the water and the waves!  

Ellie loved digging and walking and sitting in poppa's lounge chair.  She was perfectly content far away from the water.  She frequently said, "water get me really, really bad!"

Coleman wasn't a big fan of the water or the sand, because both got in the way of him sucking his thumb.  He LOVED the birds and the Bocce ball set.  

Clara, Ellie and Adalyn had a great time exploring together.  They got along really well, accept for the few times Adalyn would exclaim, "her mean", referring to Clara.  

  

 I loved spending the week with these girls... some of my best friends.  We really did have a blast together!  Our families were put to the test by living together (all 18 of us) for one week, but it was MUCH better than I expected!  

The boys enjoyed two days of golf on Fripp! 

 Our house had it's own private pool in the backyard ... we loved that aspect of it!  Eve learned to swim on top of the water, and hold her breath with her face in the water.  It was a week of water milestones for us :)  At the end of the week, Ellie and Coleman warmed up to the idea of it!

One of our usual favorites at Fripp Island is the golf cart rides.  We rode around every night looking for deer to feed and alligators to watch.  This night, we found the "blooming tree" and got everyone in preparation for a cousin picture.  As we got them lined up, we noticed a huge gator swimming towards the bank (look between Eve and Miley's heads).  It startled all of us a bit, and we went from this picture ... 

to this ... 

We had SO MUCH FUN!  I am already thinking about things for next year's trip!  I am so glad mom and dad began making this a tradition for Lauren, Kristen, and I.  I pray that my kids grow up with some of their fondest memories made here.  I pray that when they grow up with families of their own, they will want to continue the tradition :)