Friday. The final day.
It started off normal.
Kids frolicked without a care.
And then there was a lifeguard at the beach.
Wait...were there really no life guards all week? It surprised me enough I took a picture.
I was more surprised when the lifeguard came over and talked to me in the waves. Shane kept pushing out far and she said she saw I was on it, but to try to keep the kids from going beyond chest deep.
But going all as a group is what made our last beach trip more special.
There was some talk of "Maybe twice," but we never returned after our morning run.
The kids had to get their fill of waves while they could!
The sun was out in full force for a change.
And we stayed a full hour and a half which meant some of us got slight sunburns (including me!).
Of course, I had to keep one eye on Shane whenever I took pictures closer to shore.
B and Cole tend to stand more in the water, so it's easier to guess depth based on looking at them. Shane likes to sink down and only keep his head out of it.
I got a few action shots of B relocating.
The current still had a strong southward pull today.
Cole was waiting for him to jump back in together!
Tenley and Evelyn started off in the sand.
It helped establish a family base camp.
After about an hour, the boys came out for a break.
Gotta love Cole's hair!
I thought we'd might leave then, but no other family made the first move. Shane wants to be wherever the people are, so we were caught in their gravitational pull.
So we might as well enjoy it!
Everyone focused on their kids and let them enjoy the sun, sand, and surf.
It's funny when I think about it, but a lot of my childhood memories of the beach blur together.
There are distinct memories, but it's mainly a big lump of "I know I had fun with my family and friends."
I'd probably remember more distinct moments if I flipped through some of the photo albums, but whenever I think of the beach now I think of it through all of the kids' eyes rather than my own.
It's current. So there's that. It, also, takes up space between photos.
Here I caught Kathleen shepherding Tenley and Evelyn in the waves.
It didn't look easy! They each pulled her in different directions!
Tenley noticed the camera and pulled right for it.
Evelyn flopped.
Kathleen noticed the camera, too, and made sure to smile (That's where Tenley gets it from!).
I found Shane drawing his own Among Us art in the sand. He hasn't played the game in forever, but it was on his mind from the other day.
Evelyn was the shell collector this trip. She was guarding a hoard at the base camp.
Everyone got a final chance to wash off sand in the ocean...
..., but it was time to say goodbye to the beach.
I caught Shane making sure he didn't unintentionally carry any sand home even in the most unlikeliest of places.
B and Cole immediately hopped in the hot tub while Shane tried to convince them the pool "wasn't that cold."
Stu and I enlisted Shane to pick up all the toys from the bottom of the pool to help us pack.
Then he jumped in with the other boys.
Stu kept at work packing and cleaning sand off bathing suits.
One reason we went to the beach early was to return in time to see Jim and Shawn.
They stopped by to say hi!
Nana tried to get a nice picture of just the two of them.
She succeeded just in time.
I was a little slow on the draw.
The adults talked and the kids all stayed outside. They wanted to play in the water for as long as they could!
Everyone was ready for a rest break after showering off.
Sammy was really ready. He slept beside the other three boys even as they argued about Minecraft.
You can even see him asleep in the background of this photo. I recruited the boys for a game of Marvel United vs Ultron. I played the Awesome Mix from Guardians of the Galaxy and Sammy snoozed away.
The boys won by the skin of their teeth!
Salmon and spaghetti were the meal of the day. One of the twins was the main cook, but I can't remember which.
A lot of the kids went straight for the spaghetti while the adults grabbed the salmon.
The house started to transform throughout all of this. Stu started packing the moment we returned from the beach.
The trick was getting the kids to help (or at least to contain their damage somewhere else!).
Kids were recruited to help, but they were suddenly more fond of being outside and out of recruitment range.
Matt and Renee planned to be the first ones out the door tomorrow.
The majority of the packing was done by the evening. That left time to play....
...socialize...
Matt's family and Ka's family both planned on waking up early and then piling straight into a car. There wouldn't be time for goodbyes even if everyone was awake.
The boys enjoyed one last night of Minecraft and electronics on the couch before turning in.
We made it through another beach week. It ended on a good note and hopefully the kids all have memories, general or specific, that they had great time as loved part of the family.
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