Vacation II

Our beach vacation was not just a nuclear family vacation - it involved the whole DeRousie side of the family. In addition to the four of us, there was Grammy and Granddad, and Uncle Aaron, Aunt Jen, and cousins Lucy, Will and Liesl. It was great to be able to spend such extended time with our extended family! Hayden in particular had a blast with her cousins. She loved playing in the sand and water with them (though admittedly, they aren't actually in the picture here).

Liesl

Hayden got introduced to new games - like drawing on the iPad and playing pile-on (can you see Hayden's hair in the middle of the pile?!).

Eliza was a big hit too. Will came to see her every five minutes or so to say hello. And Lucy and Liesl checked her out regularly - even on the beach. Eliza tried to join in the play whenever possible.

With 5 kids to entertain, but wanting to avoid sunburns, we found fun things to do that weren't outside - like the aquarium.
And the mall with the carousel, food court and play area. Hayden loved the carousel. When it stopped the first time, she started crying because she didn't want to get off.

Sailing away with Will.

Happy Meals all around. I think this was Hayden's first Happy Meal ever.

The kids get treated to ice cream. Cheers!

Eliza tries her first teething biscuit. She REALLY liked it.

The other big fun thing we did at the beach was celebrate Aunt Jen's birthday. Inspired by Cake Boss, I decided that the kids and I should make an ocean cake in honor of the occasion. Somehow it's not quite up to professional standards, but it was fun to do and tasty to eat.

the ocean cake, close up. Notice the sand and the water sections with appropriate candy decorations!

Afterwards, Hayden had a great fun playing, but didn't want to leave. She thought maybe she could just sleep in the table. We didn't think that was a great idea.

Almost the whole crew, ocean side. It was hard to get a picture of everyone in one place! We were all too busy having fun.