independence day

UPDATE: Jonah slept through the night. 11-7. Eight hours of consecutive sleep. You guys do NOT play around. Woo-hoo!
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Shwoo... five minutes to post.

We got to the beach around 6:30 Saturday evening. Here is the house we are staying in. Pretty sweet, huh? It has eight bedrooms, which is nice for the 19 adults and 13 kids (ages 7 and under) who are here together. It can get a little loud and crazy, but very fun! Thankfully, our family granted us the one and only third floor bedroom, so the only one making noise for us is Jonah (but he makes plenty of it... another rough night last night). The main reason for the third floor is that it has a sitting area with a kitchenette and a big dining room table. The counter and table space give us plenty of room to do dressing change, and the other kids aren't allowed up there, so I can keep all his supplies safe and clean, and don't have to worry about kids getting their hands on needles.


When we arrived, everyone was out back under the deck, having a good ol' 4th of July dinner of cheeseburgers and hot dogs. Fortunately we ordered from a local place, since we had all just arrived. Unfortunately, we were missing LOTS of food... like eight burgers, 2 hot dogs, and 12 or 13 orders of fries. So it took a while to get everyone fed.


This is Jonah's first cousin, Abby, and two of Matt's Aunt Katherine's boys, Nathaniel and Nicholas.


Matt's cousin Heather's son, Mikey. Look at those missing teeth! He was so proud.

Matt's cousin Tiffany's son, Charlie. Mr. GQ himself.

Tiffany's daughter, Anna Kate, and Heather's daughter, Aliana. Ali will ham it up for the camera any time you ask. SO fun! She even paused during a small meltdown today long enough for me to get a picture.

Tiffany's youngest son, Jack. He was not so excited about the upcoming 4th of July "show" in which he was supposed to be participating. He wasn't so excited about getting his picture taken either, but little did he know that I can't resist snapping photos of pouty kids. It's a weak spot. Gotcha Jack! Muah-ha-ha!

The 4th of July march. Beautiful Abby in fine form as Lady Liberty (with a chin strap).

All the kids - minus Jack who was still not interested, Coleman already sleeping, and Gabe, singing the loudest from Heaven.

Jonah was a little overwhelmed at all the commotion and the quick pace of activities upon our arrival. Can't a boy eat and poop in peace?

I'll let this sequence of photos speak for itself.

Here comes the lip...

This is Aunt Katherine's youngest son, Jake. He is six days older than Gabe would be. It's fun watching him grow and change, and thinking of Gabe at this age.
After the show.

With his 4th of July blanket. Notice the sticker monogram.

And the mastermind and planner of the whole annual 4th of July shindig - Aunt Melanie!

And here's my handsome hubby on the beach. Aren't I a lucky blessed girl?

And handsome hubby and me on the beach. By the time we got down there, everyone else had packed up for the day, but we enjoyed a few minutes out on the beach. This was yesterday. Today, we got out a little earlier and were able to spend a couple hours. Thanks to Granny and Grandaddy for watching Baby Jonut, so we could have some fun in the sun.

I'll be a day or two behind on posts. I have a lot to post about today too, but it's taken me all day just to get this one up. We're having a great time, and Jonah had a pretty good day today. We are not getting much sleep though, since Jonah has decided that his favorite time to be up (although unhappy) is the middle of the night. Pray for sleep! :)