GHD Beach Trip

The much anticipated Granger-Helfer-Dupree Beach weekend finally arrived! While we all came home absolutely exhausted {I think all 4 of the babies are still making up for lost sleep!}, we had a blast and enjoyed each other’s company as always. We planned for eating all of our meals at home, which meant we didn’t have much on the agenda but enjoying the beach. The weather was warm and sunny all three days, but the last two days were so muggy that I couldn’t see anything but fog on my camera lens. So I didn’t get as many pictures as I would have liked, but I snapped some pictures of our cuties on the beach the first day!

Baby James got to enjoy his first-ever trip to the beach! I’m not positive he loved it, but I’m sure next year will be totally different when he and Baby Boy are able to run and play together.The bigger babies found a small tidal pool to play in, while James put his little toes in the ocean for the first time.The second and third day didn’t provide a convenient little pool for the kids to play in, so both days consisted of bringing small buckets of water up to fill the large bucket….only to see it dumped out 4 seconds later! I swear, collectively, we filled at least 84,000 buckets over the course of 2 days. Emory, still going strong on her obsession with Toy Story 3, liked to jump in the pool while yelling, “To infinite and beyond!!”. The daddies tried to take some kiddos swimming, but they didn’t last long because of the strong undertow.The attempt to get a picture of the 3 biggest kids proved impossible. I got some snuggles in with Baby James for a short time on the beach. Part of me wonders if this is what I’ll look like next year: holding a teeny tiny Number 3, pregnant with Number 4. {I’m really hoping I can squeeze in one summer full of alcoholic beverages, oysters and a bikini before we set out for the fourth baby!} The only downside to baby-snuggling on the beach was not having access to my camera. The upside of having two friends who adore pictures as much as I do is discovering a bunch of pictures taken by someone else!

My cousin and his family were down for the weekend as well and Olin {who is just six weeks older than Baby Girl} got to join the fun. Mostly Emory just ran around after him, but he was a great sport and gave me a little glimpse into what Baby Boy will be like in a couple of years.   By the end of each day, the babies were completely worn out. With four kids ages 3 and under, the trip was anything but quiet. There was always someone running around screaming or having a meltdown or singing at the top of their lungs. The kitchen was always busy as there was always another belly begging for a snack. Most nights were a little sleepless, being woken up by a crying baby, and not 100% sure which one it was. Mornings were powered by strong coffee and hefty breakfast casseroles. When all four kids were finally down for bed, we finally were able to enjoy some adult time. I don’t really see any of our vacations over the next 10 years actually being relaxing, but we couldn’t have had a better time hanging out with great friends, watching our children enjoying the simplicities of summer together, starting traditions that we hope will continue for years to come and making memories that will last even longer. Thanks, Grangers and Helfers, for a fun-filled trip, and although I think it’ll take me the full 365 days to recover, I can’t wait til next year!