The Last of Florida

OK, this is it...the end of the Florida pictures for the blog. Gosh, so many great memories. Thankful for great friends to share this experience.

The house we stayed in had a private pool so we spent lots of time there as well. Colton is becoming quite the swimmer.

Time to relax in the tube.

And then back to the beach.

2012 family picture at the beach.

Todd kept snapping pictures.

Last night in Florida - dinner with all the gang.

We strolled on the beach after dinner.

ADORABLE! A little sandy foot.

Sweet girl.

Sunglasses

Confession: Todd and I attended a wedding just days before our trip to Florida. The wedding featured favors for the guests including white sunglasses that had the bride and groom's names printed on the side. Todd and I (with a little help from Ward and Beth Wiebe) snagged enough pairs of glasses for all the kids on the Florida trip. We were determined to get a picture of the kids in their sunglasses and it happened! Here are most of the kiddos - with the exception of Bennett and Collins.

Left to right: Neeley, Tred, Carter, Jake, Holland, Hadley, Max, Colton, Connor, Cole, Hunter and Hayden!

Now for their cool pose!

Close ups of some of their "cool" faces.

This was classic. After we had taken lost of photos, we told the kids that they could all jump into the pool at the same time and we would take their picture ad they jumped. So I counted 1...2...and Max lost his balance. Into the pool he went with lots of laughter. He was such a good sport. He just climbed out and lined up to try it again!

Now we're ready! 1...2...3...Jump!

Hee! Everyone jumped but Tred.

At the park...

One afternoon in Florida we took a break from the beach and loaded up the boys, the bikes, and friend Hadley Houston to go play at a local park. It was a hot afternoon, but they found a way to have fun and keep cool.

In the house...

Not only did we have fun at the beach, but the house that we rented was perfect for our large group. The house had six bedrooms each with its own bathroom and a large kitchen/ living room area. We had plenty of room to spread out. Here are some pictures from inside the house.

Hunter and Hayden clearly marked which bed was theirs.

The kids loved playing the Ipad - and since each family brought one, the just passed from one kid to the next. Tred was immersed in his game and couldn't be bothered for this picture. :)

Amy Engram had the best idea to have a Bed Making Olympics. Here are all the kids lined up for the awards ceremony. We played the Olympic theme music as they marched into the living room and then proceeded to award: "Most Consistent Bed Making" - to Hadley, Holland and Neeley; "Best Use of Theme" - to Hayden and Hunter; "Smoothest Bed" - to Carter and Jake; "Best Bed Symmetry" - to Max and Colton; and "Best Overall" - to Cole and Connor. No gold medals - just packages of Nutter Butters for the winners. Thanks Matt Houston for sharing!

We painted! Each kid got to paint their very own canvas beach scene. It was a lot of work for the moms to keep up with the paint, the spills and the brushes, but the kids had fun.

Colton was working on painting a crab.

Connor and Hunter at work.

Carter loved his painting.

Colton and Neeley on the table, Jake and Max bouncing around with a plunger.

Carter Rapp on the mic (skewer stick).

Happy Birthday Collins!

Collins turned one while we were in Florida! It is hard to believe that our baby girl is already a year old. We celebrated her birthday with all of the Houston and Engram kiddos. She was fine until they all launched into a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday" complete with "cha cha chas"....then she burst into tears! She even cried when she stuck her hand into the cake. It was funny for sure!

Pictures at the Beach

This trip was full of great memories! We rented a house near the beach along with the Houston and Engram families. Thanks Melissa for finding such a great place for us to stay. I have lots of pictures that I want to put on the blog so I will have to add them in waves (no pun intended). Here is a first group of pictures from the beach.

The Rapp boys LOVED the beach and being out in the ocean. Collins enjoyed the beach. She wasn't afraid to touch or eat the sand. I, however, liked it lots better when my kids were on the sand rather than in the water. For the first few days of our trip the water was really stirred up. Great for boogie boarding, but it made me nervous. I spent most of my time counting heads and hollering at the kids not to go out too far. How thankful I was to be bringing all our kids home at the end of the week.

Collins enjoying the shade and the sand.

A massive sand project was underway. The work was headed up by Matt Engram Construction.

Such a happy girl!

Collaborating on the sand castle.

Hayden and Connor

Carter really loved the beach.

Collins' first experience in the Gulf. Cole Engram was close by...he was great help all week with the little ones.

Todd, Collins, Hunter and Colton out in the water.

Connor was working in the sand.

Pictures from Florida

Vacation! Everyone loves vacation. Well, we just finished a week in Florida with two other families and it was great fun. Here are a few of the many pictures that we took while we were on vacation. I will post more when I have time.

This night we took all the kids to get ice cream. Since it wasn't far we decided to walk. Connor nearly got run over as he crossed the road. After my heart started beating again, we reminded him how important it is that he listen to mom and dad AND that he look before crossing the street.

After playing at a park in Watercolor, FL we stopped by the Modica Market in Seaside to get something to drink. Here are the Rapp boys plus Miss Hadley Houston.

Todd and Collins the last night of our trip. We had dinner in Seaside with all the families. Yes, we'd like a table for twenty...fourteen kids menus please!

The boys' room! This was awesome. The room had double bunkbeds so all the Rapp and Engram boys paired up and Tred joined the fun on an air mattress in the room.