The Master at Work

Gary is unquestionably the resident family Sand Artist Extraordinaire - he's always the one who initiates and oversees construction on all family sand sculptures of note. This below was begun before the sun hit the sand on our beach (7-8:30 AM) - our favorite time of day for the tender-skinned among us. (Gary, Gary and, well, Gary) This is the Castle of Super Awesomeness (a quote from the Big Man himself). Josh and Jack provided the on-site crew, and most of us contributed in our own small way.

Dolling up all the nieces and nephews - Gary giving Katelyn Cranney more legs, and Pete making Austin a shark.
Maggie was a mermaid and Haley was an Egyptian princess.

Quick, save Edoras from the encroaching wave from Eowyn's dream! (that's for all you Lord of the Rings fans out there.)

The kids all love the beach so much, especially Spence (I do feed him, I swear; he just isn't very interested in calories). Josh and Gary taught the kids their version of Death Unto Us (one simple rule: get as clobbered as possibly by every approaching wave), and I experienced the joy of having all three kids knowing how to swim. For the first time as well, Maggie was old enough to be able to take off with her cousins Katelyn, Haley and Grace and do their own thing while I kept a closer eye on the younger two. Brought back all kinds of memories of my own youth growing up on this beach, walking solo or with a sibling down to Black Rock or Whaler's Village while my parents set up base camp at the pool or beach. I love that we get to have these common memories.

Sometimes we'd walk down to Black Rock, watching the whales jump just offshore on the way.
Snorkeling was a big hit with most of us this year - we all tried it and I even got to swim with two ginormous sea turtles! It made me a bit seasick though - isn't that kind of pathetic? Who gets seasick while snorkeling? Me. oh well.

This is Tootie (Sophie) modeling her gear. And when we needed a break, there was always the pool!
Abby and Gabe, Josh and Hailey.
And the heart of the family, Nana and Papa surrounded by their adoring progeny. When they weren't catching a little "shit-eye" (sorry, long story on that one but it's a family saying now).