Sixteen days.  Over two full weeks of Lauren, Gabriel, Noah, and Elias being in town.  They arrived the evening we arrived home from the beach.  Since that evening, the girls have hung out with the boys nearly every single day.  The second week Lauren worked in her office every day in Maryland and Gabriel was in San Francisco for work. While we didn’t see much of my sister or any of Gabriel the second week they were here, cousin time was still strong.

We had several meals together….Peruvian takeout (Cucos), Afghan takeout (MamanJoon), Italian (The Italian Oven), Mexican Indian Fusion (Mama Tigre), and homecooked meals at our house (grilled chicken and mac n cheese, beef tacos – twice) and Abbotsford Drive (burgers and dogs).  And one night out of the four adults at Agora.

We had a small celebration the night we got home from the beach for Avery and Emerson turning 15 since their birthday was while we were at the beach.  My parents got cupcakes from The Bake Shop.  

Harper celebrated her birthday at Andy’s Pizza and the Bowling Alley with Papa, Grandma, Lauren, Gabriel, Avery, Emerson, and the boys.  Bowling and arcade games.  We all celebrated with dinner and pie at my parents in the evening. 

There was swimming…a lot of swimming!  Though very few pictures of swimming.

There was hanging around Papa and Grandma’s house.

There were sleepovers!  I think five in total. 

There was hanging around our house.

Papa, Grandma, Avery, and the boys went to The Air and Space Museum. 

A Nationals Game was had. 

There was building, soccer playing, basketball shooting, Nintendo playing, jokes, laughs, and boys fighting and wrestling.

London certainly isn’t close by, but the long visits a few times a year allow for some quality time together. We will miss them until we see them again!

First Day of 8^th!  Last year in middle school not only for Harper but for the Maddy family!

Totally forgot to update the sign to 2026-2027!  Ooops!

First Day of 10^th!  Emerson realized the 10^th grade sign had old data on it, so she quickly created a new one. 

No group bus stop pics this year.  No other parents got out of the car to take one and so I decided not to force it. 

Neither Avery, Emerson, nor Harper were excited about going back to school. They were asked to rank going back to school on a scale of 1 – 10, with 10 being the best; Emerson and Harper gave a confident 0 and Avery’s rating was a 4.  We cheered for Avery’s 4!  

I am hopeful that the school year goes much better than their first day of school “excitement”.

10 years!  10 years of beaching with our beach family. It truly gets better each year. 

The weather was rainier than years past; however, it didn’t keep us from going to the beach.  We just shifted our beach schedule slightly some of the days.

The kids all get along.  There are no cliques, no grouping off…it’s truly heartwarming to catch the pairings and conversations – I often wonder what the conversations are about.  Not that it matters, but it does make me smile.  And Bear, everyone adores him!

This year’s house had an enclosed porch….giving the kids their own separate area to eat dinner.  This year the kids got to partake in the seafood boil….something several of them have wanted to do for years.  

We celebrated Avery and Emerson’s 15^th birthday at the beach!  A rainy morning meant the girls went shopping at Mermaid Cove and Strands. 

August 4 was a Tuesday, so it was Taco Tuesday for their birthday dinner.  

For dessert, Emerson opted for a blackberry pie and Avery opted for a homemade Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream cake, that Harper and I made. 

The fact that they are 15 is truly mind blowing.  I remember the early years of beaching with our beach family and thinking how cool it would be if we kept vacationing together.  I envisioned the kids being in high school walking to get ice-cream themselves.  We weren’t exactly in walking distance to an ice cream shop this year, but if we were, I would say we reached that milestone. 

Time was spent at the beach….during the day….

….and at night….

In the pool…

The boil…

Surfing, now an annual tradition, and one of the most looked forward to aspects of the trip….

A family outing to Southport…

New this year…game night hosted by the kids!  

I learned that I am not so hip. 

And many more memories that will always hold a special place in our heart.  We all got a little sappy this year on seafood boil night…not only was it our 10-year beach anniversary, but it was also the Brophy’s 15^thwedding anniversary (we did not go to their wedding since I had just given birth to Avery and Emerson two days prior, but I somehow feel like I was there). There was a lot of reminiscing… we have been a part of each other’s lives for over half our lives; our kids have known one another their entire lives.  We have shared momentous moments and made countless memories…our beach family.