Beach BBQ!

The family decided to have a Birthday BBQ, in honor of all the August Birthdays in our family. Funny, that most of said family members were not in attendence... But that didn't stop us from partying!

We headed down to the state park to play at the beach and then have a cook out when the men were off of work. We met my mom and the kids at the beach and played all afternoon.

Ben LOVES to put things in buckets or bowls. So having a sand and a shovel to put into a bucket kept him busy for a while.
He loved watching Allie build her castles too.

As always, Sarah was attatched to Erynn's side. ALL DAY. Poor Erynn. That has to get old! But hey, It's a nice break for me!! Maddy floated back and forth between the boys, and the girls. Depending on who was having the most fun.

We had a water fight, and chased eachother around... I had a great time. The kids were really good too! We packed up around 5 or so and headed up to the shelter that we had rented. Dad and Joseph cooked hotdogs and hamburgers, and we had us a birthday feast. Potato salad, baked beans, chips and some good ol' root beer. And of course... cake. Ben was SO tired. He fell asleep in his stroller after his sugar high. All day at the beach followed by a sippy cup of Hawaiian Punch. Yeah buddy.

He slept for a few hours too! We had to wake him up to put him in the car!

Papa and Mama were able to come too. It's always fun to get them out to the beach! I guess they deserve the credit... The BBQ was their idea!

My "Mama"... She made the most amazing baked beans...

I took this picture as the sun was setting. (of course, the sun doesn't set on the east coast... so no pretty sunset pictures...) However, as the sun was going down, HUNDREDS of dragon flies started swarming around the pond. It was beautiful!!

I couldn't get a good picture... but in this one you can see one zooming by! It looks like a flying saucer! I wish I could have taken a video. It was so neat to see.

We were able to go with my mom and watch, while she and the kids did an inventory of a Sea Turtle nest. She and the kids volunteer with the turtle patrol at the state park. It was neat to see Ryan, Erynn and Josh be able to sort the turtle's eggs, and see how many hatched and made to to the ocean. They were so proud!

We stayed well after dark, and had a great time. Last year Andrew and his family were able to be there... Hopefully we can do it again soon and get the whole family there!