Virginia Beach - the second half

It took us most of Tuesday morning to get re-organized so the rest of the week could go smoothly. Fortunately there was a pool at the campsite that the children went to play in while some of the rest of us tried to figure out what food we had and what we needed. Finally, that afternoon we managed to throw our stuff in the cars and head to the beach. That's what we were there for anyway. So we enjoyed a couple hours in the surf before a big storm came in!!



We had to sit in our cars for a bit until the storm passed, but then the girls did some puddle stomping ;)



Wednesday we somehow stayed at the campsite the whole day. We visited the pool in the morning, then our mothers did a family history lesson in between jet fighters landing overhead. That night was my group's dinner night and we had dinosaur eggs for dessert! Yummy!



Thursday was our last day before having to pack up and go home. Trust me, the week flew by, despite staying up til ungodly hours talking, eating chocolate :) and playing Scrabble! We still had not taken our group photo yet, so we all tried to get cleaned up, which took longer than hoped. It was also VERY hot and by the time we all drove up to a nearby state park (and some getting lost) most of us were pretty cranky. We had not eaten lunch either. Remember, there were a total of 32 of us, 12 of those being children. But, we got pictures. Not sure if the ones I have are the best yet, but here's a look at all of us!



The two grandmothers and all the children.



All the cousins! My favorite picture:



Then after some tasty PB&J, we headed for the beach. We really liked this one a bit better. It's really at the edge of the Chespeake Bay, so the waves were much smaller, but you could go out further and it not get too deep, and there were lots of animals to find - some shells, live mussels inside big shells (I think 3 or 4 were collected), crabs (dead and alive) and even tiny fish. We had a pretty diverse aquarium! It was also less commercial and fewer visitors, which meant more room for us to spread out.



Thursday evening a few initiated an award ceremony, which was really funny! And Friday we had to pack up and go. Somehow we managed to pack all the stuff from the motor home and get it back to my cousin. Everyone got home safe, though a few had some plane delays. We personally decided to drive straight through, which meant we arrived home at 3am! And I had gotten myself a really bad head cold Thursday night so I was useless on the drive home. We spent Saturday recovering at my parents', doing laundry, and uncovering a flooding problem in their basement.

Despite our scary beginning, it was a great week that ended way too soon. I am so pleased that we all sacrificed our time and money to get together. The plan is to do this again in 2009 and I can not wait! We had several people at the campsite or the beach comment on how nice it was to see extended family get together. I believe we are privileged to be continuing a legacy from our grandparents - family first.