Time to Recover....Oh Wait

Saturday morning, we stayed in our PJs all morning. I did get going on laundry, but Grandma B sent the girls home with all clean clothes! (Is she awesome or what?!?) In the afternoon, we managed to get a babysitter so Jim and I could go and see "Thor" at the cheapie theater. I know what you're thinking: you've been gone all week and then you get a babysitter the day you get home?!? I did feel a little guilty over this, but we had been trying to get a sitter the whole week before the trip to see this movie, so it kind of felt good to finally get to see it. (We are way behind on our superhero movies this summer.)

When we got home around 4, we realized that we would be having Bill, Deb, and Bill's 5 boys for the weekend, so I quickly made a list and ran to the grocery store to fill our empty cupboards and fridge. They rolled in around 6:30 as I got the last of the groceries put away. That night we just ordered pizza, played video games and hung out with each other. The girls had a great time all weekend with their cousins. Miriam and Liam played Pet Shop, house, puzzles and games with each other and Lizzie and Luke had fun with Connect Four, Sorry and Candy Land. They also all took turns on the XBox.
Sunday, we managed to get all twelve of us up and out the door for church on time!!! An impressive feat, if I say so myself. After lunch, the boys collected fast offerings, then Bill and Deb took the boys to the beach for a walk. I managed to squeeze in a nap and the girls had some down time. We had Easy Santa Fe Chicken and rice for dinner and enjoyed playing together in the evening.

Monday morning, we were up early again for our ward's "Pancake" breakfast, which someone decided to change to a "Egg Burrito" breakfast. They had a cute little program and the kids sang. It was a good way to remember the 4th of July. Deb and I snuck away for a quick little shopping trip after breakfast. We scored some great deals with sales and our extra 30% off everything coupon. ;)

After shopping, we fixed and packed up lunch for everyone and then headed to the beach! We had great weather all weekend and it was just perfect. The water felt not quite freezing and everyone went in! Jim took the girls out on the boogie board and helped them catch a wave. Miriam we first and did great, but I missed her coming in. (So sad.) She did great, but didn't love the tumble at the end. When she went out to do it again, she opted not to. I caught Liz's first wave (you can see her eyes and mouth shut the whole time) and then her second one (big smile). Then Rachel wanted a turn. She loved it until she tumbled off too, but then she wanted right back on. She did not want to get out of the water, even when her lips were blue and her teeth chattering.
Later, Ryan taught the girls to dig for sand crabs. They thought that was awesome. Rachel mostly just loved an excuse to throw the sand around. It was a super fun day. Jim and Bill took the girls and Luke home after a couple hours and Deb and I stayed with the boys for awhile. By the time we got home and changed it was 5:30 and I had to get started decorating Rachel's cake and making dinner. We had hamburgers, corn on the cob, watermelon, hot dogs, and chips.