On July 22nd we headed to Atlanta to begin our reunion with the Ducote family. Every other year we try to get together with not only Rich's immediate family but also with Terri's siblings from New York. It is always such a great time together and this year wasn't any different.
We flew out in the afternoon and the flight was uneventful. The iPad allows me to say that our crew are great fliers, I am not sure if I would say the same without it. The best thirty dollars spent all summer was downloading a few new shows for it which kept them totally entertained for the entire flight...that and some fun snacks!
Due to a big storm that hit right after we landed, our luggage was delayed for over an hour to the baggage claim but thankfully we made it home in time to celebrate Nonna's birthday with her, Pop Pop and Aunt Katelyn.
Happy Birthday Nonna!
On Thursday we repacked what we had to unpack for the night's stay in Atlanta and then loaded up for the trip to Myrtle Beach. It was about a 5 1/2 hour trip, but for us ended up being close to 7 hours with a few bathroom stops and a longer lunch break to let everyone stretch their legs. Everyone did well but they were definitely crammed in the rental "mid-size" SUV. A little powdered donut from Daddy's stop at the gas station to sugar them up before sitting in the car for most of the day!
The sugar wasn't a match for the late night before and for the movement and humming sound of the car.
We arrived just in time for dinner and met up with everyone at the hotel bar/restaurant. It is so wonderful to see all of the family together and like no time has passed. The cousins picked up right where they left off from their last visit and it was so much fun catching up with aunts, uncles, brothers, cousins and anyone else that I forgot :)
Uncle Gary entertaining the troops with fun hand games at the restaurant.
We all stayed on the Kingston Plantation in Myrlte Beach which was fabulous. There was an Embassy suites hotel as well as a variety of condos and townhouse to rent. We were in a 2 bedroom condo that worked out really well for our family. It was a little outdated but was spacious and it was super nice to have a full size kitchen as well as a washer and dryer! Rich and I kept saying that the unit was probably the place to be in the 90s with mirrors and gold trim everywhere but just hadn't been updated since then. It was clean though and obviously the kids didn't mind! Julia had fun checking out the fancy dining room chairs!
After a great night of reuniting with everyone on Thursday, our Friday wasn't quite what we were hoping for. Joseph slept in late and I walked into his room to check on him and noticed that his breathing was really labored as he slept. He seemed to have a slight cough on Thursday but was acting totally fine so didn't think much of it, but when I watched him Friday morning I had a feeling that we were headed to find a doctor. He woke up shortly after and within ten minutes of him waking I was on the phone looking for an urgent care. After spending 4 hours between urgent care and then the emergency room, 3 breathing treatments and 1 steroid shot later he was as good as new, asking to go to the beach to meet up with his cousins. He hasn't been diagnosed with asthma but this was his second time that he ended up in the doctor's office like this (the first time was when he was a little over 2 years old) and the er doctor said to definitely keep an eye on it. Some things just trigger his breathing to become labored and once he starts going down that route he has a tough time getting out of it without help from meds. We have a nebulizer at home that I would use sometimes when he would get a cold to help open his lungs so we wouldn't end up in the er in the middle of the night and those treatments helped to keep it from getting any worse. The crazy thing about this incident though is that his cough immediately went away and honestly by 2 p.m. that afternoon he was swimming, running around and acting as if nothing had happened. We left with an inhaler and steroids if needed and we are just thankful that he was ok and that we didn't need to use them for the rest of the trip.
So, after a quick rest back at the condo we made it out to the beach and it was nonstop fun for the rest of the trip!!
Daddy and Ella came out of the water singing, "We like BIG waves, not itty bitty waves." Ella was having the time of her life!! I took her out jump over the waves after they came in and I told Rich after, with tears in my eyes, that being out there with her and hearing her laugh like crazy is what being a parent is all about. Thankfully he doesn't mind my cheesy cliches every once in awhile!
Body boarding with Aunt Maria and Aunt Linda
On Saturday, July 25th, we spent the entire day bouncing from the beach, to the pool, to the water park area. It was such a great day hanging out with everyone and enjoying the sun and surf.
We were laughing because a random little boy (in the black and green bathing suit) decided to join in on the fun. There was no sign of his parents anywhere and he just fit right in.
He comes alive!!
Watch out for Ella!!!
Julia loves the beach!!! The water, the sand...all of it!
Both of the girls took naps poolside this afternoon. Tough life!
We moved to the pool for the later part of the afternoon and while the girls slept, the boys had a blast in the pool!
On Saturday evening we headed back to the beach to get a cousin photo since we had everyone together for the first time ever! We were lucky enough to get a great one of all 9 grandchildren (all under the age of 7!)
Sam (3), John (5), Michael (7), Ella (2), Joseph (4), Julia (10 months), Max (3), Joey (11 months), and Annabelle (2)
Here are some of the fun outtakes!
Ella having way too much fun here!
Gina and her sweet boys. Brian will finally be home in September after a 15 month deployment.
Everyone LOVES Zach and Ryan (Rich's cousins)
Our sweet kiddos. If only Julia would have kept her navy blue headband on...oh well!
The Florida crew-Amber, Max, Annabelle and Gary
Such a fun picture!
And, this is how we got the picture of the 9 grandkids all looking at the camera at the same time! Rich and his classic monkey!
Sweet cousins! I wonder what they were talking about.
After our beach photo session we headed up to the pool area for A LOT of pizza! Thanks so much to Pop Pop and Nonna for ordering dinner. It was such a nice, relaxed way to end the day, well, realistically it wasn't all that relaxed-I mean we did have 9 kids under the age of 7 but probably a bit more relaxed than being in a fancy restaurant!
Terri and her daughters-in-law
Ella and Annabelle took a break from the pizza to bust a move on the dance floor. The dance floor was right by the bathrooms so every time during the day when Ella used the restroom she would want to watch the people dancing. They had employees who lead activities during the day there such as line dancing and hula hoop contests and was totally mesmerized by it all. Earlier that day her and I spent about 30 minutes watching the line dancing and dancing on the side. It was so cute! The girls had fun having the dance floor basically to themselves at night.
After dinner we headed back to the beach for a tribute to Rich's aunt, Donna. Donna passed away in 1995, so they wanted to do something to remember her this year since it was twenty years ago. She was only 27 years old and was really close to Rich as he was 21 at the time of her death. Aunt Theresa put together a tribute with luminaries for her and all of the kids decorated the luminary bags and we went out to the beach to light them. Everyone said that she would have loved it and loved all of the kids being there. It was so special having Terri and all of her siblings there to do this for her.
Telling "campfire" stories
5 cousins snug on the back of the shuttle bus. So much fun riding on the shuttle and not in a carseat!
The condo crew! Anne Marie and Gina had a condo together just a few places down from us so we'd meet up before heading to the beach and take the shuttle together.
Everyone slept good on this trip! Ella and I had one bedroom, Joseph and Rich had the other bedroom and Julia had the bathroom! Julia slept great each night which makes vacations totally awesome when everyone sleeps through the night. Ella is a crazy sleeper which is why she slept with me and Rich snapped a few pictures when he would come in and check on us before he would leave for his early morning runs.
We headed to church on Sunday morning but before we left the boys played for a bit in the grassy area behind the condos.
The NY family along with Gary and Amber's crew left Sunday morning so it was a bit quieter on Sunday but we had a great day with the cousins that were left and Rich's brothers and Nonna and Pop Pop. After church we headed back to the beach for the rest of the day.
Julia and her godfather, Uncle Greg
Trying to get the same picture that we have with Rich and Joseph and Ella.
Naps on the beach in wet bathing suits are the sign of a good day!
Even Joseph took a quick power nap in the car after the beach on our way to dinner that night.
We went to Broadway at the beach which had a ton of restaurants, shops, and games/activities. It was definitely touristy but a fun way to spend the night. We began the night with dinner at Key West Grille with Nonna, Pop Pop, Brent, Jeff, Greg, Anne Marie, Gina, and all of the cousins. It was quite the table but other than some spilled milk all went well!
Checking out the pirate inf front of the restaurant. They are both saying "Yo ho ho" and every time Ella said it she would cross her arms in front of her.
The parrot inside the restaurant was a nice distraction while waiting for our table.
Love this picture from dinner!
After a delicious dinner we roamed around the pier and ended up at the amusement park section. Fun Uncle Greg bought tickets for the kids to ride the slide and after that they were hooked. We stayed until almost 10:30! Julia fell asleep in the carrier, Ella just relaxed in the stroller but Joseph and a blast bouncing from one ride to the next with his cousins.
Such a fun night!
We hung out at the condos and the kids played until about noon on Monday and then made the drive back to Atlanta. We were there in time for dinner and it was extra special since Anne Marie, Sam and Joey also were there for the night. On Tuesday we were up bright and early to catch an 8 am flight back to Texas. The flight went great as the kids were all tired from the busy trip so they were pretty subdued on it. We had a great time with the Ducote crew and are already looking forward to our next reunion!
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