The Beach With My Boys

We have spent this past week in Destin, FL. My in-laws, Bill and Fran, graciously and crazily (is that a word?) spent their time and money planning such an event. It was our family, Bill and Fran, and Kevin and Jenni and their three children. Honestly, the idea of 6 children 7 years-old and under on a 30+ hour roadtrip gave me a bit of anxiety. But, was I going to turn down a week at the beach because of a little or a lot of madness? Of course not, I have three boys. Madness is a part of my daily life. And my plan was, if one of them gets unruly, put him in a different car with some other unsuspecting poor soul;)
Anyway, we headed down last Saturday morning (5:00 am expected departure time - delayed, 5:40 am actual departure time). There were hopes of children sleeping the first few hours and maybe a 8:00 am breakfast. Well, none of them went back to sleep. So, breakfast was at 7:00 am. And this was a little glimpse into how the rest of the day would roll. We were not guided by schedules, maps and arrival times but by small bellies and bladders. We had one vomit, Ike, but he seemed ok before and after the event. I am not sure if he was carsick or just got to coughing and gagged himself. (He tends to do that.) He was in the car with Kevin and Jenni during that fun time. Sorry K&J but thank you Jesus!:) There were the usual stops for gas and food. We also had two sudden roadside stops to pee (Sam). It is hard to work on scheduled potty stops with Sam. If you ask him if he needs to go his response is always the same, "Yes, I need to go. I always need to go." So he might go then and then again feel the need 10 minutes later.
Honestly though, even with 6 small kids and it taking us 16 hours in the car each way, we really had very little drama. We only had one crying issue and that was because Ike was sitting next to Eli and Ike is obviously a bit of a torturer. He felt the need to continuously touch Eli. He wasn't pinching or hitting, just touching. Anyone with an annoying sibling knows that this innocent touching is the worst kind of torture. (I think Ike could work with the Pentago in some interrogation techniques. Unfortunately, I am not sure that Congress would approve of his heinous tactics.) So, Eli stood this annoyance as long as any 2 year-old should be expected to and then he cried the sadest cry I have ever seen. Sorry Eli!
Here are some pics of our trip. We had beautiful weather and the condo we stayed in was great for beach time, nap time, and then beach time again. It was really a wonderful week. In the 16 years that I have been dating Brent, I have only really traveled with the Chism family a handful of times. And to go against every stereotype of in-laws, I really get along well with the family that inherited me. This was a trip comprised of one family (Bill, Fran, Brent, and Kevin) that has become three families (Bill, Fran,) (Brent, Ashlee, Will, Sam, Ike) (Kevin, Jenni, Lexi, Aaron, and Eli). And although our ages and upbringings make each of us individuals and we see and deal with life differently at times, we are a family. And it is our love of Jesus and for each other that makes us the same and that love made this week great. So thank you Bill, Fran, Kevin, Jenni, Lexi, Aaron, and Eli for giving our family a really fun time and some wonderful memories.