A few more beach pics.....

In my hurry to blog last night, I failed to include some pictures of Mary Grace, who came down to our condo Friday for a day at the beach with us, along with her mom and dad, Leigh Ann and John. I told John I would have many incriminating photos of him on the blog, but he was well behaved so I have no incrimenating photos to offer!!

As many of you know, Mary Grace and Claire were in the same orphanage together in China. She particularly enjoyed playing in the sand with Jesse, who is smitten with her. The girls were exausted by the end of the of the day and we hope to see them all very soon!
All the other cousins were just as taken with Mary Grace as hey were with Claire!
Mary Grace had a full crowd at her attention, offering snacks and buddies to play in the sand with!

We're Home!

OK, So we're home now and I'm sooooo sorry I'm just now posting. We had a bit of trouble with sleeping arrangements this week, as Claire did not like sleeping in her pack and play AT ALL!! She was unconsolable, so we had to rock her til she fell asleep, whick took about 1 hour.After that we would put her down in the pack and play and she would wake up around 2am screaming because she had no idea where she was. Anyway, I never had a chance to sit down at the computer after she went down to blog. So forgive me, as I have included many pictures tonight! Other than the sleeping thing, we had a great vacation. I should call it a trip, because Lance and I decided a vacation was something you take WITHOUT the kids!..... We stayed on the beach all day every day and were blessed with the most wonderful weather. Lance enjoyed golf one day and took Jesse and Peyton to Waterville one afternoon but Claire and I could be found at the beach at almost any given time!! Enjoy the pictures and will post again real soon. I think I need a vacation from my vacation.....

Love,Gretchen
Claire begged anyone who would be willing to take her into the water. She kept pointing to the water and saying, "I go......"
Sweet siblings

More Beach Pictures as Promised.....

This is a special picture because this is my Grandma with all her Great Grandchildren! There are 9 and 2 more on the way!! All the kids really enjoyed having Great Grandma Hydrick on this vacation with them!


Getting a decent family picture is impossible! Apparantly, just before the pictures were taken, Claire decided to put her hands through my hair and pull away. My family never said, "Hey Gretchen, you have a huge chunk of hair pulled out of place", or "Hey Gretchen, your hair looks a little like you just woke up!" Oh well, the pictures are done and this is as good as it gets! I'll always have the memories of a great trip though!!!
Claire with one of her cousins, Peyton. All the "big kids" were so big to play with Claire and give her attention! Claire thought she was one of the big kids!

Flora/Bama 08'

Claire in the annual "Beach Chair Picture." We have used the same chair every year since Jesse was 12 weeks old and at the beach for the 1st time! Claire loved it!
Beach picture.....we stayed in our swimsuits from early morning til bedtime.....
A sweet moment with the kids taking a break from the ocean.
Claire just played on the last day of the beach til she couldn't go any more. Grandma enjoyed every minute of it!
Uncle Tommy (Gretchen's brother), Gretchen, and Grandma (Gretchen's mom) enjoying the ocean breeze.... Once again, sorry for the delayed post. Hope you all enjoyed the photos! Will post again soon!
Love, Gretchen

Vacation Time....2008!

Well, we began our vacation by stopping off in Prattville, AL at Mary Grace's Home for a lovely cookout lunch! Claire and Mary Grace are from the same orphanage and we traveled to China with Leigh Ann and her good friend Amy! We had a great time and the kids were good and tired when we got back in the car for the rest of the trip! Always great to see Mary Grace and her family!!
Mary Grace immediately took to Jesse, as he did her!
This is what I woke up to this morning! Ready to start their day on the beach!
Claire had a great time on the beach today. She actually prefers the ocean to the sand. She kept wiping the sand off all day and finally gave in and just enjoyed playing in it! She just went from relative to relative for snacks.....

Will post lots more tomorrow!!! We are enjoying lovely weather and company! We have about 50 family down here now and a blast is being had by all!

Love,gretchen

A Homerun for Jesse!

Sadly, yesterday I was so caught up in Jesse's baseball game, that I failed to take a single picture! Jesse stepped up to the plate and cracked his 1st home run last night. I would have damaged the camera if I were holding it anyway, as I was jumping around like a lunatic. The look on his face as he was rounding the bases was priceless. He was chased down from 3rd to homeplate and I swear to you I've never seen my son run so fast! I knew he had it in him! His whole team cheered him on and he was beaming the rest of the game. He also assisted on making an out and that added to his delight! Way to go Jesse!!!! Last regular season game is Friday evening and I promise pictures will be taken.

Will post again soon!
Love,Gretchen

Jesse & The Sea Lion

Jesse and Claire went to the zoo Friday and Jesse found a new friend.......