Beach Vacation

Last week we packed up the car and headed out on the road to Myrtle Beach for a Hewitson family vacation with Mom and Dad, Michelle, Connor, Eli, Sean, Staci, and Jackson. Unfortunately, Steve was busy with lawyer stuff, so he couldn't make the trip with us. And we missed him. No, really.

Two days, 7 states, and a few rest stops later, we had arrived. Getting there is half the fun, right?

After spending the first evening settling into our rented beach house, the real fun began. We of course had a pool, and we were right across the street from the beach. I think the kids may still be there.

We did manage to bring home plenty of sand though (in the towels, in the car, in the beach bag, in the our clothes, in our shoes, you get the idea).

The weather was beautiful (excepting the torrential downpours on Wednesday), and it was great fun hanging out with the whole family, relaxing and enjoying each others' company. Especially the Atlanta cousins, who we don't get to see often enough. Below is about as good a picture as you can get of five children ages 5 and under. And Grandpa (A) and Grandma even smiled, too.

We also did some touristy stuff. Family dinners out, mini-golf, the aquarium and the amusement park. Ryan and Connor had a blast on the trampoline/bungee "ride". Here is Ryan's turn. He must have gone about 20 feet off the ground and had a smile on his face the entire time. We ended up outlasting the rest of the Hewitsons at the amusement park and stayed out until 11 pm, finishing the night off with some chocolate Dippin' Dots. Aren't vacations great?

Overall, the kids were very well behaved and treated all of their cousins with great respect. And they were very gentle and quite taken with baby Jackson. Of course, they knew if they weren't on their best behavior, they would find themselves in the stockade:
We took plenty more pictures, which you can view here

The Golden Anniversary

Happy 50th Anniversary Mom & Dad!

You have taught us how to be a good spouse, a good parent, a good friend, and a good person - thanks! We love you!!

We celebrated 50 years of marriage all weekend! Saturday we all went to mass where Mom & Dad received a special blessing. After mass Mom & Dad treated us to a great dinner at Romeo's. We headed to Sharon's later in the evening for some cocktails & laughs - it's rare these days that all of us kids are home together so we pack alot of fun into a short time - I was out till 1am! The next day we had a picnic at Adeline Park (in the neighborhood we grew up in). Lot's of family & friends came by and it was a great day! Here are some pictures from the picnic.

50 Years, 6 children, 13 grandchildren - WOW!!

The Grandchildren:

Dan, Jim, Jon, Mike, Matt, Dylan, Katie, Drew, Abby, Ryan, Gavin, Jess & Isabelle.

The whole Welch family - 28 of us total.

The men playing bocce ball.

Rodney & Scott playing Kan-Jam

Cornhole!

And of course.......Ring Around the Rosie!
Jess had orange soda face!

Jess & Daddy eating cookie cake. It was delicious!
Ryan and Gavin played all day with their older cousins Dylan, Matt and Mike.

They had a blast!!
Here is a picture of most of my cousins. What a crew!