Sunday, August 31, 2008

todd family vacation – dillon beach, california

all 19 of us got together last month for the annual todd family vacation. we stayed at a beautiful beach house in northern california and had a great time together. the house was big enough to supply everyone with a bed…well, all the adults that is (you never knew where you might stumble upon a kiddo sleeping…like a port-a-crib in the closet). technically dave and i did get a bed, although it was a double futon aka “the bottom bunk.” i guess it is an upgrade from our family vacations growing up. as the youngest child i usually ended up sleeping on the floor if there weren’t enough beds. we had a great time playing and there was plenty of food, noise [9 grandkids ages 9 mo.-8 years old (three 2 year olds) = 7 rowdy boys and 2 girls], games and beach-time fun! all the fun resulted in lots of pictures, so i have left a ton off the blog (believe it or not). i have made a few collages so it isn't too overwhelming (for me or others).

hanging out at the beach house - reading books, playing games ("fast sundae" was a hit with the kids...although sometimes the competition got a little intense and "ticket to ride" was a hit with the big kids...it involved some trash talking), movie morning, wrestling, the ultimate climbing tree in front of the house, smothering brandon, eating, blowing bubbles...

dave’s *constant* companion. it was rare to see him without myles hanging onto him. they were buddies the whole trip.



fun at the beach - the sand was so soft and perfect for hanging out, building sand castles, collecting jelly fish, sea shells and sea weed, reading, beach olympics, frisbee golf, flying kites, a morning jog, digging, putting your head in and exploring...

the walk down to the beach

boogie boarding - thank goodness for wet suits. i still had to muster up my courage to get in the cold water. needless to say we didn’t come home with a tan from our beach vacation.





bonfire and s’mores on the beach







the girls...and we'll get 1 more in october!



grandma, grandpa and all the grandkids



this was one of the best of *many* shots (from many cameras). it's not easy getting all 9 kids to look at the camera...or smile. they sure are cute!



when dave and i got to the airport after the vacation we felt like we had forgotten something...like a kid. after a week straight with lots of kids around it was weird to be just the 2 of us again (although we did enjoy the quiet). can't wait till next year!

3 comments:

k.young said...

So fun! And I LOVE all the pictures. I always put up a ton of pictures, cause I love it!
Looks like a fun vacation!

Seth Jenson said...

Looks like lots of fun! Dave, you are Mr. Photogenic - always posting for Stephanie. Wish I could get Meg to do that for me. ;)

Stephanie, how do you do those cool collages?

Amy said...

Looks like TONS of fun. Was it as chaotic (but fun) as my Burnham Family beach vacay this summer with all those kids? Good birth control, huh?? :) Love all the pics and I need to figure out how to do those big 5x5 squares of pics.