Memorial Day

Even though Mom, Elena, Kayla and I had just spent the weekend at the beach for a Mother/Daughter retreat with our church, the wonderful temperatures and fun ocean enticed us to make the drive back and spend our Memorial Day holiday there. The beach is always a favorite of our family; the kids love playing in the waves and making sand castles, while the older ones enjoy soaking up the rays or taking a little nap on the soft, warm sand. Our close friends Randy & Pam joined us and brought along their six children so we had quite the crew! It was such a fun day and the kids had a blast.
While we enjoyed the fun, we also experienced quite the scare. Esther and Emma had been playing in the sand with their friend Brooke and they wanted snacks, so we sent them down to the water to wash off their hands and then come back. Five or so minutes went by and Esther and Brooke had come back, but Emma was no where to be found. For the next fifteen minutes, we were sent into a state of panic.. we had no idea where she was and all I could see was the monstrous size of the ocean surrounding us. There were pretty serious rip currents that day and all I could think of was her getting a little to far in the water and being swept away. The Chapman family's tragedy had just happened a few days before and was looming over our heads. It was probably the longest fifteen minutes of my life and I'll never forget when Randy came walking down the beach towards me saying, "We found her."
Apparently, Emma must have gotten separated from her sister and friend when they went to wash their hands and instead of heading back towards us, she kept running down the beach looking for us. Some alert grandparents noticed her running down the beach at a very fast pace, with no one trailing behind her. So they decided to follow her and see where she was going. They saw the look of caution on her face and asked if she was lost. They said she kept pointing down the beach and saying her family was that way, when in reality we were on the opposite end. It was clear to them that she must have gotten confused and couldn't find us, so they headed towards the lifeguard stand. Just about the same time they were making their way towards the lifeguard, Dad and Randy were there reporting her missing. WHEW!! We are so grateful that Emma had her guardian angels protecting her that day. The rest of the day was still fun, but after our scare, we made sure to keep a closer eye on the kids!

Asher couldn't be any happier than splashing around in the water

I see modeling in her future.

Building sand castles

Grant

Naptime

Brooke, Brenna and Emma