BLOMPS at the Beach 2018

If you've read this lil' ol' blog for any amount of time, you probably know that we refer to my "side" of the family as BLOMPS. My mom married my stepdad almost 17 years ago and, along with my stepbrother and stepsister, there are now six siblings in total and between the six of us, fourteen kiddos ages 8 and under. <3 

You also probably know that I LOVE kids; so, I am pretty much in heaven when I get to go to the beach each summer and be surrounded by not only my Lu Crew littles but also my many nieces and nephews. Similar to our trip with my "in laws side" of the family, when we venture to the beach with BLOMPS, we all pile into one big ol' house and it makes for a loud and crazy, chaotic and exciting, super-duper fun week. Are we worn out by the end? Yes. Are we thankful for the time spent and memories made? YES. 

A look back at our week in Crescent Beach, just outside of St. Augustine, Florida, and a few of my favorite memories from BLOMPS Beach 2018: 

The cousins/nieces/nephews. It was kiddos, kiddos, everywhere, and we loved every minute!

Making the most of it, weather wise. The weather was hit or miss. Pop-up showers, and a couple downpours, throughout the week, but we still got in some good beach time every single day. And when the rain came, so did the indoor fun! Game time, porch-side inflatable poolin', and a double birthday ice cream party for two of the sweet BLOMPS babes. 

A visit in town. Mid-week, my Lu Crew headed into beautiful St. Augustine and had such a fun time visiting the quaint, historic town. There was the stop at the cutest coffee shop, a trip around the historic battleground fort, a visit to the pirate museum, the devouring of yummy gourmet popsicles, the window-shopping of all the fun shops, and the souvenir buying for our little tourists. It was a great day!

Grown-up time. Yes, the 14 BLOMPS kiddos dominated our attention during the day, but we made plenty of room for adult time, too! - golf for the dads. Breakfast for the moms. Beach runs and beach reading. Nightly porch laughs hysterics. Catch Phrase competitions. Bucket Ball battles. Beach fishing. And so.much.more. Man, we had a blast together!

Boat ridin'. Then, there was the day my sister and brother "in law" rented a boat to take some of the big cousins out for an adventure. They had the BEST time! And I got in some good beach time with my littlest duo in the meanwhile. <3

Karaoke. My hub made the best purchase the morning before we left for the beach - this awesome speaker that, after being charged, allowed for 50 hours of speaker time. It went to the beach and blasted tunes each day, allowed for adorable karaoke opportunities all week, and provided the background soundtrack for our grown-up porch time every night. So, so fun!!!

One last 2018 beach trip with my Lu Crew. And of course, I enjoyed every second I could get with my Lu Crew peeps when they managed to peel themselves away from their cousins. <3 This was our last family trip of the summer, and I loved having all SIX of us there, together, this year (at this time during last year's trip, we were mailing off final adoption paperwork from the beach and anxiously anticipating the five days we would have between the time we returned from the beach and the day we left for China!). 

It was such an awesome trip with people we love, and we are already looking forward to next year's adventures. Thanks for the fun, BLOMPS Beach Week. It was one for the books!