the reunion

you know, there are perks to being terribly behind in posting on this blog.  now that it's almost december, i figure what better time to share pictures of our annual family reunion at the beach than now?  as i sit here shivering with a space heater at my feet, i can relive those warmer days of sweltering in the sun and riding the waves.  and most importantly, i can revisit my niece and nephew when they were not yet four months old -- after just having seen video footage of one of them crawling.  time flies ...

the youngest generation: nick (3 months), liam (9), kate (3 months), susanna (8), reilly (8), laurel (4), and teddy (2).  missing was dexter (who celebrated his first birthday while we were there) and billy (who was just a few weeks old and couldn't make the trip -- which was a wise move, given the shenanigans)

the house we rent has a pool on the front deck, which was a huge hit.  i tried my hardest to get a shot of the four big kids all jumping in simultaneously ... and finally gave up

activities included family games of baseball (there's susanna at bat) ...

... and the annual beer tasting competition, with my brother-in-law richard defending his title yet again

aunt mary and uncle ron put together an elaborate treasure hunt for the kids, complete with clues scattered throughout the two sides of the house and outside

success! as the girls unearthed the treasure at the end of the hunt

on our final day, we noticed a huge crowd gathering at the ocean's edge, following something en masse -- which turned out to be a shark.  they extracted a huge fish (seen here) that was half mauled and bloody.  needless to say, we were happy it was the final day

kate is only 3 days older, but was already showing nick what's what

ohmygosh that sky

all 26 of us who could make it ... missing only 5.  anyone want an official atkins family reunion shirt?  they're selling like hotcakes