oh, it's totally the unwritten rule.

when you're the mom, you rarely find yourself in pictures with your kids.

you are the chosen one.

photog, that is.

and that's ok, in a way.

until you sit back and wonder... "if i look back at these pictures fifty years from now, where does it show that i was actually part of this vacation?"

but if it was my hubster's job... there just wouldn't be any pictures.  it is totally the unwritten rule that it is my job to chronicle any photographic events in our family's life.

the only shots i have of me this year are literally the family shots.  even then, i totally clash.  with all the hoopla of getting the kids clean and together, the hubster changed AND shaved, and everyone in a good mood -- i forgot i needed to change.  

at least we all look ... together.  isn't that what a family is supposed to look like?

we had such a wonderful trip, the kids especially.  chris had to leave for a couple of days for summer school, and thankfully one of those days it thunderstormed ALL DAY LONG.  but it was worth it because we got to see this cool rainbow right from our living room:

i am so blessed to have married into such an awesome family.

they aren't just good people, they are fun and FUNNY people.

there's a lot to be said for that combination.

this, my friends, is my adorable niece, Gaby.

she stole my heart this very moment.

ok, so she stole it for the bajillionth time, but i thought it was too precious to pass up.

see, papa bear benefits from mama holding the camera.

actually, he hates having his picture taken.

but he'll love it in fifty years, i'm sure of it.

my boy.

i didn't see much of him last week.

knowing he was having the time of his life with his cousins made it bearable.

because he is the ultimate co-snuggler.

Anna Marie Horner commented on this last week, and I'm seconding her opinion.

the humidity provided by the beach made for some mighty foggy lenses.

it was annoying 99% of the time.

but then i get a shot like the one above - cool enough that i could find something to like about the fog.

but barely.

here are three cousins taking a break after some serious crabbing.

those suckers are scary.

the crabs, that is.

well, sophie, too, when she doesn't take a nap.

men folk doing what they do best.

man talk.

cigars.

and fruity little beverages.

i jest, i jest.

i'm sure it was cold hard Jack.

here are the girls getting their airbrushed tattoos.

i find it quite ironic that they do this at the beach.

i don't find it ironic, however, that they wait to tell you why it's ironic that they do it at the beach until AFTER you get them airbrushed on.

1. No swimming for 2 hours.

2. No sunscreen anywhere near the tattoo/space EVER.

3. Any amount of sunscreen will take the tattoo off within a day.

4. With proper care the tattoo can last up to 10 days.

bitches.

$10/TATTOO!

no sunscreen?

we're at the BEACH and they have baby skin, for cripes sake!

thanks for waiting until i had no choice but to shell out $20.

i suggest to the rest of you... use the good old fashioned tattoos you adhere with wet sponges.

watermelon at the pool.

schweet.

their lives were perfect this day.

we were lucky enough to have a movie theater in our beach house.  yeah, i know.  i can't make this amazingness up.

the chairs were uber comfortable, as you can tell.

this little boy was tuckered out -- and he was happier snuggling with the chair than with his mama.

because, don't you know....

"Mom!  I'm a man and have armpit hair!  I don't cuddle!"

{until we got home from the beach and he was all up in my bed, of course}

but for the record, he has no armpit hair.  he does have armpit stank, however.

cousins.

best friends for life.

and after life.

not "forever."

that's for girls.

mandatory rest time every day was the key to survival.

even my almost-eight-year-old benefited from it.

this is what his rest time consisted of.

sounded good to me as long as it meant i could get my mandatory rest time in, too.

dolphins. suntans. and fruity coconut rum drinks.  i'm not sure it could get any more perfect than that.

all i have left to say is this...

thank you, Masoudis!

we love you forever.

xoxo,

the hamakos