Winterhoff Beach Week 2017

I'm late in posting these pictures from our annual Winterhoff Beach Week, but it sure has been fun looking back at such happy memories of our time at Rehoboth Beach, DE in August.  Each year seems more and more fun as the cousins get older.  They have such a good time together, and have established wonderful traditions that they remember and look forward to every summer.  Thanks to Bean and Poppy, the beach memories that their boys made vacationing with cousins have been carried on to the next generation, and this week together is a gift for all of us. 

One of the best parts of Winterhoff Beach Week is, of course, the beach!  Each morning, our crew of 14 would go to the beach and meet up with the aunts, uncles, and second cousins who were staying in the other two beach houses.  The kids all LOVED the waves and the sand, and spent hours playing at the beach.

 We saw dolphins several times, and one morning, they were very close to us: 

 Maya (who now is the tallest Winterhoff girl!) has a passion for volleyball and patiently gave some pointers to her younger cousins this summer: 

Donut Day with Poppy is another tried and true beach favorite.  These special mornings included a sweet treat on the boardwalk and the chance to climb into the lifeguard chairs on the beach: 

Donut Day became even more fun when the boys ran into Uncle Matt and Alexis on the boardwalk and caught a ride on their bike!

Here are a couple more pictures of these sweet cousins enjoying Boy Donut Day:

Girl Donut Day was also a much anticipated, exciting morning for these four cuties (who looked SO tall on the lifeguard stand this year!):

Crab Night at the beach has also evolved over the years.  There was a time when only one member of each family participated in Crab Night (Brian, Anika, and me), but gradually, these children turned into crab eaters, and Crab Night was a full-fledge party this year!

Speaking of parties, this year at the beach we celebrated Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bob's 70th birthdays.  This was a fun, evening family celebration with games and Minion-themed cake and party decorations, which the kids thought was awesome!

We had one rainy morning, which turned out to be one of our favorite days, as Alexis brought all the supplies to make slime.  She taught her cousins how to make two different types of slime, and this was a huge hit!

There were also lots of books, puzzles, and games to help pass the time.  Cousin Bingo with Bean and Poppy was a favorite, too! 

The highlight of the afternoons at Winterhoff Beach Week was Funland.  The kids loved the rides and arcade games, and won stuffed animals and prizes which they often gave to their younger cousins.  Watching these dear children share with their littler family members made us so proud of their generous hearts and giving spirits:

One evening at the beach consisted of our annual family baseball game.  It's always Kids vs. Grown Ups, and somehow, those lil' sluggers seem to win every year!

We also marveled at the sand castles on the beach during an evening trip to the boardwalk to get ice cream:

After a full, fun week at the beach, it was time for us to continue the next leg of our vacation and drive to upstate NY.  This is what happens when you try to leave Winterhoff Beach Week one day early:

So much love in this human chain!

It was another wonderful beach week, and such a special time with our family.  We are so thankful for these summer Rehoboth traditions and for happy memories together!  Thank you, Bean and Poppy!

Reunions

Over Labor Day weekend, we drove to Baltimore for a reunion with my college friends, the BBs.  We gave ourselves this nickname freshman year, and all lived in the same dorm.  5/6 of us studied abroad in Venice together, we were roommates/suitemates/housemates for our entire college experience, and have been each other's bridesmaids and best friends for over 2 decades.  We made a pact 20 years ago that "BB Kids will play together" and our reunion last week was the first time that all 13 BB children were together.  Our husbands are nicknamed "BB Coaches", and BB Emily & Coach Michael graciously hosted all 25 of us in their house for a wonderful weekend of family fun.     

According to the BB covenant that was created in college, there are several things that BBBs (BB Babies) must do:

1.  BBBs will play games together:

Chess Masters.

Hungry, Hungry Hippos.

This is what bowling with 6 families looks like!

Bowling Buddies.

2. BBBs will make memories together:

BB Emily was VERY brave to allow everyone to make slime in her basement!

3.  BBBs will have sleepovers:

Movie Night!

After all the kiddos went to bed, the grown-ups had a fancy dinner and stayed up way past our bedtimes catching up and visiting:

We look EXACTLY the same as we did in college, right?!

"Official BB colors" are tie-dye and clear, and the kids made their own tie-dye shirts on Sunday morning (another ambitious project for 13 kids ages 9 and under): 

Next, we walked to the park to play a game of BB Kids vs. Parents baseball:

Team BBB!

BB Emily & Coach Michael inflated their bounce house in the front yard in the afternoon, and the kids enjoyed a gorgeous day jumping and playing with their new friends:

All BBBs wearing their tie dye shirts and bouncing together!

 Sunday evening was our disco party.  Leah absolutely loved this, and whispered to me, "I wish every weekend could be BB Weekend!"

The next picture makes me laugh.  While we couldn't drag the younger kids off the dance floor, the two oldest BBBs (George & Luke) sat in the corner, and wanted nothing to do with the disco.  I think they may have been a bit mortified at their parents' and siblings' embarrassing dance moves...

They are only 8 & 9 years old, but look like total teenagers here!

On the day that we left for BB weekend, Leah told her teacher that we were going out of town "to see all of Mommy's friends and coaches from college..."  I wonder how confused her teacher was!  We had such a great weekend with these girls who have been such an important part of my life, and loved watching the next generation of BB offspring form bonds together, too.  

While we are reminiscing about reunions, we recently spent an incredible weekend in Albany, NY with Daddy's high school friends/groomsmen and families who are dear to us.  We drove to NY after our Rehoboth Beach trip in August, and were able to be a part of a special birthday weekend for a beloved family friend.  It was a joyous celebration, and no reunion of these buddies is complete without them rehashing tales of their high school mischief together.  We all love to hear these stories and sometimes shake our heads in amazement.  It's good to know that these boys' parents survived their teenaged shenanigans, and they all turned out to be very good eggs indeed.  

These 3 have been friends since their elementary school days...

And here they are with their children!

We had lunch on Saturday with another of Daddy's good friends, and loved our time with the Svare family:

 On Saturday afternoon, we visited Saratoga Race Course, which is one of Mark's favorite places.  He took me to Saratoga Springs to watch horse races many times while we were dating, and I admit, it's a very "cute" place.  We love the old-fashioned feel of the race track, the grounds are lovely, and spectators still get dressed up in fancy outfits and don Derby hats.  This was the kids' first time watching thoroughbred horse racing, and explaining the whole betting process to them was interesting.  We aren't big spenders, but both kids ended up "winning"... Luke was up 75 cents at the end of the day, and Leah gained 40 cents!  

L&L got to give high fives to one of the jockeys, see the horses up close, and we met up with another of Mark's best friends and his family at the track.  Unfortunately, I have no pictures of this, but I did take one of them drinking the "lucky water" at Saratoga Racecourse.  Mark tricked me years ago by telling me how delicious the water is that comes out of the mineral springs in Saratoga (it is carbonated and very metallic tasting), and we had fun watching the kids' expressions as they tasted the water.

On Sunday, we worshipped at the church where Poppy was the pastor for 30 years, and saw many family friends who have known Mark since he was a baby.  We pointed out the parsonage to L&L, and told them that this was the house where Daddy lived as a child.   As we walked into church, I heard someone whisper, "What's the name of the tallest Winterhoff boy?".   There is a running joke that every time Mark goes back to NY, people ask him if he has gotten taller.  After church, we began our drive back home, and reveled in the happy memories of our NY reunion weekend.

How lucky we are to have so many special people in our lives, who fill our hearts with so much love and make reunions so much fun!