a family

so... since this blog is somewhat designed to talk about the coast and "coastal" things, i thought it be appropriate that my first "real" post is about a nice little getaway that i along with joe and my whole family (4 siblings, parents, and a niece and new nephew!) just had. well... i guess i can't really say it was little... considering the amazing house we stayed in (5 bedrooms/pool- and all decked out in restoration hardware- one of my absolute favorite furniture companies). anywhoo... we went away for the week to hilton head island in south carolina... which has become one of my families favorite beaches. besides the "jungle" atmosphere with all the beautiful foliage, the beaches are also breathtaking and quite different than most. the sand is actually quite compact from most places i've been to... allowing you to ride your bike up and down the sand (although not so easy with 30 mile an hour winds, as my family experienced). the place was beautiful, but the best part was being with my family... we hadn't all been together since my college graduation nearly 4 years ago, and by this time we had 2 new additions! (my brother-in-law rodney, and my new cutie nephew ralen... who has the cutest turtle lips you've ever seen!) needless, to say we were excited to get away, and be at the beach... but we were far more excited to all be under one roof again. though we have all grown up (sam, my youngest brother has really grown up the most!), we were still able to sit around and just tell stories and laugh. from the first night when my sister brought out some old pics of us growing up (you'll never find me posting them on here) till the last night when we all ventured out to play a round of mini golf (me missed jen though! she had to go home early)... it was a great time to just be.... well.... a family. and i have to say, it's been quite a while since we've done that.

so here ends my rambling! now for some of my favorite pics...