FORT BRAGG BEACH DAY

So all of the Hancocks wanted to get together for a reunion this year and we talked it around a bit but then nobody did anything about it....until Than and Erica did. They took the notion and ran with it. He booked three campsites as soon as he could and said..."I have three booked. Whoever can come, should come." He immediately contacted everyone and told them the days and then hoped for the best. He kept everyone notified of plans by email and pretty soon it caught fire and we had a reunion. Everyone came!!! Than and Erica were the spearheads of it though and even went so far as to plan out the menu and the food and we did a food lottery. I think that worked out fabulously too. Everyone had their few meals to cook and clean up and provide the food for and when it wasn't your turn, you could just sit and relax and visit. This is going to be a two part post because of its length. This was the day of the beach. It was beautiful weather the entire time we were there....a first for us at Fort Bragg. No fog or moisture at all. It was great. Here is this cutie pie digging in the sand.....Claira Belle.

The kids got together a baseball game. It was so fun to watch all of them play together. I think Shauna is cheering for Ben here.

Here is Ben probably admiring his hit instead of running to the bases like he should have.

These two little girls crack me up when they play together. It is so fun to watch them and listen to them. They get along really well. The little spitfire and the class clown.....both very loud.

There is nothing cuter than a little boy in overalls and a red shirt. I loved to dress my boys like that. I tried very hard to get a picture of him and he was never cooperative. He was in heaven at the beach. Free to roam as much as he wanted. We could relax our watch on him a little....he is a wanderer.

Speaking of wanderers, you can't let this little one down at all at the beach. She heads straight for the sand...with her mouth. It is nasty and sends chills down me like fingernails on a chalkboard. Candy was kind enough to hang with her for part of the time. We pretty much had to take turns holding her so she wouldn't eat the sand. But she is a cutie...sunburn and all.

Apparently, another one who likes to eat the sand....why??? What is the attraction? It can't possibly taste good and the thing is, they don't just do it once and think, "Hey, this isn't all that good!" They continue to do it over and over. But I finally got a picture of his face.

Another one who loves the beach. And another one who likes to wander.... so it is nice to be able to let down our constant watch for him and relax a little at the beach.

What a cutie. She sported THE look at the beach and at the campground. Ballerina bathing suit and pink cowboy boots....usually with one butt cheek hanging out a little. For her, it is all about looking good and fashion.

She is another one who doesn't like her picture taken. She and Camry get along great and are another two that I love to eavesdrop in on their conversations.

The oldest grandchild and the oldest of the girl gang. I love to watch her and Camry together. Camry doesn't have an older sister so she loves the attention she gets from Heidi and Heidi loves to hang out with her too.

Chris is always a good sport to hang out with the kids and build sandcastles with them. And his castles are not ordinary sand castles. You can tell that he is an engineer when you see them. There is exactness and precision in them. But he is patient with the kids who don't quite have the same standards and blueprint as he does.

Just a cute picture of Daisy.

And the building continues.

I have the next two pictures backwards, but that's okay. This is Erica looking very humble and modest about her hit. I am sure that it was a home run.

And this was the pitcher, looking very handsome and athletic in his pink salmon colored shirt.

One cute beach bum.

I love this picture of Blake with his one foot up going after the ball. If there is a ball anywhere around, he wants it.

The big Bocce ball tournament. They all look very determined and focused.

Daddy on Gentry watch.

Just relaxing and watching the ocean and drinking a soda. My favorite things to do at the beach.

Becca, Kyle and Preslee. So we had three dogs at Fort Bragg with us. Two of them were Bassett Hounds ..... Preslee and Dinah (Joe and Candy's dog) and one Shih Tzu, Maggie (Kaylee and Chris' dog). It actually worked out pretty well with all of them and didn't seem to be a problem at all.

Another one that is camera shy and it drives me crazy. As soon as I get my camera out, she turns around so I was happy with this picture of her.

Getting ready for a family picture and trying to round everybody up.

Still not quite there yet. Erica has the only good picture of all of us and if I knew how to steal a picture from her blog, I would steal it because I would love a copy of it.

Becca playing with the kids. All of the mothers said how nice it is to have a sister who doesn't have kids yet because she will still play with them. She does their nails and she and Kyle play endless games of hide and seek with them and kickball. Thanks Becca for all of your help. Sam was a lot of help with all of the kids too. He was always willing to hold one at any time. The kids played in the road a lot and even though it scared me, it all worked out fine. They loved riding the bikes that Kaylee and Chris brought. One thing to remember for next time is to bring more kids' bikes. They loved it and their were a few squabbles over whose turn it was to ride them. We had several adult bikes there too and they were always willing to let the kids tag along on their bikes.

The cool thing about this trip was that Grandma and Grandpa came and spent a few days with us. They stayed in a motel but came and hung with us all day long. It was great having them and having them get to know the great grandkids a little more. Carolyn was the same Carolyn and didn't want to be left behind on any of the activities in spite of the fact that she has to use a cane now. She went down to the beach and went for a long walk along the water. I hope that I am like her when I get that age.....I am not even that way now....who am I kidding!!

The men holding the babies. Chris with George and Sammy with Gentry. Everyone was more than happy to hold the two babies who can't walk yet. I don't know how those pictures ended up together and I can't get them separated now either.

G-ma and G-pa. Thanks for coming.

This last thing is a video and I have no idea if it uploaded right or not. The picture on the blog looks kind of creepy though.