Hello Wild Dunes

We arrived in Wild Dunes on Sunday afternoon and MT, Dick, Tony and Sydney were waiting for us. Soon Rich, Lori and Tanner arrived and we all got settled into our wonderful beach house.  We had three floors to enjoy, all with beautiful views of the ocean and beach.  

Our house is on the far right

The view from our deck

After unpacking and checking out the beach we headed to dinner at one of our favorite local spots, Gilligan's, for their yummy all you can eat shrimp.  Thank you, Dick!

Time to have fun - the gang's all here!

The next morning Uncle Tony and Aunt Lori went on a run with the kids...just because we're on vacation doesn't mean they can stop summer conditioning for their various sports (although this was the only morning that some of them made it out there - yes, Sarah, I'm talking to you!).  While it was warm out already, the winds were strong so running along the water kept them all nice and cool.  If only it was like this when you run in Kentucky!  

Uncle Lumpy was in charge of making pancakes this morning, and he couldn't resist adding some M&Ms.  He didn't eat any of course, but they were a hit with the kids (and maybe some of the grown ups).

He wants one of these griddles on our stove now

Sweetening things up

After breakfast Tanner taught the gang how to play "Slap Uno".  This became a favorite game of the week!

Uno!

Soon it was time to head to the beach.  We were getting the remnants of some storm (Hurricane Debbie maybe?), and the winds were high the whole day.  High winds meant high waves, and we all tried our hand at boogie boarding throughout the day (mercifully there are no pictures of me when I tried - it was ugly!!).  

When the waves got a big too rough, Uncle Tony and Syd decided to hang on the beach and play some ball.  Didn't take long for John and Tanner to find their way over there.

Our first day on the beach was a great one (other than our refrigerator not working - thanks Tee Tee for waiting for the repair man all morning!).  That night we grilled steaks, hung out and watched the Olympic swimming trials, and even got to visit with Taylor via Skype.  

Taylor, can you smell the ocean??

I went to bed that night with the windows open...there is is nothing like going to sleep to the sound of waves.  More pictures tomorrow!