Over the past decade, my family dynamic has changed. Either through step family or through acquiring in-laws, we have slowly evolved into a different family than we were 15 years ago but in the best way. This has also changed our family vacations, causing for our small crowd of 4 to grow to a crowd of 12.

This past week, Matt and I got to spend the entire week at Carolina Beach, NC with my family and the thing about having 12 people vacation together is that it means something different to each person there. How we all vacation is very different. Some like to relax inside while some spend all day on the beach. Some like to go out and seek adventure while some enjoy staying close by and relaxing at the house. 

No matter what it meant to each of us individually, we still came together collectively at moments to build some great memories together. We kayaked to Masonboro Island, watched some of the U.S. Open (sorry, Serena), played some competitive games of Bocce ball, woke up early with coffee to watch the sunrise and the list goes on.

At the end of the week, we all sat around the table together and shared our favorite memories of the week. Each person reflected on something different, however you could tell by each story that we all had one thing in common, we all had a great week. We could all appreciate that we got to come together as a family and spend quality time together – whatever that meant to each person.