The annual trip to North Carolina's Outer Banks!! Three families ventured down to the Carolina coast for long overdue R&R!! Dinner the first night we were there - shrimp and crabs!! YUMMY!!
BEACH TIME: The kids LOVED the beach this year. Last year with Luke's broken leg he wasn't allowed to go in the salty water or get sand in his cast so he was only an observer. This year he was a full participant! Our daily schedule was to hit the beach by 9am, stay for a few hours then head back to the house to swim in the pool until nap time, and go back or on an adventure in the afternoon.
Sand castles, huge holes, snacks, sea shell walks, looking for crabs, surfing, swimming, jumping waves, and chasing each other was how the kids spent their beach time.
Mom and Dad were still very active participants in the kids beach time. We would love to sit down and read a book, rest, people watch, or actually have a conversation and we tried but we never seemed to get more then a few pages read, a few thoughts expressed, or just about to fall asleep before being asked, "Can we go swimming in the deep water??" or "Can you help me build a huge castle??"
Looking for crabs was Luke's favorite. The water was warm so there were some blue crabs to be found as well as sand crabs and also the "ghost crabs" that run around the beach digging holes.
But don't feel too bad for us, the kids did play with each other and we also had "nap time" to rest. Each day the kids slept from 1 to 3 hours while Dave and I enjoyed drinks, naps, and conversations either on the lower shaded deck or on the upper sunny deck. We managed to find our relaxing time too!
The pool was AMAZING!! The kids loved it as did the adults. It is a saline pool so it was soft on your eyes and skin and the temperature was perfect.
Cora preferred the pool over the beach. She is getting better and better at swimming!
One of our evening adventures was to Jockey's Ridge. It is the largest sand dune on the East coast. Our mission: to fly a kite!!! We stopped by Kitty Hawk Kites and picked out two easy flying kites and were on our way.
The walk out to the dunes was a little tough but nothing they couldn't handle. We found a spot where the kites wouldn't hit anyone if they crashed and set them off.
Luke was amazed at watching hit pirate kite fly away and loved letting more and more string out. Cora wanted to do other things besides watch her kite, good thing I always have bubbles in my bag!!
The sunset from the dunes was beautiful! The sand on the dune started getting cold as soon as the sun went down. It was an interesting transition from the sand in the middle of the day that nearly burns your feet!


Dave and I took turns sleeping in the same room as the kids. They are not used to sharing a bedroom so the fact that they could talk to each other made it more of play time then rest time. Also, Luke talks in his sleep. He talks A LOT. He talks about once or twice per hour. Really it is yelling! The discussions he has with himself range from happy to sad to yelling at someone. Unfortunately, he will often continue his talking if he is left alone, and since we have others to consider, we decided it would be best if one of us was there to wake him up before he woke the rest of the house.

On one of my "night's off" I woke up early (even woke Dave up too) and we headed down to the beach at 4:45am to watch the sunrise. It would have helped if I would have looked at what time the sunrise was... because by the time the sun did actually pop up into the sky it was almost 6am! OOPS!! ;-)
I was happy I waited and then stayed on the beach. It is very peaceful this early in the morning!! I love watching the pelicans and dolphins, the people running or walking their dogs, and just listening to the waves. This is my "happy place" I visit in my head when life is too stressful to handle!
Dave and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary by having a kid-free dinner. We walked about one mile to a restaurant where we heard the food was delicious and the sunsets were breath taking.
We were not disappointed. Our food was fabulous, the drinks were flowing, and the sunset was perfect! A wonderful evening.
Back to Jockey's Ridge on our last night, this time with ALL the kids. One last view of the sunset, one last flying of the kite, and one last trip to an ice cream store. A great way to end the vacation!
The kids enjoyed rolling, cart-wheeling, running, sliding, and falling down the dunes.
I don't know where they got the energy from because I was tired after walking up the dune just once!
In this picture: Back row - Luke (2), Cora (4), Brianna (5); Front row - Reagan (7), Madison (10), and Micaela (9). These kids did a great job. There was bickering and tears and over tired moments but overall, they were wonderful.