Vacation 2014

Our annual "family" vacation took place this year on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Seventeen people (10 adults, 7 kids ranging from age 4-10) gathered in one large house. Close-knit friendships spanning years--decades in some cases. It's been an annual tradition for a while now. Typically, we gather for a long weekend. This was the first time in five years that we've gotten together for a full week. Loved being surrounded by these wonderful friends for a full week--and the boys loved being around all their honorary aunts, uncles, and cousins!

 The guys who started it all

Water activities were the theme of the trip. A quick walk (or drive, depending on how much stuff you needed to carry!) got us to the beach. A pool in backyard satisfied water adventures with the benefit of no sand :)

 Owen in the huge hole the kids all dug on the beach

Doing his best impersonation of a beached whale??? Regardless, this kid LOVED the sand and was typically covered head to toe, thus necessitating a full body hose-down outside when we got back to the house.

Brennan has always been a reluctant swimmer. He loves the water, but we struggle to get him out of the 2-foot area. Until now. I think watching the other kids swimming helped build his confidence because he quickly took to the water like a water bug! He spent hours (no joke) in the pool paddling and floating his way around. So proud of this little dude!

We took some time to do some sightseeing while we were there. We visited Jockey's Ridge State Park one morning for some kite flying and dune hiking. This park boasts the tallest sand dunes on the East Coast. A popular activity is kite flying. Once we got to the top of one of the dunes (hiking up a sand dune is not as easy as you might think), we pulled out our kites and let them soar.

Our second stop was the Wright Brothers National Memorial.

Models of their early aircraft

Owen and Julia listening to "beautiful music" (as Julia described it) in the gift shop

The actual memorial located on the top of the hill where they did thousands of glider flights prior to the first powered flight

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was our final touristy stop. It's the tallest lighthouse in the U.S., and we climbed all 257 steps up to the top. Spectacular views and great exercise to boot!

Me and my honey at the top of the lighthouse. It was a bit breezy :)

Finally, a few random shots to cap off the week:

Ladderball with Aunt Kate

Corn hole with the guys

A fun feature of the house was an arcade game that the kids (and adults!) got plenty of use out of.

We were able to catch a couple of pretty spectacular sunsets on the Pamlico Sound side of the island.

Fire Station

There are so many reasons why we love our preschool. One of those reasons is the summer playgroup, where twice a month we can connect in a somewhat structured way with Owen's preschool pals. This morning, the playgroup took a tour of a local fire station. Given how much these boys love fire trucks, this was a perfect outing for them. The fire station was also located right next to a park, so they got some fun outside time and a picnic lunch before heading home to cool down (it's supposed to be near 100 degrees today!).

Year of the Wildlife

Never before has our backyard been such a hub for all things wild! First came the carpenter bees, attracted to our wooden swingset. Completely unwelcome guests. What felt like hundreds (and maybe there were) came surrounding the set, drilling into the wood and dive bombing anyone who came close. A ton of bug spray and some surprisingly fun take-downs with a tennis racket seems to have dispatched all but a couple of diehards.

Then came the woodpecker, creating some pretty substantial damage in said swingset in its desperate attempts to get at the carpenter bee eggs. Still attempting to figure out a good way to dispatch the woodpecker (short of death, which I have since discovered that it is illegal to kill a woodpecker--but after seeing what the blasted bird has done to the swingset, I like to think of that as more of a "guideline").

Then came the baby rabbit. Cute, but decided our garden was its own personal salad bar. After chasing the rabbit out of the yard (on a Sunday night in our pajamas, no less!) and patching a few areas in the fence, the rabbit appears to have found a new location outside our yard.

Today, as John was mowing the lawn, he discovered our first welcome guest in the yard:  a box turtle. Teddy the Turtle was relocated to a wet patch of the yard (what has been deemed as his own personal swamp), but is scared to death of two very over-zealous boys fascinated by the turtle. Poor Teddy may end up getting relocated to the front flower beds where he can either make his home or have a chance at some freedom.

 Owen with Teddy. Poor Teddy is fearfully encased in his shell, not sure what to think about this little boy's loving and curiosity!

Teddy in the VERY wet patch of our yard, which now may need to be renamed "Teddy's Swamp"

Speaking of all things wild...Brennan has finally learned how to pump his legs on the swings! It was a long time coming, but he is so proud of this accomplishment--and we are too!

Buddies

Owen is our little extravert. He loves being around people. Ever since preschool ended, he's been eager to have a friend over to play (especially since Brennan has still been in school--his last day is this coming Friday). This morning, he got to have his little buddy Colin come play. We've known Colin's family for a few years and Colin was in Owen's preschool class. The boys had a blast playing together and  Owen got some much needed extravert time.

Good

We recently heard about the burger chain, Mooyah, from our friend Chris. It sounded so good we needed to head to the nearest one in Williamsburg to try it out. Absolutely worth the drive. Fantastic food. Great atmosphere. If there is one near you--check it out!

 LOVED the cow artwork!

To make the most of the drive down there, we walked around Colonial Williamsburg (which was conveniently located only a few blocks from Mooyah). It made for a nice, spontaneous outing on Saturday.

Town stocks!