We (especially I) HATE the trip to the Outer Banks. A trip that should only (and I use that word while I roll my eyes) take 7 hours to drive will usually take 12 if you leave at any sensible time, like 6 or 7 am. So, this summer, in an attempt to out fox the traffic, we left at 2 in the morning. Yes, it was dark and we'd only slept about 3 hours--but we did beat the traffic and made the trip in 6.5 hours. Hot dog!
It was great to vacation with Andrew and Rachel since it had been many years since we were able to do so. Liam enjoyed his first trip to the beach.
Kate was a real champ this summer, too. Last summer, if you recall, she despised the beach with every bit of her being. But this summer, she enjoyed the sand and the water.
We had an unexpected treat when, on the first day, we ran into old friends from our Philadelphia days. Brad and Elizabeth Smith, along with their kiddos, were vacationing just a few blocks south of us.
Joost was glad to (re)meet Bradley. Their friendship on the beach was invaluable to all adults. There is an amazing amount of energy in a 6, almost 7, year old boy's body. The two of them had fun keeping up with each other, while the parents and grandparents were able to sit and relax a bit under umbrellas.
On Wednesday, it was a bit cooler and grayer, so we took a trip to Kitty Hawk and visited the Wright Brother museum and monuments.
While at Kitty Hawk, the kids had a fun time flying kites close to the place where the first plane flew.
On Friday, Joost celebrated his birthday. Thankfully, I remembered to pack his gifts (minus the basketball stand that we thought might be a bit bulky to fit in the van.) He enjoyed his day with an early morning bike ride with my mom and dad, time on the beach with Bradley and chili, corn on the cob and Texas toast for his birthday dinner.
It was really great to have an extra week of vacation this summer--having Jeff all to ourselves for a full week. And it was great to be with my whole family. What a blessing to have so many wonderful people in my life.
1 comment:
Great photos! How cool to run into the Smiths! And my family still has that yellow and orange cooler! It went along on every single vacation, picnic, baseball game, zoo visit...
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