The Beach ~ Sunday and Monday

We had a great vacation (with kids, trip is probably a more appropriate word) on the Outer Banks of North Carolina last week!  We are back home, mostly unpacked, shelves restocked, laundry partially completed, and pooped!  Since there always tons of pictures to accompany such a fun time, I'm breaking our week up into several posts.

We left Sunday, July 8th for our week at the beach.  I think no matter how much you get done the night before, there is still to much to do the morning you leave.  We made it out on time and traveled to my parents'.  We like to follow them so that we can all eat together.  This also gave me another chance to feed Sam before the longest portion of our ride.  Once we left there, Barney DVDs kept Avery fairly quiet so that Sam could nap, but he didn't sleep for long.  This leg of our trip took a little over 2 hours.  We stopped once for a screaming attack from Sam, and then the tears came and went for the last 30 minutes or so.  At one point he had gotten all quieted down, and Avery had to growl because we went past the Grave Digger.  Needless to say, everyone was happy to see Sonic.

Even though my parents' little Lily wasn't with us this year, we still carried out the Sonic tradition, which I think is just as beneficial for restless children as it was for Lily.  We then had another 30 minute or so ride to the beach, and we checked in a little after 1 p.m.  Sam took a short nap once we got there, but I don't think Avery did the same.  Ned and I ran to the grocery store for a few things, and we had dinner at the cottage before putting the kids to bed.  Sam continued to struggle going to sleep at bedtime and Avery had some tears because she's still scared of storms at night.

Sam and Avery were up early Monday morning, but everyone slept through the night so I didn't complain.  My dad cooked breakfast and Sam took his big morning nap.  We headed to the beach once he was up.

(What a difference between point and shoot and SLR.)

By the time we got everyone ready and to the beach, Sam was just about ready for another nap.  He is one who prefers his sleeping space and a nice swaddle for sleeping, so I didn't have big hopes for napping on the beach.   Thankfully, it was cloudy, so I didn't feel bad walking at the water with him, and that and some bouncing finally got him to sleep for a short nap.  We came in for lunch and naps, then Ned and my dad went back to the beach while my mom and I stayed with the kids.  I dozed on the couch for quite awhile because I was just feeling exhausted.

Dinner that night was at our favorite, The Lone Cedar.  It was delicious as normal, and I was so pleased that there were no issues since this was the only meal I really wanted to go well.  By the time Sam was ready to get out of his seat, I was just about done eating.  When they sat us at our table, they put a starfish on it, and Avery was convinced it was Sandy the Boo Boo Starfish from Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  She was also convinced it was hers, and it was not.  Luckily, the gift shop had a very overpriced Boo Boo Starfish for Avery to make her own.  And then who could turn down a Boo Boo Starfish book from a local author?  She ended up with several of these books before the week was over.  We walked out by the water before heading back and putting the kids to bed.