Outer Banks 2013

We are finally getting caught up enough to blog about the fun side of our wonderful trip to Kill Devil Hills, NC.  It's my most favorite place on Earth besides home, and I love the anticipation before we leave.  This year of course would be different because my parents would not be joining us for the whole week.  We reserved our cottage last year on the day we checked out, not knowing what the future held for my mom.  She was not up to a flight of steps just to get in the house, so my parents planned to come on Thursday and stay in a hotel.  It was different and of course we missed them terribly, but I think we made a lot of good memories with just us early in the week.

We left last Sunday morning, July 7th, around 9:30 a.m. and had a good trip down.  Sam slept for a bit and Avery watched a movie.  We drive two vehicles with lots of stuff and I had the kids.  We got to our traditional Sonic stop just before lunch.

We then made our way over the best bridge in the world to start our vacation.  We got checked in and put Sam right down for a nap.  We let Avery rest on the couch since my in-laws would be stopping on their way home.  After their visit, I went to the grocery store.  We had dinner and then walked to the beach for a few minutes.  Everyone was ready for bed, even if they didn't know it.

Monday morning called for a box of these beauties from Duck Donuts.

The light brown frosting is peanut butter and they are to die for.  Ned and I both agree that Duck Donuts beats Krispy Kreme hands down.  We may have eaten donuts on 4 mornings during our stay.  After a quick nap for Sam we hit the beach and had a fun time.  We returned to the house for lunch and naps, and Ned went back on the beach for a little while.  That night we went to The Black Pelican for the Wanchese Fisherman's Risotto featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  I tried it last year and it became a favorite before I ever saw the show.  The kids did not eat much but were well-behaved.  We had some fun on the deck before bed time.

Tuesday morning was cloudy with a little rain so we went to the aquarium after Sam napped.  Avery loves the alligators and the shark tank, and for the 2nd year in a row, the scuba divers were in the shark tank.  That's a hit as well.  Sam just took it all in.

It was too close to lunch to get back from Manteo so we ate at the Pizza Hut there.  The kids took naps when we got back, and I went to the beach.  We all headed to the beach when they got up.

We played on the deck and in the yard before putting the kids to bed.

Ned and I thought it would be nice to have a calm meal, so we got take out from Awful Arthur's after the kids went to bed.  It was calm until someone shot fireworks and sent Avery into a massive breakdown.  She wouldn't stay in her bed and I lost several good mommy points.  Thank goodness we can get good crab legs at home too.

We had a good beach day on Wednesday with time out after morning and afternoon naps.  We got take out again from Awful Arthur's but ate while the kids ate.

We went out on the beach Thursday morning after Sam napped.  My parents arrived just as Avery was waking up from her nap that afternoon.  They stopped by for a few minutes and we visited in the driveway.  That night we had dinner with them at another favorite, The Lone Cedar.  It threatened rain all before dinner, which is so hard on my mom and dad when they need to get in and out of places, but it held off.

We squeezed in a few pictures as the first drops began to fall.

A little golf got things started Friday morning.

We took the kids to swim at the pool at my parents' hotel so that they could see them playing.  We left their floats at home but Avery did well with her "poodle."  We didn't get a float for Sam, and he liked the water but kept shivering, so he once again ate a lot of snacks.

That night we all planned to go to Capt'n Franks but it would pour rain on and off.  My parents decided not to get out so we went and ate and took them their food.  After visiting with them we threw caution and bed times to the wind and went out for ice cream.  I'm not much for messing with schedules but occasionally it's ok.  And I remind myself that all too soon our vacation nights will be much later and probably much more expensive.

On Saturday morning I took Avery to swim again while Sam napped.  We hurried back to get on the beach but found it much too windy.  The sand was blowing terribly and neither child was happy.  We headed in early for lunch.  Avery said she would go back "when the beach wasn't so sandy."  Instead of trying to get back out after naps, we decided we would do a little shopping that we hadn't gotten to do.  We made a quick trip to the outlet mall and made Avery very happy with some "gym" shorts from Gymboree and her very own Rainbows.  We left and Ned stopped at another store to surprise me with this.

After our fun 4th of July I looked for a Pandora charm to help remember it.  I found this beach ball and thought it would be perfect for the 4th and the beach.  As far as the beach goes, it may symbolize more of a survival but that's ok too.  We stopped at a shoe store and kids' store {where I snagged a Christmas outfit for Sam} before going back to the house.

We always have Papa John's pizza on our last night, and we were able to do still do that with my parents.  We all ate at the picnic table under our cottage and had a great time.  The kids played in the yard after they left.

Ned and I squeezed in some more deck time after the kids went to bed then got busy with some packing.

We got up Sunday and did our best to pack up and clean up while keeping Sam out of everything.  We had to load the dishwasher with the 20 or so kitchen utensils he dug out to play with during the week.  We checked out a little before 10 a.m., had an early Panera lunch back in Virginia, and got home just after one.

While we did have a few bumps along the way, vacation was wonderful once again this year.  Like I said, it's my favorite place other than home.  That's not because it's fancy or we do fancy things, but because we have so many memories and traditions along that bit of ocean, and every time we go back we add many more to the collection.  We are already booked for next year and I feel confidant I'll have recovered by then!