Family Vacation in OBX - Last one

The weather was beautiful all week, except on our last day in which it rained for a good portion of the morning. We had been to the local aquarium so we decided to take the kids back to kill some time in the morning. We got there right around when they opened which was perfect because it wasn't too crowded yet. 

 

The kids were really excited and ran from exhibit to exhibit to check everything out.

 



Different than the last time we were there was an outdoor dinosaur walk that had authentic looking dinosaurs that were moving and making noises. Colin was not a fan but we still had a nice walk nonetheless. 



 

On Friday night, we took the kids up to the beach to do our traditional "writing in the sand" to mark our time on vacation.

 

Kailey had also been begging us all week to fly a kite so we made the attempt but failed miserably. We just couldn't get the darn things up in the air despite how windy it was up there. I think Kailey was more disappointed than anyone.

 



We really lucked out and got back to the house just before it started to rain again.

 



 

It was such a fun week that on Saturday morning when it was time to go, Kailey was NOT happy. She cried for a long time after we left and she still talks about it today.

 

It was a week full of happy memories!! We are so thankful to my parents for making it happen! 



Family Vacation in the OBX - Part 2

The really great thing about the house we stayed at in the OBX was that it had a nice pool in the backyard.  After spending a few hours at the beach in the morning, we would have lunch and then spend all afternoon by the pool. The kids had vests that allowed them to be totally independent and typically Cody would nap for a lot of the time we were out there. We had a LOT of fun at the pool every day. 

 

One of Colin's most favorite things to do was to jump in, or watch everyone else jump in. We had a lot of fun with slow motion video taping while everyone would take turns jumping. 

Cody loved the pool but did not enjoy the baby floaty thing we had for him. He was much happier to be more "free" (someone holding him) so he could be more active.

Once the kids were settled in bed each night, the rest of us would typically spend the night playing games together. We are big fans of Heads Up!  

 

 

 

 

 

One of the downsides of vacation was having to take Colin to urgent care because he had started with a cough right before we left that seemed to worsen a bit while we were there.  He had moments where he was acting normal and then other times were he just was off, taking long naps, and just not himself. On Thursday, it just got to a point where we just wanted to make sure it wasn't something more serious than the cold/cough it was (it wasn't) so we took him to get checked.

 

 

 

 

The one thing we achieved this vacation was a lot of hanging around without any urgency to go anywhere or do anything. 

 

 

Family Vacation in the OBX - Part 1

A year ago, shortly after my Grammy had passed away, my family started discussing taking a family vacation together. We settled on the Outer Banks and actually ended up in the same house Chris and I had stayed in with friends two years ago. Now that our family has spread out a bit, it's pretty rare that we are all together too often, so it was an opportunity for that to happen.

 

We left early Friday so that we could get down to Virginia. The kids were pretty good on the way down but were definitely happy to get out when we arrived at the hotel. 

 

After dinner and a swim in the pool, bedtime actually went relatively easily for having all 5 of us in the same room.

It helped that my parents were down the hall so we were happy that we could spend a little time with them before bedtime.

On Saturday morning, we left early so that we could get onto the island before any major traffic. The day was a LONG one though because we didn't get into the house until close to 4 and keeping occupied proved to be a bit difficult.

After stopping at the visitor's center, we took a ride over the Wright Brothers Museum thinking it would be a good way to kill time, just like we had done in the past.

However, since our kids were off schedule, had been in the car for a long time, and it was hot, this was not the best idea. Instead of walking, they both needed to be carried and it proved to be way more work for Chris and I.

This is not the most flattering picture of myself, but this was on the way down, the wind was blowing my hair in my sweaty face and I was hefting a 40-something pound little boy up and down what seemed like a mountain.

Once we were finally settled in the house, we could relax a little bit, BUT, bedtime that night for Colin and Kailey (Colin especially) was a nightmare. It took HOURS to get Colin asleep, but he had also slept for a long time in the car that afternoon and was in a new place with new sounds that he couldn't quite get used to. Thankfully the bedtime routine improved over the course of the week.



After a crazy and long first day, it turned out to be a really enjoyable week, especially on the days we were all together.

 "Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family." - Anthony Brandt

 

Typically, we would spend about 2 hours at the beach in the morning. We were all a tad bit nervous with the shark sitings that kept popping up on the news, but it didn't stop us from having a good time nonetheless.

 



It's always a little bit hard taking the kids out of their home and normal routines, especially for a week, but once they got settled and into a new routine, things got a little easier.