Summertime

We had a fantastic summer full of travel and fun.  The blog was neglected a bit and I hope to get it up to date over the course of the next week or so.  The first big trip of the summer was to Nags Head, NC with some of our old friends.  We missed the Shucks being there but were so happy that Aria Maria was born healthy albeit quite a bit early.

The kids were excited to begin the journey.  We stopped a couple of times on the way down to break-up the 12 hour trip, first at Jenny's and then at a hotel in Virginia.  The kids traveled great.

This was the first night, which was one of many when we went "crabbing".  The kids had lots of fun catching the ghost crabs at night and the sand crabs during the day.

This is the beach house that we rented (#212 Tides Inn at MP 17.9).  It worked out perfect for our crew.  Actually, we rented this same house, with many of the same friends, in 2005.

Initially we thought that the trip might be cursed.  Shortly before leaving Cooper passed away, the Shucks weren't able to make it with the birth of their premature daughter, and Lily broke her arm the day the Farrells were leaving.  Thankfully once we made it to Nags Head, all went wonderfully.  The days were mostly filled with hanging out at the beach.  Here are a few of the many pics that we took throughout the week. 

Grant was quite brave and enjoyed playing in the surf throughout the week.  Gracie was a bit more tentative but started enjoying the ocean toward the end of the trip.  She often wouldn't get her toes wet without someone holding both her hands.
 

The weather was beautiful all week.  We decided on one particularly hot day to go to the lost colony in Roanoke.  This is Grant waiting patiently to watch an informative video about the colony. 

Last year Grace loved the hot tub and I don't think Grant got in it once.  This year both kids loved it.  Grant got comfortable dunking underwater and after returning home, was much more confident in the water.  

On Wednesday, at Jon's suggestion, Nate, Jon, and I chartered an all day fishing trip from the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center.  It was awesome!  In addition to fighting some fish and getting some food for the freezer, we got to see a shark, some flying fish, and tons of dolphins & pilot whales.  It was quite the trip.  Grant and I are the seafood eaters in the family and both love the mahi-mahi and the tuna.

It was an incredible trip that we hope to repeat in the not too distant future.