OBX 2013 - So Long Until Next Year

On our last morning at the beach I remembered that I hadn't taken a picture of my kids with their names in the sand yet.

Someday I will make a book showing the progression of all the beaches they have been on in their lives.  OBX 2013 wasn't our best shot, but they are full of personality.

She wrote her own name this year.




Most mornings beachside started off with them splashing at the waters edge.  Growing bolder and heading further out into the surf with every inch the sun gained on the sky.


Then while Camden busied himself with the rake and seaweed, Riley ran laps between TG and I.






I hope she always loves to run as much as she does now.

The sun finally started to warm things up and TG took them both out for a swim.


Camden loves to hold our hands and jump over the waves.

Riley retreated to her towel to suntan for a bit. I'll admit, I love that she's content to sit still for a while in the sun with me. She even borrowed Gigi's ipod to listen to some tunes while she lounged.


Camden joined the party too.


With the kiddos finally subdued and distracted, Hubs took off for some boogie boarding time with his family.


Brother and Sister boogie boarding time!

It wasn't long before Riley realized that they were surfing without her.

She was not happy she couldn't go out there with them.  Thankfully Gigi was waiting and they looked for shells together.


"Hey guys, what about me? I play too?"

He got some Gigi snuggle time in first.

Before playing tag.

GOTCHA!

The weather could not have been more perfect for our last day and we stayed down by the water as long as we could doing more of the same, trying to soak up enough of the Outer Banks to last us through another winter.

We are very thankful that Gigi and Papa take us all together on this trip every year.  Our children love it there and the whole time they are full of smiles and laughter.  Nothing means more to me than seeing my children happy and enjoying time with their family.




Until next year - we love you OBX!

OBX 2013 - Day 5 & 6

Day 5 the sun was shining and the beaches were open again. Hooray!



Everyone was so excited to be back in the water!  After a few hours playing in the surf and boogie boarding a game of splash tag broke out by the waters edge.

'



Gigi and Papa always make sure they get a house with it's own pool.  So after every trek back from the beach we would hop in to cool off and get the last bits of sand rinsed off.  This year my kids loved playing in the house pool almost as much as being down at the beach.  We spent many hours out there practicing swimming and diving.

Camden is still in floaties and loved posing like this with them. I DA HULK!

 Riley is a regular swimming champ and loved trying new tricks, seeing how far she could swim under water, and practicing her jumps.  Mom, watch this jump!!!

She's also an excellent floater just like me and wanted to float with her hands behind her head like I sometimes do.   Look at that super long W family torso!

 Camden started the season off in floaties and by August he started to swim without them for short distances, from me to TG, or from one of us to the wall.  It's yet to be seen if he can float like his sister, or if he'll sink like a rock like his Daddy does.  Either way I think by next year he will be floatie-free swimming!


 

OBX 2013 - Day 4

The beach was closed for a day and a half this year. We heard rumors of rip currents and undertows, but never confirmed. So with the red flags flying we had to come up with other plans.

That's how this happened.   I can't wait to show this picture in a slideshow for her someday.  Love it.

We've talked about renting bikes before, but we always thought they were too young. This year we gave it a go and had a lot of fun circling through the neighborhoods near our house.

Little man was still small enough to fit in the seat on the back of my bike. This is the way we roll - with him literally kicking me in my butt the whole way.

After a trip to the open markets in search of crab legs - I say we make that a tradition too Lolo! - we hit the beach to fly our kites.




I can't remember where I got them, but Camden's kite flew perfectly and stayed up for the whole time we were down there. Riley's kite broke off the string within the first two minutes and flew over the dune and out into the neighborhood. Super dad TG tracked it down for her and we gave it another go by tying it back on, but that didn't work well either. Riley took it like a champ and then Camden offered to share. So we ended Day 4, taking turns with Camden's space ship kite.

OBX 2013 - Day 3

We hit the beach early this day.  Our patch of sand was fairly empty and my kids ran down to the water, splashing and giggling.







I convinced Sassy to stop for a minute and take a picture with me. I just love her sweet face and I can't believe how much she's grown since our first trip to the banks.

Then it was time for more running and giggling.

For some reason, even though my finger is in the shot and neither one of them are looking at me, I love this picture of them.

Camden is obsessed with small animals.  This year he really took notice of the many sand crabs near our spot on the beach.  Every time he saw one, he would yell, "CRABBY!" and take off running toward it.  With some help from TG they were able to catch one and Camden was so excited.

After they released Crabby everyone got to work building a big sand castle.


TA-DA!


We all had a much needed nap back at the house before we got dressed and went out for dinner and shopping.  We ate at Bad Bean Taqueria which has become our yearly dinner out spot.  It was delicious as usual.  I found these two lounging around on the job.


Our house was called Eagles Nest because the whole top floor was open with windows and light coming in everywhere.  Every day that we were there we would all congregate in this awesome sitting area with floor to ceiling windows and a view of the water.  We would play raucous games of Go Fish together, read books (I think I took out 7 while we were there), eat snacks, color and draw, let Papa do emergency splinter removal and just hang out.  It was my favorite part of the house.

So we ended day 3, together in the nest, snuggling.  Bliss.

OBX 2013 - Day 2

Every morning, after breakfast, we donned swim suits, loaded up all the gear and took the short walk to the beach.

Thankfully we had some helping hands this year.

Like our darling surfer girl.


And our little man who has to do everything just like his sissy does.

There was a big storm over night and the current changed bringing in the warmer water.  It was pretty overcast so we were thankful the water wasn't arctic any more.

Camden would not believe that the water was warmer and opted to stay out on dry land.  He got to work building a sand castle.



While Riley played soccer on the sand with Daddy.



Eventually, we were able to convince Camden that the water was not as frigid as the day before.

"I'm coming water!!!"






Meanwhile, Riley was out riding the waves again.

After a bit it started to rain and it was getting chilly down by the water.  We hurried home, took warm showers and ended day 2 snuggled in the big bed watching a show.