Corolla, North Carolina

This summer we did a big family trip in Corolla, NC in the Outer Banks. Mom was so gracious to rent a beach house for us all and it was so nice! The house and location were beautiful. It honestly was the best few days we loved every bit of it. 

Our walk to the beach.

We got there a day before the Strattons so we went to check out the beach that evening. 

We couldn't get Bonnie out of the water.

Morning snuggles

We had a beautiful beach morning that day. 

We spent the afternoon in the pool at the house. 

Family dinners

Uncle Chris and Rosie let Riser help flip pancakes.

Bonnie, the animal lover.

All the kids loved boogie boarding. Bonnie discovered it this year and wanted to be in the water all day.

Riser is not as enthusiastic about the water, but liked being held and telling me where to go.

The water temperature was so nice! And we had a great little sand bar near us.

I wish I could find the picture of me and the yellow boogie board around this age.

One evening Jesse and Rachel came to visit with their nephew. 

They were a big help to us finishing the puzzle.

Ice cream!

The house also had a movie theater that the kids loved. Riser is still talking about that and the bunk beds they got to sleep in with Ben and Rosie.

It was a fantastic trip with so many new memories made! Thank you mom!

4th of July

The weekend of 4th of July this year happened to fall during a pretty intense heat wave. It was honestly too hot to be outside for long. We didn't have any big plans because it seemed like most people were trying to stay inside as much as possible (including us!)

In the morning we decorated the kids' bikes for the neighborhood bike parade. 

Then we took a page out of our childhood book and laid out a tarp, a sprinkler, and some dish soap and let the kids turn it into a big slip n slide.

That evening we went to a neighbor's house who was throwing a big July 4th party locally. They had bounce houses, a band playing, food trucks, and fireworks.

This were throwing back water in large quantities all weekend.

It was a fun day despite the heat - happy birthday America!

Silver Beach

Last month we took the kids to Silver Beach on the eastern shore. We stayed at the same house as last year, and 11 years ago. We went for a long weekend - one day we had great weather and the other day was mostly rainy. We made the most of it and had a great time.

The kids' favorite part was ghost crab hunting every night. This made for some late nights, but was well worth the memories. We also met another family with a 6 year old girl and 4 year old boy that were visiting. They became fast friends. 

We took walks, searched for shells and hermit crabs out on the sand bars.

Riser dancing to the music in his head. 

We went kayaking and used the crab pot to see if we could catch anything. The water was pretty choppy one day. 

We caught all these! They were delicious. 

The kids caught hermit crabs and enjoyed making them their temporary pets.

We went for long walks.

And enjoyed the sunsets.

The kids flew kites. 

And we took advantage of the last morning we had before packing up. 

We love this place!