The second half of beach week

The second half of our beach vacation roundup. Amanda arrives!

Almost every morning we spent at the beach, I would get up early, lace up my shoes, and head out to pound the pavement ... er ... sand. It was a little ridiculous how much I was looking forward to my morning runs, even before we got there. The first morning, I tried out a paved path not on the beach, but every day after that, I ran on the beach. It was awesome. Such beautiful views. And, I could take as long as I wanted because the kids were not going to be home alone. When  I got back to the house, I would sit on the porch, watch the ocean waves and wait until I semi-dried off.

Some mornings, I would read while I waited for the sweat to dry. Yup, that is the life. 

Wednesday was a very exciting day, as it was the day my best childhood friend and her daughter were coming to join us. Amanda lives outside of Charlotte, NC, now, so when my mom said we had space open in the house, I asked Amanda if she could come spend some time at the beach with us. Growing up, when we would go on vacation to the beach, we were sometimes allowed to bring one friend along. My mom thought it was easier (and way more fun!) for the kids to each have someone to play with. I always brought Amanda. So, needless to say, I was beyond excited when I found out that she could come. Her daughter, Mallory, is only a year older than Molly, so it was going to be great fun all around!

On Wednesday morning, before Amanda and Mallory arrived, we discovered some boogie boards in the laundry room of the beach house. We had been wanting boogie boards all week, so this was a very exciting discovery.

Cory helping Molly float on a boogie board. Floating is pretty much all she did on it. She didn't really understand the whole "ride the wave in" business.

Jake named the dragon on his boogie board Ocean. It was a little confusing to hear "Ocean knocked me down. Ocean hit my leg," until I was told about the naming of the boogie board.

Some moms and their kids. Amanda and Mallory arrived.

I wanted a super beachy picture. Instead, I think I look like I came out of the 40s. Oh well.

Mallory and Molly hanging out on the boards. 

Mallory figured out how to ride the waves, though.

Gathering water to work on some sand project.

Molly and Cory heading back out into the water.

A week at the beach (part one)

I'm splitting this into two parts because it was just that awesome. Oh, and there are about a million pictures. 

I grew up in North Carolina. And, many of my childhood vacations were trips to the beaches of North Carolina. My mom would rent a beach house, then us kids would spend a week splashing in the ocean and digging in the sand. I have lots of memories of spending time at the beach, including my one-and-only trip to the ER for stitches. (Darn you sharp-tailed sea creature, I still have a scar!) But, despite the emergency room visit, I still loved going to the beach.

Obviously, living in Kansas hasn't afforded us nearly as many opportunities to beach it up. Especially having kids. But, my mom had a big birthday this year and wanted to celebrate with a big family trip to the North Carolina shoreline.

So, July 14th, we packed everyone up and headed to the beach. My mom rented a house again, and 16 people were going to be staying in it. Many of those 16 people chose to drive to the house in Emerald Isle, NC, but we decided to take the easy way with two children and fly.

My dad also flew with us because he had decided to have neck surgery two days before we left, and didn't think it would be wise to drive. I'm not so sure flying was that smart, either, but he made it there and back and is still alive, so I guess it turned out ok. But, that explains the neck brace in all of these pictures. I promise, my dad's fashion sense is iffy at best, but not that completely crazy. :)

Molly, Charlotte and my dad after getting off our tiny plane in New Bern, NC.

We rented a car and drove from New Bern to Emerald Isle. The girls were dying to see the ocean. It was both of their first times to see or be at the beach. So, after unpacking, we immediately went down to check out the water.

Such a great view from the deck of our beach house.

Sea shells!

Our beach house is the one on the right. We were majorly intrigued by the monolith on the left. We finally did some cyber-stalking on it and discovered that it rented for a mere $11,000 a week. 

Some girls and their dad.

Whee! My feet in the ocean.

Having fun.

The girls then decided they needed to be in swimsuits.

Molly loved being in the water.

Charlotte decided the sand was more her speed.