Final Days at the Beach!

It's amazing how we spend six months preparing for a vacation and anticipating all that we want to do while on vacation, but then the time finally arrives and within a few short days it is all over. The last few days of the week are the pits knowing that within hours we will all be saying good bye.

We could not have asked for better weather (not what we have experienced in past years). We didn't have any problems, illnesses, or accidents. Just a week full of FUN!

Just a few random photos to show our final days at the beach:

Shae with Rhaegan and Marlee watching Tyson run

into the ocean.

I thought it was interesting, the couple (Krista/Josh) who

do not have their own children ,yet, had

5 of 6 nieces/nephews with them.

Does that mean aunts and uncles are more fun than

mom and dad?

Auntie Krista reading a book with Allie.

Can't leave Snarky and Rowdy out of the blog.

It was a lot of fun having them with us. The

grandchildren really enjoyed them. They are very

well behaved dogs.

While visiting Ocracoke Island we stopped at the

"Teach's Museum" which had artifacts and information

about Blackbeard, the pirate.

It is amazing the Civil War, WWII and pirate history that

occurred in the Outer Banks.

Uncle Nick's sand castles are a legend and each morning when

we arrived at the beach he would be in the middle

of a new creation. It was so hard for the little ones not to

jump and destroy them. But they also inspired some creativity:

Tyson spent all morning building his own "Sand City"

He labeled each building.

Another tradition we have had for the past 14 years going to the Outer Banks is to go to a restaurant called Top Dog for our final night's dinner. This very small cafe is known for their hamburgers and has been featured in many magazines and food programs. Their food is outstanding. The following are just some random pictures of our "last supper" the night before we left for home:

Allie enjoying her lemonade

Krista anticipating her food. We were all

starving, but the wait was well worth it.

Nicholas and Sam, doing what?

Josh keeping Tyson occupied

Rhaegan and Paige drawing pictures

The rest just waiting...

Thanks family for a wonderful week. Can't wait until we are all together again, hopefully it won't be too long.