Back to Life

 The last day of the trip, we saw this beautiful rainbow over the ocean (Juliet actually saw it first, and alerted the entire family). I took it as a sign. All week we talked about having another baby. I worry constantly that there won't be "enough" -- time, energy, patience, money, space. It seems like everyone I know has 2 kids. Then I imagine being older, and only having 2. Chris and I have always wanted 3, and I've sometimes wanted 4. I keep watch at airports, grocery stores, restaurants, and sporting events constantly, looking for families of 5. Most of them look happy and well adjusted. We agreed to try for the third, and I took this rainbow over the ocean at the end of the week to mean it would all be okay. 

We got home in good time. We left Corolla at around 6, and the girls slept until 8ish. They did great on the way home watching movies and chatting in the car. We wanted to be home for our town's fireworks, which we attend annually with Aunt Renee and family.We made it with an hour to spare. We were in the car for about 14 hours, which included stops for breakfast, lunch, gas, and potty breaks. 

We were so glad to make it home for the fireworks. It was very motivating for Leah and Juliet to be good in the car. We got home, showered, and packed up some champagne and juices boxes for the fireworks. Aunt Renee brought us a pizza and bread which was SUPER appreciated since we were starving. We all had fun watching the fireworks and enjoying being out of the van. And, Juliet didn't puke on the way back, though she kept telling us she was going to, just to torture us, I'm sure...

Sisters!

 It was so nice to have all of the sisters together for the week! When I was a kid, I would cry all the time because I hated our age differences. I was the "kid" and hated feeling left out. My mom always told me there would be a day where it didn't matter. She was right. 

Matilda Jane's Summertime Dress

 It's no secret that I love to dress my girls. It's a fun little hobby that we share. I got into Matilda Jane about 2 years ago. This dress was my holy grail of MJ dresses. With days to spare, I finally found the correct size (at an appropriate price) for Leah. One of my goals for this trip was to get a picture of both girls in the dress on the beach. After we got back to the house, we heard the ice cream truck. Hannah was nice enough to chase it down. In the middle of the street, I pulled off the girls dresses so they weren't immediately ruined with ice cream truck ice cream, which always seems to melt and stain faster than regular ice cream. 

 Juliet insisted on holding the doggy during the pictures. We went with it. The doggy was her souviner from the trip. I promised the girls if they did well during our 24 person family session, and stayed clean and did their best to look at the camera and smile, we would get them a souvenir. We went to Super Wings, where I ended up with a hermit crab for Leah and this doggy for Juliet. And then Juliet got super mad that she didn't have a hermit crab and made her Daddy and Mom take her back the next day to get one for her, too. It ended up working out, because apparently hermit crabs like company. 

 Juliet happy to escape from the photography session. She is running back to our beach house. This year my Mom treated our family, and paid for the lion's share of the house. It was an amazing gift. When we first arrived, Leah kept running around and looking at our amazing views saying, "It was so nice of Grandma to do this for us! Thank you so much!" We loved the house. It suited all of us well. It was such a special week for the ENTIRE family, every sister, every grandchild to be together. I had so much fun, and didn't realize how relaxed I was until we got home and I had to go back to the real world (which, as a teacher, on summer break, isn't saying much!). 

 A better view of the house and Juliet. The triangular point of the house was very nice, especially at night, as we went walking out on the beach. We could always find our home!

 Theses sunsets were amazing!

OBX Memories

 Juliet cracked me up in the mornings. I was so worried about all of us in 1 room, but it was totally do-able! Leah slept on the floor on Juliet's mattress and Juliet slept with us. It honestly worked out well. I had originally thought of having Leah sleep with her cousins, but she wasn't comfortable being on another floor, away from us. And, honestly, their sleep schedules are so different, that I think this worked out best. It was fun to pile in the bed every morning and cuddle as a family.

 This trip Leah was really into practicing her gymnastics. She was moved up early to the next instructional level at her gym. She is the smallest one in class, sometimes by far, but she is determined. She loves to do gymnastics, and has no fear of flipping over or trying something tricky. Yesterday I was trying to help her practice and did a cartwheel, for probably the first time in 10 years. It was bad. But, it made her laugh hysterically. She says dance is her true passion, but she flips, somersaults, and does cartwheels at every chance she gets. We will see!

 Our nephew Trevor is really coming into his own as an athlete. I can't believe how much he has grown and matured since our first OBX trip 5 years ago. Chris prides himself on being fast, so after a few cocktails, I arranged a race. Peter, Trevor, and Chris all participated. They ran about 75 yards. The first race was a photo finish, but Trevor emerged the winner. Go Trevor! Trevor also won the second race. It was so fun to watch! I'm proud of Chris, who has 15+ years on Trevor, and kept it competitive! Peter did awesome, too. It was all in good fun, and I hope to recreate the race in a few years. Chris will be practicing!

 Second Race, action shot!

 Auntie Renee was very helpful in the swim lesson department. She gave Leah and Lucia swim lessons every day. We saw Leah become much more comfortable in the water. Lucia actually learned to swim on her own! I told Leah that this is the summer she learns to swim. She's not totally on board, but I am determined. We plan on going to our neighborhood pool regularly once it warms up a bit more.

 Leah and Juliet had so much fun giving Hannah make-overs. They loved doing her hair and trying on her glasses in the evenings. 

 The last day Leah wanted to jump in the ocean and have me take her picture. We had to be super safe and stay on shore because some a-hole fisherman caught a sting ray in his line, then cut the line, so there was a fighting-for-life, pissed off, sting ray right where we sat and played every day. Auntie Nicole had a wrestling match with a string ray earlier in the week when a wave pushed one into her. Both parties were pretty freaked out, and Auntie Nicole walked away with a pretty big scrape on the back of her leg. Then, we're pretty sure the fisherman's bait attracted a small shark because we saw a dorsal fin circling the area for about an hour (and, no, it was not a dolphin). After some serious side-eyes and loud talking about how inappropriate it was for him to be fishing at 10am in an area that is full of families and little kids wanting to swim in the ocean, and how we were not appreciating the half-dead sting ray and possible shark, he packed up his things and left. I don't mind the fishermen in the early morning, or evening, but prime beach time for families is pretty ridiculous. 

Our Try at Beach Pictures

 Typically when we do these vacations, we get a photographer to come and take family pictures for us. This time we elected to do it in house. I like how they turned out, but I almost wish we would have done the photographer. I was sweating hardcore by the end of the session. I didn't want anyone to be disappointed, and I felt like I didn't "know" my camera enough to make the quick decisions required while trying to take pictures of 24 people before the sun went down. My sister Madeleine was armed with her camera, too, and we made it work. Madeleine has much more experience, and does an amazing job at staying calm and collected (and taking great photos!). We had the same camera, and she knew how to change and adjust things quickly. We couldn't have done it without her! I am a worrier by nature, and just felt slightly stressed out by the whole thing. Of course, I would have felt a little stressed, too, if we had gotten someone else.

The nice thing about doing it ourselves was that we could pick the day. We chose one of the cooler days about 1/2 way into the week. There were no bugs and the sky was pretty. Also, everyone had a nice tan without looking like they had overdone it.

I love this series of all the grand kids. It was so cute to see them interact all week. This group is so nice and loving and helpful and I am so, so glad they are my family. 

 We tried to get a picture of the littles. Gigi kept wanting to squat. 

 We got a few cute sisters pictures, too. 

 We also got a nice family picture! 

 Love the sky in the background!

 My Achilles heal was trying to get a picture of just my 2 girls smiling and looking at the camera, and actually looking like they are having fun, not just slapping on a fake smile. It was hard. I think Madeleine took everyone else's pictures during 1/2 the time I worked at this. I was a sweaty, cross mess by the time we were done. I shook it off with some wine after getting back to the house, though. 

 This pose was spontaneous and I love it so much. 

Our Oceanfront Wildlife

 There was a fox den of the cutest little foxes right in front of our house. The first night we thought they were feral cats. Google told us differently the next night as we watched them wrestle. What's really funny is the first night we were all drinking and one of the foxes walked across the deck and into the outside shower. I debated going to catch it (how I love cats!), but stayed with the beer. I could have held a baby fox and quite possibility got assaulted by the mama. I'm glad I refrained! 

We had a lot of fun watching the cubs play at night. This little guy was staring up at us for quite a while. We were all in awe!

 We also went crabbing several times. Leah was really excited by it. She loved pointing the flashlight at the crabs and holding the light while Daddy caught them. Juliet didn't want to risk a crab running across her feet, so she always insisted on being carried. 

 I don't think Chris has ever been sexier than when he is hunting crabs! 

 Chris got some fighters this trip. He actually got pinched, too. I've never seen a ghost crab fight. Their noises and movements are super interesting. It's like they're doing tai chi. He worked hard to catch them humanly, without  hurting them. But, he liked the challenge of the big ones. We always released them after catching. 

 The last night we brought a crew. Auntie Renee was a rock star holding Juliet. My hands were free, and I was actually able to catch a crab! It was so fun!

Many nights had storms at night. It was so cool to see the lightening on the horizon and see it break in pieces through the sky. 

Lucia's Birthday Party

 Lucia got to celebrate her birthday while we were in the OBX. To commemorate the occasion, all the little girls got dressed alike. It was so ding darn cute. Lucia got some nice presents and a cake!

 We tried to get a picture of all 4 girls, but it was pretty hard. Gigi wasn't sure what to think about the sand and preferred her mommy. There were also killer flies out that night, so everyone was swatting flies away and panicking that they were being bit. Lucky for us, it was the only evening that these flies were out. 

 The older kids were so helpful with pictures. Juliet wasn't too sure about Peter at first, as she doesn't see him as much as the cousins that live locally. She kept asking about "that curly haired boy", then calling him Peeta. Juliet really liked him by the end of the trip, and would always want to know where he was. They had a lot of fun hanging out with all their cousins.

 We had our 4th annual water balloon toss. Chris and I hoped to reclaim the title, but didn't. We were either top 3 or 2nd place, though. It was a fun night! Leah and Juliet had a lot of fun tossing water balloons, too. They didn't place, though! 

 I like these family pictures, though! And I am wet because the last balloon exploded on me!

OBX- First Few Days

 This trip went so fast. I was trying to think of specific memories from each day, but it was hard because they all ran together (which is the sign of a good vacation, in my opinion!). Here are some of my favorite pictures from the first few days. The girls LOVED the beach. Each girl had their position, and that worked out best for each of them. 

We kept our typical vacation routine. Eat, play on the beach, play in the pool, lunch, kids down for a nap/rest time, C and I sit on the beach or pool and have a few cocktails (or this time we played baggo at lot, which was really fun!), then play with the kids (usually in the pool), then dinner, then drinks with family. We also went crab hunting several times, which was pretty fun, too. 

 I love this picture of Chris and Leah. Another guy at the house next door had the same swim suit, and we had great fun pointing out Chris' twin all week. 

 We collected A LOT of shells. We've got a few projects planned for them!

 One day Chris, Terry, and Leah made a pretty awesome sand castle. The day before had been the last Game of Thrones (which Chris and I don't watch), so Uncle Terry was calling the fortress names that didn't mean anything to us. Leah went with it and had a lot of fun with the construction. 

 Leah wanted a family picture with Grandma, too. I think it turned out pretty good!