We took our summer vacation this year to the NC Outer Banks. I'm pretty sure it's the first real family vacation we've taken that hasn't involved my parents going with us or going to visit one of our relatives. We had such a good time making memories with our two girls. I wish I could vacation all the time! Our first stop was to Nag's Head for 3 nights. Maddox was immediately ready to go to the beach and wanted to wear all her paraphenalia. Once she got there the water wings came off.
Maddox was a little nervous about the beach. It's loud on this coast, there are lots of waves that crash about 5 times before they come ashore, it's daunting! She would walk in the surf only holding our hands and pick up shells and put them in her bucket. By the end of the week she wouldn't hold our hands in the surf, she was running up and down the beach, and even wanted to sit in the surf. But the rougher the ocean was on various days and places she knew she should stay farther away and hold hands more. In the places where the ocean was calmer she was much braver and independent. She and I would walk for 30 minutes down the beach and she would get upset when I told her it was time to turn around, knowing that the 30 minutes back wouldn't be quite as much fun. If only a car could pick us up when were done, we both could walk forever on the beach exploring shells and critters and people.
I love this huge sports tent. Provides lots of shade and SPF 50 for Hadlee. Unfortunately it does not provide a block from the wind very well if the wind and the sun are coming from different directions. The second day on the beach her face got wind burned. It didn't even cross our minds to think of the wind coming off the water. She was fine though, not a big deal.
One day was kind of overcast and off and on sprinkles so we went up to the Wright Brothers Memorial, Kitty Hawk Kites to buy a kite, and miniature golfing.
It was still overcast and chilly that night but we went to the beach anyway to walk and fly our new kite. On the Nag's Head beach there were tons and tons of jelly fish in the surf and washing up on the shore. Maddox though they were icky and freaked out if she got near one while walking. I kept poking them with my toes to show her they were okay, just squishy. We bought her Jenny Jellyfish by Suzanne Tate (an children's author the biology and shore loving side of me loves) in the hopes that reading about the jellyfish would help Maddox be braver around them. It didn't work, but she likes the book anyway.
Maddox picked out a fairy kite that's pretty cool. The fairy's dress and feet are the tail. Now that we're home it hasn't been windy one day and we haven't gotten to fly it again. She keeps asking though. It's so windy on the beach that it takes no effort to get it in the air. Just let a little string out and there it goes and goes and goes. Maddox and the fairy tried to touch toes with Daddy's help.
A little early morning sisterly love.
We went up to Jockey's Ridge State Park which has 100 foot sand dunes and looks like a desert in North Carolina. It sort of strange to climb the dunes, like nothing I've ever seen before. It made me feel like I was in some desert in Africa you only see in the movies. Until you get to the top and see the ocean and bay all around you.
This picture doesn't make it look like they're climbing a huge hill, but really, it was huge. Maddox had a hard time getting up and going down she was a bit nervous.
Jeremy's leaping to his death off a sandy cliff! Okay, so the sandy hill was right below him, but it looks like he's jumping off a cliff, doesn't it? Especially if I could photoshop out that kid below him.
I tried to get Maddox to make a sand angel with me. She wasn't too keen on getting all dirty. Hadlee apparently wasn't either, she cried while I made my angel.
Fine, if you're going to whine, Maddox, about laying in the sand then I'll just tickle you to death and make you laugh!!
That's the hill we were up on, jumping off of and climbing up. See? Big!
We went to have pizza at this place on the bay. Of course we wanted to eat outside on the deck but the you could see through the deck to the grass about 12 feet below. Maddox refused to walk on it. She'd sort of tiny step along, sure that she was going to fall through, and finally just stopped and made me come get her. It was pretty funny. I'd put her down off the picnic table and tell her to go to Daddy's side and we'd laugh and how long it took her walking like a 90 year old woman. Then he'd send her back to me. With all that she never did get used to it.
Maddox was a little nervous about the beach. It's loud on this coast, there are lots of waves that crash about 5 times before they come ashore, it's daunting! She would walk in the surf only holding our hands and pick up shells and put them in her bucket. By the end of the week she wouldn't hold our hands in the surf, she was running up and down the beach, and even wanted to sit in the surf. But the rougher the ocean was on various days and places she knew she should stay farther away and hold hands more. In the places where the ocean was calmer she was much braver and independent. She and I would walk for 30 minutes down the beach and she would get upset when I told her it was time to turn around, knowing that the 30 minutes back wouldn't be quite as much fun. If only a car could pick us up when were done, we both could walk forever on the beach exploring shells and critters and people.
I love this huge sports tent. Provides lots of shade and SPF 50 for Hadlee. Unfortunately it does not provide a block from the wind very well if the wind and the sun are coming from different directions. The second day on the beach her face got wind burned. It didn't even cross our minds to think of the wind coming off the water. She was fine though, not a big deal.
One day was kind of overcast and off and on sprinkles so we went up to the Wright Brothers Memorial, Kitty Hawk Kites to buy a kite, and miniature golfing.
It was still overcast and chilly that night but we went to the beach anyway to walk and fly our new kite. On the Nag's Head beach there were tons and tons of jelly fish in the surf and washing up on the shore. Maddox though they were icky and freaked out if she got near one while walking. I kept poking them with my toes to show her they were okay, just squishy. We bought her Jenny Jellyfish by Suzanne Tate (an children's author the biology and shore loving side of me loves) in the hopes that reading about the jellyfish would help Maddox be braver around them. It didn't work, but she likes the book anyway.
Maddox picked out a fairy kite that's pretty cool. The fairy's dress and feet are the tail. Now that we're home it hasn't been windy one day and we haven't gotten to fly it again. She keeps asking though. It's so windy on the beach that it takes no effort to get it in the air. Just let a little string out and there it goes and goes and goes. Maddox and the fairy tried to touch toes with Daddy's help.
We went up to Jockey's Ridge State Park which has 100 foot sand dunes and looks like a desert in North Carolina. It sort of strange to climb the dunes, like nothing I've ever seen before. It made me feel like I was in some desert in Africa you only see in the movies. Until you get to the top and see the ocean and bay all around you.
This picture doesn't make it look like they're climbing a huge hill, but really, it was huge. Maddox had a hard time getting up and going down she was a bit nervous.
Jeremy's leaping to his death off a sandy cliff! Okay, so the sandy hill was right below him, but it looks like he's jumping off a cliff, doesn't it? Especially if I could photoshop out that kid below him.
I tried to get Maddox to make a sand angel with me. She wasn't too keen on getting all dirty. Hadlee apparently wasn't either, she cried while I made my angel.
Fine, if you're going to whine, Maddox, about laying in the sand then I'll just tickle you to death and make you laugh!!
That's the hill we were up on, jumping off of and climbing up. See? Big!
We went to have pizza at this place on the bay. Of course we wanted to eat outside on the deck but the you could see through the deck to the grass about 12 feet below. Maddox refused to walk on it. She'd sort of tiny step along, sure that she was going to fall through, and finally just stopped and made me come get her. It was pretty funny. I'd put her down off the picnic table and tell her to go to Daddy's side and we'd laugh and how long it took her walking like a 90 year old woman. Then he'd send her back to me. With all that she never did get used to it.
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