Vacation 2012

We got back from our beach vacation yesterday afternoon. 

I am happy to report that we had SO much fun!  It went better than I could have imagined.  We left last Saturday at 9:00 am with a 5 hour car ride in front of us.  I packed tons of snacks, DVDs and toys for the ride.   We talked about going to the beach and swimming and spending time with the twins' cousins.

The kids were awesome travellers!  We made one quick pit stop to change Pull Ups but other than that, we were able to drive straight through and we arrived in Duck, NC at 3:00 pm.   Our house was in Corolla and it took us an hour just to get up Rt 12 - traffic is always heavy going through Duck for some reason. 

We were moving but it was mostly stop and go.  I was sitting in the back seat between the twins and I noticed that Kendall kept coughing and she wasn't eating her snack.  All of the sudden, she made that face when you know they are going to throw up.  Daddy threw me an empty McDonald's cup and luckily, I caught most of it in the cup.  The whole time I'm thinking, "Oh, please don't let our vacation start like this".   She was fine the entire morning and she didn't feel warm so I was really hoping it was car sickness and not a virus. 

We made it to the house and Kendall seemed fine once we got out.  We walked through and the kids got a huge kick out of running from room to room.   I showed them the bunk beds and explained they would be sleeping there.  They thought it was awesome!  If Christopher went into another room, Kendall would run after him and say, "Chris!  Look!  Come see your bed"!

My BIL and his family were about 2 hours behind us so we decided to give the pool a whirl.  We dropped our luggage, found our swimsuits and jumped in.  I decided to purchase some Puddle Jumpers for the kids this year and it was the best purchase ever.  I am so proud of them - they were swimming like champs!

Within 10 minutes, both kids were swimming on their own in the deep end of the pool .

We had delicious pizza for dinner the first night and it was soon time for bed.  I decided to let our normal schedule go for the week and the kids stayed up until 9:30-10:00 almost every night. 

When Chris first saw the bunk beds, he attempted to climb up to the top bunk and I thought to myself, "Oh boy, here we go.  My worries about the beds are coming true".   I tried to explain that he can't climb because he'll get hurt but in the back of my mind, I was worried about what he would do when an adult isn't there. 

So, at 9:30 pm, we all marched downstairs to start our bedtime routine of bath, teeth, books and bed.  I had my monitor and cameras all set up so I could keep an eye on them.  It was also their first time sleeping in big beds so I just didn't know how they would do. 

I completely underestimated the twins.  They did absolutely awesome all week.  I put bed rails up on the open sides and they worked perfectly.  The beds were like little cocoons with the kids all snug and comfy inside.  As a matter of fact, I think they slept better in the bunks than they do at home!   Neither of them woke up once and they slept until 7-7:30 am EVERY morning.  Pure heaven!

The next morning, the guys took the kids to the beach while my SIL and I went grocery shopping.   Daddy said neither of the kids wanted to get their feet wet. 

DH left to come back home Monday afternoon so I was "alone" for 2 days.  Luckily, he was able to work enough overtime that he earned an extra vacation day so he was able to come back Thursday afternoon. 

My fears of being a single parent for those 2 days were completely unwarranted.  I really have the best family members.  They all pitched in and helped and it was so easy.  

Tuesday, we went back to the beach and I was determined to get my kids in the ocean.  I took Kendall and my SIL took Chris and we carried them down.   We stood on the shoreline for awhile and gradually moved into the waves.  Within 15 minutes, we had the waves breaking on our bellies and the kids were having a blast.   I've never heard Kendall laugh that much!

Chris was definitely braver and at one point, I turned around and my SIL was holding his hand and Chris was standing in the waves!  By the end of the day, he was a pro!


Playing with his Uncle Jeff



We spent the mornings on the beach and then came back for lunch and naps.  With all of the activity, they were regularly taking 3 hour naps.   Mommy was a very happy mommy.

We spent lazy afternoons at the pool.

Wednesday, my SIL read about a kids' festival at one of the local shopping centers.  After naps, we packed up the car and headed over.  They had face painting, balloon animals and pony rides!

Kendall didn't want to ride so she hung out with Aunt Tina. We also enjoyed ice cream and lollipops.

In the evenings, we would go back down to the beach to build sand castles and to play with Chloe, their dog.

We enjoyed playing with our cousins and having some quiet time coloring.

We had delicious dinners of homemade chicken nuggets, tacos, lasagna and steamed shrimp.


Waiting for dinner


And, delicious breakfasts of pancakes and donuts.

Daddy came back on Thursday afternoon and he was so proud to see how well his little fishies were swimming.  By Thursday, Kendall was jumping with help and daredevil Christopher was running and jumping into the water on his own.



Daddy has always wanted to take a ride on the 4x4 beach in Carova.  There are wild horses that roam the beaches but in the 11 years that we've been going to OBX, we've never tried to find them.  So on Saturday, we packed up the truck and went on an adventure.

We decided to drive down a path that travelled through the sand dunes and....


Disclaimer:  The kids weren't riding in the back of the truck.  This was taken after we stopped the car and got out. 


We found the wild horses!

We watched them for about 30 minutes and Chris didn't want to leave them.  He absolutely adores horses. 

Driving back, we got a special treat.  The same group of horses came over the dunes and down onto the beach and passed right by our truck.  They were so beautiful and weren't phased by the people or cars at all.

We had fantastic weather all week.  It was sunny during the day and we had a few thunderstorms at night. 

Evenings were spent playing basketball and cards.

 

Christopher cracks me up in this picture.  He's betting his chips and has his milk in front of him like an adult beverage.


Before we knew it, it was Sunday and time to come home.  We had a fantastic week!