Outer Banks- Currituck Lighthouse

Our other small outing, just outside the neighborhood of our rental house was to the Currituck Lighthouse. Mike, Abby, Dan & Kolbey trekked up to the top! I knew Maddy would never make it....sure enough, Dan carried Kolbey the whole way up and down!

 Mike's neat amateur photography skills

 Great shot of the lighthouse's shadow looking down.....and Maddy and I are standing at the very bottom looking up in this next shot!

 View of the sound from the top!

Outer Banks- Kitty Hawk Wright Brothers Memorial

Our BIG outing for the week was our drive down  to Kitty Hawk, about 45 minutes South of where we were staying. It is the site of the National Park where the Wright Brothers Memorial sits.

The kids ran around, and we took in a piece of flight history!

Outer Banks- Pool time!

The house we rented had everything needed to entertain toddlers!

The pool was cool, felt a bit colder than the ocean, but it got used for sure!

 Abby loves to swim with Will......guess daddy thought the water was too cold!

 The house even had a swing off the lower deck! Perfect!!!

 Will & Tracey brought their corn-hole (bean bag toss game), so it provided dry outdoor adult fun!

 And of course, the boys got their time to drink....and drink some more!

 Friends for 8+ years in the Navy, from OCS in Pensacola, great memories to keep adding to!

Outer Banks- Beach Days!

The first 4 days of our trip were sunny and gorgeous, low to mid 80's! 

So we made it to the beach each day for a few hours! Really, as long as the kids would let us!

 Maddy doing her best sand diving....she loves to get messy!

 Enjoying the sun....with my feet in the water, and being 'mom' all at the same time! Can't beat it!

 The kids shady play area! Dan was a good sand castle builder!

 Maddy relaxing! She did great all week at the beach and never broke down. All my summer trips to our local beach must have prepared her well.

 Kolbey LOVED the sand and water!

 Mike and Will, talking in the water

 The kids, doing their best digging!

The best part about our location was it was quiet and there weren't any mobs of people. So the kids had the whole area to themselves, and you never had to spot them in a crowd. It was almost a private beach feeling. So nice!

 The kites! How many Navy guys does it take to fly a kite?? 3!!!!

And they did it well.

 Our beach setup!

 LOVE!!!

Outer Banks Vacation 2011

We just got back from our first official family vacation, and it was a week with great friends in the Outer Banks, NC! This was a great week with all three kids, relaxing 100%!

Our house that we rented was in Whalehead Beach, which is in Corolla, NC, just a few miles before the 2-lane highway disappears and becomes beach driving only to access homes/beach further north. 

I will break out the rest of our trip photos in a few postings, but here is our group:

The Smiths, Dan & Jessica with Kolbey (same age as Maddy), and Tracey and Will

(Our group picture would have been on the front steps of the house, but we waited til the end of the trip and it rained the last 2 days.....oh well)

And here is the house we rented! Would do it again in a heartbeat! Best place to go, and relax with young kids!! It had 4 bedrooms and 4-1/2 baths, a private pool & hot tub, and was less than a 5 minute walk to the beach! Which we did a lot!!!

Abigail Smith!

Abby starts preschool in two weeks!, this is the pose she gave me!!

I took this photo to print for her emergency card folder! This is her last year of preschool. Next year is Pre-K! So excited for her to start a new year with new teachers!!

My silly girl

Chicken Eggs

We took the girls to the Virginia Childrens Museum again yesterday. They had a great time, and Maddy found something to keep her busy. She took the eggs from under the chickens and kept returning them to the barrel......which repeats the process. She stayed there for 10+ minutes just doing that!

Cute video:

So LOUD!!!

I warn you.....turn down your speaker volume a bit. 

The girls were being goofy while eating their dessert last night, and started an all too common yelling competition at the table. Maddy LOVES to chime in with Abby these days, and copy everything she does. Maddy is definitely the louder kid!

Here is the video of them screaming.....