2015 Vacation to the Outerbanks

I have been terrible about keeping this thing up to date with how fast the kids are growing. It's amazing to think that Maddie is already 16 months old and we are quickly approaching Connor's 3rd birthday. I can't think about it much or else I'll start to tear up (crazy, emotional pregnant woman right here!!). Last year, we didn't take a vacation because Maddie was very little. This year, we went with my parents to the Outerbanks. We had a blast! Cameron, the kids, my mom, and I all drove down on a Saturday. My dad and sister came down a few days later. We decided to do things with the kids before they came down. On Sunday, we didn't do a whole lot; we mainly grocery shopped and went down to the water. It was quite windy and chilly so we weren't able to do much while at the water. We did manage to snap a few pictures.

The view from our table

On Monday, it was still a little chilly so we were wanting to do something indoors. My mom and dad visited a few years ago and went to the Aquarium. So, we thought that might be something fun for the kids and even us adults. The kids had a blast. It's not gigantic so we didn't jeopardize naptime. I think the favorite part was being able to nurse a sick (plastic) seaturtle back to health. The kids picked a seaturtle and took it to the examining table. It told us what was wrong with it. They then took it to a table that had all these tools on it. It told us how to make it feel better. Then we put the seaturtle in the tank to help it regain it's strength. Then we released it into the wild. They had a lot of fun dressing up in the lab coats and Connor really got into it. We had a lot of fun and the kids napped GREAT!

This is a face she makes a lot

On Tuesday, it was a little chilly in the morning so we decided another indoor activity was probably a good idea. We looked up fun things to do for children and came across a Children's Museum. When we got there, the kids had the entire place to themselves. It was perfect! They had different exhibits set up all around this large room. Connor really enjoyed fishing off the boat and Maddie really liked the grocery shopping portion. I wasn't surprised either way. Eventually, Connor came down off the boat and explored the rest of the exhibits. Maddie really liked playing with the train table and reading some of the books they had there. Around lunchtime, it began getting a little crowded so we went back to the house to eat lunch and put the kids down for naps.

Dad and Emma drove up after she got out of class for Fall Break on Tuesday. We bought tickets to go see the wild horses on Corolla Beach for Wednesday morning. It was so much fun!! I wasn't sure what to expect, but these wild horses were in peoples yards and didn't care one bit what we were doing. We had the kids in their carseats and ended up turning Maddie around forward-facing so she could see the horses. As soon as we got to the beach, Maddie fell asleep!! We were so frustrated because we wanted her to see the horses. After 30-45 minutes, she woke up. When she saw the horses, she just talked to them. It was so funny to see her react to them. Connor payed close attention to the puppies running around the beach and all the cars that passed us. This didn't surprise me one bit. He did mention a horse or two, but he didn't seem too impressed. I think I enjoyed it for the both of us, though. Then we ate lunch and climbed a lighthouse. The view from the top was AWESOME! We didn't take the kids up for obvious reasons, but we shouted at them from the top and they saw us waving at them. It was funny until Connor realized  that we were so far up.

Thursday, we went to the Wright Brother's Memorial. I had a rough start to the morning, but managed to power through it. The hike up to the actual memorial was a bit strenuous with two kids (and a third baking) but we did it. The view was incredible. I had no idea what to expect, but it was amazing to see. We felt like we were on top of the world! The kids had fun running around and pretty soon Maddie let us know she was ready for a nap. We then quickly headed back to the house to put them down for naps. After they napped, we wanted to get some quick family pictures on the beach. We aren't professionals or anything, but I was pleased with how most of them turned out.

Emma and Dad woke up early enough to watch the sunrise

Mom and Emma bought Connor a kite to fly on the beach

Can anyone photoshop a smiling kid into this picture??

On Friday, we drove to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Unfortunately, it was closed for the season so we couldn't climb it. But it was super pretty from the outside and we had a great lunch! Then, we went to Jockey's Ridge State Park to watch the sunset from the sand dunes. It was so beautiful. If you're ever in the OBX, I would suggest doing that at least once. You won't regret it!

He picked this "flower" for me

So sad that this was our last night in the OBX