October at the beach

Every October, my parents and my Grama head down to the Outer Banks for a long weekend.  Now that Will's weekends are free, we decided to join them for a couple days of relaxing by the ocean.  There was time in the hot tub, splashing in the pool, baseball practice and basketball with Pa, cars and princesses with Mimi, cards with GG, dominos, good food, and the best company.  Will and I even got to go out to lunch on Saturday where he enjoyed the "Krabby Patty" - a burger with a crabcake on top.  Special thanks and the "BEST EVER" award go to my parents and Grama for always being willing to play!  

Being the good beach-lovers that we are, no matter the weather, we always make it down to the water to sit on the sand and enjoy the view for at least a little while.  Normally we're in sweatshirts and jeans or sometimes even jackets and hoods.  But this year, we spent a few hours by the water on Saturday afternoon...in our bathing suits.  For real.  It was completely beautiful and warm as could be.  The kids dug in the sand, helped Pa build one of his famous obstacle courses, and jumped in the water as the waves broke on the shore.  Perfect.  Around 4 we got chased back to the house by an impending thunderstorm that made the temperature plummet about 20 degrees, but the cool breeze coming in through the windows was a welcome change to such a warm afternoon.  Sunday turned out to be windy and much cooler, but we still spent time by the water, soaking up that view that never grows old.  

One night while we were there, we were fortunate enough to witness baby loggerhead turtles crawl out of their sandy nest and make their way to the ocean!  It was probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I'm so glad we were there to see it happen.  The kids loved watching the tiny turtles head down to the waves.  Just before we left the beach that night, we watched as the huge orange moon rose right up out of the ocean.  Amazing. 

Also notable for the weekend:  Annabel got to go on her very first trip to Wee Winks with Tommy and Pa.  My dad and uncles used to take all the cousins (when we were deemed old enough) to Wee Winks in the mornings so they could buy the paper and we could buy Bonkers and Big League Chew and, as my dad would call them, "trinkets." (Trinkets usually consisted of super balls, squirt guns, and any other small toy that would get lost or broken pretty much immediately upon arrival back at the beach house.  Also falling into the trinket category according to my dad:  anything found in the store section that they make you walk through to get to the actual restaurant section at Cracker Barrel.) We loved it and looked forward to it every year as not only was the actual buying-of-the-stuff a great time, but the car ride there was completely hysterical.  My dad would serenade us with crazy songs like "Dead Skunk In the Middle of The Road" and "Everybody Loves the Clown" and, for sentimental effect, "Edelweiss," and all of us would laugh our heads off.  Happy memories.  I'm feeling so fortunate that my children get to carry on this fun tradition with their Grandpa. 

I'm so glad we were able to join my family for a couple days of sand and sun at the beach.  I'm definitely getting used to this new schedule that we're able to keep and glad that we can make these memories together.  Wishing you a lovely week!