OBX Trip 6

 

We're back!

 

We spent a week in the Outer Banks- did you miss us?

 

We knew we didn't want to get stuck in DC traffic on our way there like in previous years, so we left Thursday afternoon and made it the first four hours without stopping. Dada took over the driving at that point and did the next two hours to Breezewood.

 

From there, it was only two more hours to Uncle Rob and Aunt Jana's, where we crashed really late and then had some cousin time in the morning before hitting the road again.  

 

*REMIND ME TO UPLOAD PICTURES FROM MY PHONE*

 

Believe me, you'll want to see them. There are pictures of the cousins in dress up costumes having breakfast together. Priceless.

 

Anyhow, since we weren't in a huge rush, we left midmorning and putzed our way down the coast. We stopped at Assateague Island to see the wild horses: 

 

 

That's right, you're seeing as many in the above photo as we saw. Zip. Zero. They must be really good at hiding. We did hear some but the dense foliage between the path and the giggling, shy horsies was too thick for us to find them. They were a few days away from the annual pony swim and roundup, so maybe that's why they were being extra cautious.

 

We made it to the beach house Friday evening and were greeted by my aunt and uncle's mixed breed puppy, Hacker, who is all brindled wiggles and kisses and powerful tail. We were sorely tempted to bring him home with us. Annie, their German Shepherd, needs more time to warm up to people but remembered us and allowed us to love on her even when she'd broken a tooth and wasn't feeling her best. We missed Dutch, who'd passed away last fall, but we had lots of puppy love while we were there.

 

We goofed off a lot at the ocean this year as the temps were just about perfect and the kids were less afraid of the waves. There are plenty of pictures to come, but here are some taken at the pool: 

 

Dada and I even got our annual dinner date at the Black Pelican sans kids. He had an amazing halibut dinner with sour cherry butter sauce and a tasty veggie medley involving Swiss chard, red onions, and some others. I had Chef's Pasta, which is penne in roasted red peppery cream cheese sauce with humungous scallops and shrimp. I delighted in my leftovers later on. And we got a walk on the beach in the almost full moonlight.

 

Aunt Lainie has been decking out her deck in teal and a soft green, so naturally we had to get a picture mid-act.

 

 

We clean up pretty well. And Dada's in snazzy white pants. And no, you may not have the cute, sleeping urchin. He's ours.

 

Miss Maudie had her 86th birthday while we were there, so of course we had to celebrate. She brought glow sticks for the kids, which ranked her even higher in their esteem, if that's possible. I called in to Damon to tell him she was there, and he hollered, "Miss Maudie's here? I LOVE Maudie!" He couldn't get out the door fast enough.

 

Here she is on the phone with Nana, who helped us sing "Happy Birthday" to her. And somehow Maudie got one trick candle, to everyone's amusement and the kids' wonderment:

 

Lainie's friend Linda came for the birthday party, too, and cheerfully took a million pictures of us. Here's one with everyone's eyes open and smiling!

 

Birthdays at the beach are exhausting.

 

I have probably 100 ocean pictures but I hear beds being jumped on so I must go parent awhile.

 

*REMIND ME TO BLOG ABOUT THE TRIP BACK*

 

Tilting at windmills and other stories

Carrie has decided she wants a windmill. We pass a wooden decorative one every day on the way to and from preschool. And we talk about the wind, if the windmill is moving fast or slow, etc. She claims she wants one, and that she's going to ask Pap to make her one because, "they can't be that hard to make. All you need is a fan and a holding stander and a turning stander." There you go, Pap. There's your blueprint! =)

She also was chattering about birds this morning. There are tons of retarded Canadian geese who don't leave for the winter, so we see them V-ing all over the place. But today she was asking where the watching bird and his wife were. I figured out that she means the resident hawk and his mate that we do see up on the telephone poles, in the tops of trees, or once, swooping into one of the huge ditches to snag a ... something. We didn't see him then, but on my way to get here I spotted him at the top of a telephone pole. Sure enough, he was watching!

Liam is learning more & more words. He was waiting outside the bathroom door calling me, "a-weed to meeee? A-weed to meee?" The boy loves books, play doh, coloring (well, pulverizing the crayons...but MARKERS sure are a big hit), and eating. His most used words are, "hun-rey" for hungry, "leh EAT" for let's eat, and "MINE TURN!" especially if anyone is on the phone. He wants to talk to whoever- doesn't matter if it's only the pizza dude. Such a silly boy.

We'd had Grandma Barb visiting for a few days, which means I've been taking any possible moment to escape. I've finished a library book at Beaner's, washed the car, gotten groceries, gone shopping, had breakfast with Rita, visited w/ Michael & Jeannine, and other things all sans kids! It is AMAZING how much I can accomplish when I'm not repeatedly wrestling two kids in huge coats into and out of car seat belts all the time... heh heh!

Have a great week. It's 46 here now and supposed to be 19 or so tomorrow =( Boooooo!