DAY 1
The drive was typical and, thankfully, uneventful. We stopped at our favorite rest stop on the Scuppernog river and visited our dragonfly friends.
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| Walking the boardwalk looking for spiders and dragonflies. |
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| My handsome boys! |
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| The Scuppernog is the perfect place to unwind and gear up for the last part of the drive. |
We got to the Outer Banks about 3 and our house was ready so we picked up with keys and moved in. The kids all agreed to help get everything unloaded before heading to the beach. That is one way to guarantee that it gets done quickly. We were all unpacked and on the beach in 45 minutes. NICE!!
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| The ocean was really calm compared to the last time we were here. It almost looked like a lake |
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| After playing in the water for a little bit, Nick drove his truck on the beach for a bit. |
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| Making the sand fly while sliding into a turn is his favorite thing to do. |
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| The girls chilling in their room. |
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| Jeremy found a good place to do some writing. |
Day 2
We were up early and ready to head to the beach. Steve and I went down to set up the canopy and take a walk while the kids were still getting up and getting moving.
The waves were a little more active today and perfect for boogie boarding.
We played at the beach until about 1:30 when everyone got hungry. Back at the house we ate lunch and relaxed in the hot tub. After we all got cleaned up we headed to Timbuk II so the kids could do some shopping for souvenirs. It was really weird and nice that we were able to let the kids pair up and go wandering on their own. Steve and I took a leisurely stroll through the shops. Naomi and Mia found a really cool rock and gem shop and we met then there. Nick and Jeremy found a great shop for rash guards and jackets. Dividing and conquering was a success. After shopping we headed to Pizzazz Pizza for dinner. YUMMY!!
Every day has to end with a night walk on the beach. It is so peaceful.
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| Hint of a storm coming in . It was really pretty. |
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| Looking for ghost crabs. Mia had never done this before and she loved it. |
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| Our little part of the beach in Ocean Sands. |
Day 3
I LOVE the morning walks on the beach. It is so peaceful and you are usually rewarded with something from nature. Today it was the dolphins. There was a large pod (5-6) playing in the waves about 100 feet from shore. They were jumping and zigzagging all over the place.
The kids came down eventually and we all boogie boarded for a bit. The water was really cold, but the waves were perfect. We didn't last as long in the water as we did yesterday, but the hot tub felt even better when we decided to go and thaw out.
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| Jeremy was in such a hurry to get to the beach he forgot to take off his underwear. We were all laughing as he tried to recreate a Mr. Bean moment by taking off his underwear while leaving his suit on. It was a good laugh. |
After thawing in the hot tub, we cleaned up and went to our favorite novelty shop up in Corolla. We always find something fun.
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| Nick found some feet to go with his hands. |
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| Their masks are the best. This time the unicorn came home with us. |
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| Nick wore it while driving around. People loved it. |
There was some rain moving in and the clouds were really cool so we went up on the top deck to take pictures. At one point we thought we might get to see a water spout (think tornado on the water).
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| She is definitely my kid - finding the highest spot and standing on it. |
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| Mia was having fun taking pictures. She is really good. |
Steve and Nick got a little antsy and decided to go on a bike ride. They were gone for about 45 minutes when the clouds let loose. Luckily they were able to find shelter until the storm let up enough for them to get home. They were completely soaked, but they loved the bike ride in the rain. It rained heavy on and off all night long. We all slept well to the sound of the rain.
Day 4
Since it had rained all night long we decided to take advantage of the wet sand on the 4X4 beach and went for a ride. We have always driven the beach at night, but this time was so much more interesting.
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| We saw the wild horses for the first time EVER!!!! It was so amazing. They are gorgeous. |
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| Naomi, Nick and Mia rode in the back of the truck and had a great view of everything. |
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| There were even more birds in the morning. I think we found the trick. |
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| More horses. They are so gorgeous. |
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| Naomi, Mia, Nick, Me and Jeremy |
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| Steve, Jeremy, Naomi, Mia and Nick |
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| Family photo - thanks Mia! |
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| I love the pelicans on the poles in the waves. |
Back at the house we were all ready to get to the beach and try out the awesome waves. There was a tropical storm several hundred miles off the coast that was stirring up the surf. Several people were out taking surfing lessons. A couple of them actually caught some good waves. Boogie boarding was great today as well.
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| Mia on her quest for sea glass, quartz and cool shells. |
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| Nick doing his traditional wave run. |
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| The waves were really good today. |
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| Jeremy catching a good one and flying in. |
We went back to the house and warmed up in the hot tub, got cleaned up and had sushi for dinner before heading to Kill Devil Hills to meet up with the Johns family. Hudson and Jeremy knew each other from their missions and we just happened to both be in the Outer Banks at the same time. You can't pass up an opportunity like that. We met at a little place called Kill Devil Custard. The custard lived up to it's reputation of being the best in the Outer Banks. It was fun to finally meet the Johns family since we had been corresponding via Facebook when the boys were roommates for a bit. We had a lot in common, but most importantly - the Johns parents both attended the University of Utah as well!
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| Jeremy and Hudson |
Day 5
The kitchen sink plumbing had come apart the day before while doing dishes so the rental company sent out a plumber to fix the problems. He was quickly able to fix the sink pipes (which had been cut too short and weren't fitting correctly.) I also asked him to look at one of the toilets that was leaking a little bit. Turns out that the tank was cracked and they had to replace the whole toilet. It was a father and son team and the were quick and very professional. After that excitement we headed to the beach to play in the waves. I don't know why the next few pictures are all in black and white, but it is a cool effect!
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| That's one handsome beach bum. |
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| Playing in the waves. |
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| The waves were really fun, but slightly rougher today so the kids formed a chain to stay safe while getting beaten by the waves. |
We did our traditional recovery in the hot tub before cleaning ourselves up and having lunch. Today we wanted to explore Scarsborough Faire. Jeremy had found an ad for the Island Book Store at Scarsborough Faire and we wanted to go find it. Thus the adventure began. Much to our surprise and absolute pleasure there was a whole other half of Scarsborough Faire we had never explored before. It was the better half, too. Instead of being a boardwalk type strip mall like the half we already knew, this portion was in the trees and felt intimate and whimsical. We spent most of our time there.
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| Taking a tic tac toe break. |
Back at the house we had Cafe Rio for dinner and then headed out to the Whalehead Club to take sunset pictures. WOW!!!
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| The Whalehead Clubhouse. |
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| I love this picture of Nick on the bridge. |
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| The marshes on the sound side of Corolla. |
We got their early enough to stake our claim on the perfect spot and got to watch the sun slowly dip below the horizon. It was spectacular.
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| Naomi took her paints and had fun recreating the sunset in acrylics. |
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| He was posing so nicely I had to take a picture. |
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| So gorgeous! |
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| Mia got some really good shots as well. |
The perfect way to end the day - watching the sun set over the sound and Duck Donuts!!!
Day 6
I was the first one up this morning and took advantage of the quiet by getting the checkbook balanced and reading my scriptures. I also baked the cake for Steve's birthday party later that day. Once everyone was awake we had a birthday breakfast and went to look for shells on the beach. With the recent storms and resulting waves, there were a lot of shells that had gotten washed up. The waves were irresistible as well and we grabbed our boogie boards.
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| The waves were amazing today. |
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| Nick is in his happy place. |
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| So am I. I love the ocean!! |
Once we had completely exhausted ourselves in the waves, we headed back to the house for some lunch. Steve took off to do some shopping on his own (Happy Birthday!!) while we stayed at the house and prepared for the party. The cake he wanted this year was a four layer (two cakes cut in half to make four thinner layers) tiramisu spice cake with two types of frosting. In between the layers was a creamy cream cheese frosting with a more firm outer cream cheese frosting to keep the whole thing upright. YUMMY!!!
When Steve got back from his shopping outing, we went to the seafood shack and got all the stuff we would need for our shrimp boil (crab legs, lobster tail and shrimp).
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| Happy Birthday, Steve! The shrimp boil was amazing!! |
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| Yummy cake!! |
After all the dishes were done and dinner was put away I went for a walk on the beach. Everyone else wanted to stay at the house and chill. I love how walking next to the ocean helps to clean everything out of your mind and focus on the now. I need to live by the ocean!
Day 7
Mia, Naomi and I got up at 5:30 to watch the sun rise over the ocean. In all the years we have been going to the Outer Banks we have never done this. It was sooooo worth it (as you will be able to tell by the amount of pictures I have included of the sunrise).
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| Naomi took this picture. She loved the footprints in the sand. It is kind of relaxing to look at. |
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| Some amazingly brilliant person created this shrine to all the junk that is left on the beach. |
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| The natural (driftwood and rope) mixed with the not-so-natural (bra, goggles, hats, etc.) It creates a nice juxtaposition. |
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| Taking a rest on the lifeguard podium. |
Back at the house the girls decided they wanted to go for a bike ride. We got all ready to go and were turning out of the driveway to head to the main road when we saw this next photo coming down the street.
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| When what to our wondering eyes should appear...Nick doing his warm-up run while wearing his unicorn mask. |
He asked us to wait for him and he would run with us. I was supposed to be his pace car (only Nick would use car terms while running). He had charted out a ten mile run and was hoping to keep up a steady pace. It was the coolest route and we got to see parts of Corolla we have never seen before. I like this new tradition. He made it the whole ten miles without even slowing down. He is ready for cross country try outs next week.
What do you do after a nice, long bike ride/run? Head to the beach, of course. We played in the waves until about 3:30. The waves were really big today.
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| Soaking up some last day rays. |
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| Jeremy getting in his last day beach fix. |
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| Mia taking a break from the awesome waves. |
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| Jeremy taming the wild beast... |
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| ...or is the beast taming him? |
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| Dad making sure everyone is safe. |
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| These little guys are so cool in the daylight. They creep me out at night. |
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| Happiness is...catching the best wave ever and riding it all the way to the shore. |
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| Jeremy playing in the waves. |
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| I love all the gorgeous scenery at the beach. |
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| Nick digging his Minecraft hole. |
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| That is one impressive Minecraft hole. |
Once everyone was beached out for the day we went back to the house to chill for a bit and start packing up. Not the happiest task, but it has been an amazing week.
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| Naomi channeling her inner cat - sleeping in the sun coming through the window. |
Later that night we all went down to the beach to take a walk at sunset. Naomi and Mia did a little kite flying. Nick and I took a long walk and came back after dark because we wanted to stay on the beach for a bit and look at all the stars. It was a clear night and not a lot of lights so we could see the Milkyway and a ton of stars.
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| The sun was just peaking over the sand dunes and reflecting off the waves. |
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| The waves almost look like they are lighted from under the water. It was a really cool effect . |
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| Mia and Naomi coming back from flying their kite. |
Day 8
We were all up at 7 and packing the truck. We got everything done, including cleaning up the house, by 8:30 and were ready to hit the road. None of us wanted to leave yet so we walked down to the beach to say goodbye to the ocean. Nick asked me when we were going to come back - he loves being at the beach and this had been one of our best trips yet. I love that they love the beach as much as I do. This trip we did more because we had a fresh perspective on everything - Thank you, Mia!
We stopped at our favorite Scuppernog rest stop. The dragon flies were out in force and posing for pictures.
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| Hello, gorgeous! |
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| Testing the theory that Jeremy's new jacket was big enough for two people. |
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| Steve wanted in on the action. |
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| Mia felt a bond with this tree. |
It was a long drive home, but we made it safely. As much as we missed the beach already, it was good to sleep in our own beds. Until we meet again OBX!!
