OBX 2016

so what else would I be doing at midnight than updating the blog. Years from now I may thank our little man for keeping up so I could update this :) Well, I could thank him if I'd actually updated the blog. Now let's see if I still remember our trip :)
I'm sure memories are just like I heard someone say on a podcast today about people: you may not remember the details but you remember them overall.

Pictures will help with remembering the details! I did leave out the pics of the people taking turns being sick in the room- not the most fun part of our trip :)

We had lots of fun in the game room- the NC game was a new addition. So were the new good ping-pong players- amazing how much better the kids have gotten!

We watched lots of beautiful sunrises and sunsets from the balcony and the beach! 

Too cold for ocean swimming but we had lots of fun in the sun! And found cool shells!

Amazing to sit and see God's beautiful sun and ocean (and cute kids too!) 

We love this place! 

And we had an amazing day for Jockey's Ridge- perfect temp, almost no wind, beautiful! 

Love!

Rolling down sand dunes- sandy but fun!

Our new favorite part of the Wright Brothers National Monument is the hands on model-
perfect place for a picnic and pretend!

We also spent a lot of time on the tennis court. Our big four were in the middle of 6 weeks of free tennis clinic which made it even more fun to go practice new skills! 

Kids love our souvenir shop (AKA Good will/ thrift shop)- KG was so happy with these roller blades! And the boys each found nice shirts- can't beat the price. 

our newest walker loved the deck!

We saw deer several nights as we went to see the sunset by Sunset Grill

Ts half birthday breakfast! My favorite 8 year old boy wasn't feeling his best that morning but it was great to spend some time just me and T!

We were excited to get to go on a ranger lead trip looking for animal signs. We rode on the 4WD only beach area. We saw signs of horses but no horses. Still fun!

Love this bridge and our tree! 

Even V enjoyed Roanoake Island- learning about Native Americans here!

And settlers!

They welcomed our school trip there with blacksmith, coopering, and woodworking classes!

Our lunch out- yum! 

Kids enjoyed our scavenger hunt from the OBX Barrier Island Station

V helping pick out the donuts!

A sweet way to end a great trip!

KG is Seven!

How does time go by so quickly? That saying the days go slow, but the years go fast is pretty true. Although lots of days go fast too!

So we got to celebrate KG's birthday a lot this year.

Some corn hole and darts with friends

A fast Easter egg hunt- to get eggs and get out of the rain!

Lots of pink, yummy food, and friends

The birthday girl loved her presents!

This was the first celebration-  

a few days before her birthday with Grandma

This was on her birthday with just the LewCrew

A card from K- 

all the kids gave her sweet presents

A triple celebration with Nana and Papa- we celebrated C, KG, and V's birthday

We're so thankful for our beautiful girl and all our celebrating!

Where to start?

You know it's really easier to blog when you just keep doing it instead of waiting a long time and then you don't know where to start!
well they say a picture is worth a thousand words- and also a great way to remember what we did!

These are not in order but still fun.

v has really taken off with his walking- he wants to do it all the time. He had a blast walking all around the tennis courts while the big kids had tennis lessons. 

James made this beautiful dresser for me- such a handyman!

Just tried roasted cabbage- love it!

love V's his size friend!

Sweet girls at our house for our first God's Girls meeting 

James and kids made this super fire pit. we've really enjoyed it- we even collected some Christmas trees around the neighborhood.

I love that we can have fun helping friends!

we took pics of every egg we got for the first bunch- so sweet!

Love the kids deciding on their own to have a winter picnic!

v wasn't quite ready to get in on the eggs 

stroller buddies! we've been going on a lot of walks- we usually have a couple bike riders, a rollerblader or long boarder, 2 stroller riders, and 2 walkers- so fun!

Our princess Valentine's lunch with friends- KG, C, and I made lots of heart shapes (PB & J sandwiches, apple and pear slices, cheese slices, and cookies.) KG was a great helper. So sweet!

James and I were blessed by a friend watching our kids so we could go out for delicious dinner at Sherefe. For our special night out, we ordered the Mediterranean Feast- so good! And we took food home!

My amaretto coffee was so good!

Our newest tradition is me taking our kids out for each of their 1/2 birthdays. Yes, K's was in January but it was during our fast and who wants their 1/2 birthday celebration during a sweets fast:) so February Waffle House it was- ice and all! It was really nice to get out just the two of us! 

Bubble fun after reading One Small Drop. I wanted to put  a picture of our practicing being bat mommies from Apologia Flying Creatures but haven't downloaded my pic yet and I'm tired. So I'll just remember smelling essential oils and trying to find our baby bats :)

My sweet helper! We were blessed to have a wonderful February where we could have fun and help others!