More Vacation

The next day we went back to the OBX wildlife center. Wyatt and Abby were signed up for a fishing program and their daddies went with them.... I really wish Eli and I could have gone too, but he was too young! While they fished the rest of us checked out the exhibits, watched them fish, and explored a little.

Dada, Eli and the bear!!

Jason and Abby fishing. Abby really wanted to catch a fish, but unfortunately she didn't.

Wyatt did score a little catch though!!!

The Frows with the Whale Head Club in the background.

Vacation can be exhausting.

Eli and Mama enjoying a Tootsie Roll Pop.

So sweet!!

The Beach

This trip was the first trip to the beach and ocean for both Eli and Emmett. It had also been a long time for Andrea and me as well. Eli did NOT like the ocean at all!! He takes a little while to warm up to a pool so I think the waves were too much for him. He did love the beach though!!!

The kids had a plethora of sand toys.

Eli and the big shovel.

Mama and Emmett.

Jason Mowery and his two girls.

Dada and Eli trying to get in the water, as you can see from Eli's face he was not a fan. We never got in past this point.

Eli and Wyatt in the sand.

Livy looking for a snack :-)

Eli, Claire and Wyatt in a hole I made for them.

We couldn't get all three of them to look at the same time. In fact Wyatt never looked at the camera, he is a very serious sand player!!

Heritage Park

Early morning of our first night we had some nasty thunderstorms roll through and thankfully none of the kids were really bothered by them. (There were 6 adults on this vacation and 6 kids ranging from 4.5 years to 3 months.) Eli did, however, wake up around 6:00 AM or so. I was able to get him back to sleep, but only by cuddling him... then we were the last ones up :-)

Picture taken without my knowledge.....

After a lazy morning we all headed up to the Heritage Park where the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education, Currituck Light House and Whale Head Club are all located. We had a really fun time. The wildlife center was closed (but we knew that) but we walked around looking at the sound, watching people crab, and looked at the lighthouse.

One family bought chicken legs, 10 feet of rope and a colander and had a blast crabbing. It was very cool to watch and we will partake in this next time we hit the beach :-) They were catching Blue Crabs.

Alison, Claire and Matt on a windy pier.

Headed towards the lighthouse.

A relaxing picturesque vacation scene.

Reality!!

Curious George Party

Once we all got to the house and settled in we had a little party for Eli. All the kids stayed up too late but it was all worth it!! It was a fun party and a great welcome to vacation!

Andrea and Alison with Eli and Emmett.

The birthday boy, two years old!!!

Wyatt and Abby. The hats were a big hit!!!

Uncle Matt, Claire and Livy.

Dada and the goodie bags.

The whole gang, minus Andrea and Emmett. Please excuse the shirt worn by the Indianian....

What's a birthday without a cake?

Eli couldn't quite get the candles out so Dada and Wyatt helped him.

Yummy cake!!

Pile of goodies. The lunch box and the stuffed George are just decorations. The lunch box and tricycle George are Andrea's :-) and Eli has had the stuffed George for a while now.

Eli's Second Birthday & OBX Vacation

Bright and early on Eli's second birthday we got up and opened presents from Grandma Mutti and Grandpa Vati and then headed off towards the Outer Banks. Eli got binoculars, some bugs and a bug container, and some books!

Eli and Grandpa opening his card.

Eli getting into the wrapping paper. As he opened his first present he got the paper off and exclaimed "OHH.... A BOX!!" It was awesome!

Eli with his bug container.

Eli Grandpa and the new binoculars.

So, our Outer Banks vacation was with the Renfrows and the Mowerys (Andrea's cousins from Indiana). We rented a beach house in Corolla and it was awesome. On our way to the house we had extra time so we stopped at Bodie Island Light House for a little bit.

The lagoon had lots of wading birds and we even saw some crabs moving around below the water. Pictured is a Tri-colored Heron.

Mama and the boys on the observation platform.

Mama and the boys.

Eli checking out a grasshopper.

Bodie was undergoing renovations but Andrea and I had seen it before so we weren't that disappointed and I don't think Eli and Emmett even noticed :-)

Fun at the Eno

On day two of vacation we went over to the Eno to play at the Ford. We all had a fun time playing in the water and looking for creatures!

Mama, her boys and the Eno.

Getting used to the water.

Our catch included snails, mussel shells and a crayfish.

Eli and his bucket.

Eli and Dada in the river.

We were "washing off" the log.

Eli inspecting the catch. I couldn't get him to touch the crayfish, but I was able to get Mama to do it!!!

What's that?

Emmett at Three Months

Our first day of vacation was spent in Durham, and it was also Emmett's third month birthday. He is such a happy and cute baby!