OBX

In April we packed up the van and headed for one of our favorite vacation spots, the Outerbanks, North Carolina. We thought we'd enjoy one last hurrah before heading west after eight years in the eastern part of the country. As we neared Washington D.C., nostalgia took over and I had a great desire to stop for dinner at a park we had been to while living in Virginia. After several U-turns, the babies gave up... literally. They gave up every cracker and fruit snack we had been bribing them with for the last six hours. We therefore put nostalgia aside, stopped at a Burger King, and continued on our way.

The weather, though a bit cool, did not deter us from some of our favorite spots. Braden, Emme, and I made the ritual climb to the top of the Currituck lighthouse which is always a challenge for Braden's fear of heights. We also visited the Wright Memorial where the first airplane was flown.

Thankfully, the weather turned warm the last few days and we hit the beach. Those brave enough to go in the water claimed after 20 minutes or so the water felt great... at that point you were numb! Ryan went boogy boarding, the kids played in the waves and the sand, and I tried to get some R&R, which proved difficult as the babies enjoyed climbing the stairs more than playing in the sand.

At the end of the week, we packed up the van again for the drive home. I was once again struck by nostalgia and hoped for a stop in D.C. and Virginia. The diversion was quickly thrown out though after Chloe threw up, we sat in an extra hour of traffic, and the smell from the eel skeleton Braden found seemed to be seeping out of its Ziploc. We pulled into our driveway in Ohio at 10:00 p.m., twelve hours after we had begun. I think we would all agree, it was worth it!