Ducky Beach and the Beachy House

We have returned from an absolutely wonderful vacation! It was so nice to see Brantley for the whole 10 days, and he still has another day off!

We started our vacation two Fridays ago, driving to Atlantic Beach, and spending the weekend in that area. We ate at some wonderful resturants, hung out on the beach and pool and visited NC's newest aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. On Sunday morning we got up early and drove to Cedar Island ferry, for the 2 hour ride to Ocracoke. It was a beautiful, but hot, ride. We spent a few hours on Ocracoke, seeing the sights and eating lunch. After, we headed up to the Hatteras ferry, which we drove up and loaded immediatly, a few minutes later and we would have missed it! Of course, they run every 45 minutes, but still, it was fun just making it!

The water during the second ferry ride was Carribean blue, which I'd never seen in the waterway before, so we spent the ride at the front of the boat, watching all the other ferries and boats go by.

While on the Outer Banks, we did a variety of activities, the main one being nothing!, but also, visiting the lighthouses, Jockey's Ridge, Wright Brothers Memorial and some shopping. We really enjoyed being with the family, and spending time with the new babies, Delaney and Baylor.

Now, we are back to reality, getting things cleaned up and organized, and getting ready for the Japan crew to fly in on Friday! Tonight we had a pork chop cook out for Daddy, for Father's Day, since we were driving back on Sunday. Happy belated Father's Day to all your Daddies out there!

Brant's Third Birthday Party

It's taken me a while to get things updated, so this is going to be a conglomeration of what we've done over the last few days/weeks. Everyone knows, Brant officially turned 3 on the 23rd of May, but, being that it was Memorial Day weekend, we decided to have his party last Saturday. And party we did! This year, on the theme of Mickey and keeping it simple, we had a simple party, with cupcakes, ice cream and some other finger foods. Eight children, including Brant, ran around the yard, playing with bubbles, the parachute, sandbox and swing set. There was also some soccer and baseball going on. The adults, about 20 or more, enjoyed watching the kids, and visiting. The normal progression of cupcakes, ice cream and gifts occured. The cupcakes were totally cute, if I do say so myself, with mini-Oreos for Mickey ears! We all wore our Mickey gear, Brant and I had ears, in addition to shirts, watches and earrings! It was a wonderful day!

It's been Brantley's birthday week, so we've had a variety of Brantley inspired activites going on, from seeing Up and getting ice cream after, to park visits. Today, we went to the zoo. It's my first official day of summer vacation, and Brantley was off, so off we went...you all know we love the zoo, and it was really nice to not feel the pressure of having to see it all in one day, since we can go back for free anytime.

We are getting ready for a block party on Saturday night, then, it's full force beach prep! We'll be getting some pool time in this week, I'm sure, and getting the garden ready for us being gone.

I'll let the photos tell the rest! Love to all...oh, and I am finally on Facebook, so look me up for more photo opportunities!