OBX Vacation

This was our third consecutive summer vacationing in the Outer Banks.  The first year we stayed in Corolla, the second we stayed in South Nags Head and this year we opted to stay in Duck.  I didn't book the vacation until May so my options were limited! 

We love vacationing in OBX but hate the drive there.  I love that Lauren can drive now and this time she got to drive over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel for the first time.  It was also her first time driving through a tunnel so I just had to take her picture.

We arrive at our house after dealing with a little bit of traffic headed up to the northern beaches and check out everything.  We all agreed that this house was the best one yet.  The 4 bedrooms were all on the first floor and then the family room, dining room and kitchen were on the second floor.  We had an incredible view of the ocean!  Of course we had to check out the beach and ocean.

I just happened to wake up right before sunrise Monday morning so I went upstairs to watch it and take a picture.  It was the only sunrise I saw all week. 

Our first morning on the beach the girls and I went out first.  (Our house is the one to the far right in the picture.)

It was overcast and it wasn't long before we felt rain. We grabbed our towels and headed back to the house... to jump in the hot tub!  Zach and Paul joined us and we waited out the rain there. 

We had clouds, that one passing shower and evening thunderstorms early in the week.  The clouds didn't stop us from enjoying the beach and ocean though. 

As you're sitting on the beach you can see crabs pop out of their holes and scurry around before going back to their holes and hiding.  These are the crabs we catch when we're "ghost crabbing" at night.  Kristin absolutely hates them!  Here's Paul teasing her with a tiny one he scooped up.

What's a vacation without getting a picture of the kids in the ocean?

Here was our walkway to the beach, I was standing on the deck of our house taking the picture.  Our house was oceanfront but we didn't have our own walkway, it adjoined the community walkway that we shared with everyone else on our street.  Megan kindly posed for me.

A huge thunderstorm came through Tuesday evening just as Paul was getting ready to grill our dinner.  It was Zach's birthday and he wanted salmon so that's what we got along with some tuna for Paul and Kristin.  Somehow the fish got cooked during it and after the storm passed we looked outside and saw this full rainbow.  A rainbow for Zach because he turned 6!

Zach's birthday dinner was delicious!  We had garlic mashed potatoes and salad to go with the fish.

After dinner but before cake we put on fake mustaches and was just being silly with them.

"Happy birthday to you.  Happy birthday to you.  Happy birthday dear Zachary...happy birthday to you!"  I can't believe my baby's 6 already.

 The storm Tuesday evening must have churned up the ocean because it was really rough on Wednesday.  None of us went in past our knees today!

Since the ocean was so rough we didn't stay as long on the beach so we did some shopping at the Duck boardwalk before heading out for dinner.

Thursday evening Kelly and Paul's mom came to spend the next few days with us.  Kelly, me, and the girls walked over to the soundside to catch that evenings sunset.

The next day we all enjoyed the beach together and then later in the day we did some more shopping. 

We went ghost crabbing for our second time that week.  The first time I didn't bring my camera and wish I had because Zach was so fun to watch.  He was going after those crabs with his net and wasn't one bit afraid of them. 

We didn't stay out too long this time because it was really windy and the sand was blowing everywhere.  Here's a short little video of Zach with a crab in his net and he's trying to dump it out. 

Our last full day on the beach we made the most of it and I pretty much spent the whole entire day soaking up every last little bit of North Carolina sun that I could.  The beach was surprisingly crowded that day when I thought it would have been pretty empty because Saturdays are big turnover days.  Apparently people come early and hang out on the beach until their house is ready.  Who knew? 

After dinner we went to the boardwalk to watch one final sunset that night.  We weren't sure we were going to see it when the sun slipped behind the clouds but right before it set it came out and we saw a spectacular display to end the day.

Our house was awesome and the weather was great.  Duck is a cute little town, a little crowded with people, but we still enjoyed it.  To sum it up we had another fabulous vacation in the Outer Banks and we can't wait to go back again next year.  Maybe we'll try yet a different town next time.

I wish I Hadn't Planned That

Have you ever planned an activity that you thought was going to be neat but then once you did it you wish you hadn't?  Well that's what happened to me today.  About a month ago I purchased an Amish buggy ride from DealChicken (it's like Groupon) and thought it would be something different for us to do this summer.  Until today we've either been busy or it's just been too hot.  The weather wasn't too bad today so we took our DealChicken voucher and went to the buggy ride place.  The one positive thing was that we didn't have to wait long for a buggy since it wasn't crowded when we got there around 10:00.  When we got back from our ride the place was packed.

So, our buggy pulls up and the previous group gets out and we're ushered in the back where we sit.  Five minutes later we're still sitting there, apparently the driver wanted to give the horse a break.  That's all fine and dandy but it was getting hot in that thing, why load us up if we're not going anywhere?  Here's a picture of the kids while we were waiting:

Our voucher was for the "Amish Town Tour" which was a 4-mile ride that went by an Amish farmhouse and other Amish businesses.  About 5 minutes into the ride the driver stops the buggy by a house and a little girl comes out and asks us if we want to buy cookies, pretzels, drinks or even painted horseshoes!  Uh, okay.... No pressure there.  I really felt like they were trying to take advantage of tourists but I caved and ended up buying a $2 bag of pretzels.  I didn't try one but everyone else said they were good, they had some kind of honey/mustard seasoning on them.  We continue our ride and our driver points out the different crops we pass (peaches, apples, corn, soybean and alfalfa) and the different businesses and what they do/sell.  He was an older guy that didn't say a whole lot.  Afterwards when we got back to the car Lauren and I both thought that he was cranky.  Here's what Zach thought of the ride:

Actually I think the clip clopping sound of the horse on the pavement was putting him to sleep!  The ride lasted about 35 minutes with most of the time on side roads where there were fewer cars.  The last little bit was on the main road though and that was quite freaky to have the cars passing by so closely.  I guess now I know what it's like when I'm passing them!

When the ride was over and we tipped our driver (there were signs inside telling us to do so!) Lauren and I compared notes and both of us thought the buggy ride was a little lame.  When I asked Zach if he liked it he said, "No!"  Kristin and Megan both thought it was okay.  Kristin liked the experience of being in the buggy and seeing what it was like for the Amish to travel around and Megan said "I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either."  I'm so glad I didn't pay full price for that!

The day got better though because we were only about 5 miles from the lancaster outlets so of course we had to stop there. :)   We didn't buy much because most of those stores aren't true outlets and their prices weren't any better than you'd find at the mall.  The girls did find a few good buys which I bought for them but my favorites were the two t-shirts that Kristin picked out.  When she wears them I'll get a picture of them for you, they have funny sayings on them. 

We ended our trip by stopping at Fuddrucker's for lunch.  That place is a little pricey for burgers but they are so good. So that was our day and I'm glad it's over!  I don't think I'll ever do another buggy ride again in my life since I just didn't enjoy it and the main person I thought would like it (Zach) didn't.  I did learn one thing today... I learned to really, really, really appreciate my car.

Food Fun

Yesterday's post was all about water, this one is all about food!  Another thing on our summer bucket list is "make banana pops" so we did this yesterday before dinner so they could freeze.  They took a chunk of banana, put a popsicle stick in it and then dunked the banana in chocolate and then into whatever topping they wanted. 



We also experimented with putting peanut butter on the banana before dipping it in chocolate.  Yum!  Then in the freezer they went and we had them after dinner for dessert.

I never took a picture of the final project but they were very yummy and very easy.

Another food/cooking project on our summer bucket list is "make s'mores."  Since the fire pit I bought awhile ago isn't set up yet I came up with another idea to make them, the solar way. I turned a pizza box into a solar oven and we made solar s'mores. 

I love how Kristin and Megan are smiling and then there's Zach stuffing a marshmallow in his mouth!  He has his priorities and they're not smiling at the camera.

How it looked outside on our deck.  It looks like it's open but there's a layer of saran wrap over it.  Helps to keep the heat in and more importantly (in my mind) the bugs out.

It took a little while but it actually worked!  I did miss that the marshmallows weren't toasted from the fire but other than that they were pretty tasty.

I wonder what else we can make in our solar oven?

Water Fun

On our summer bucket list is a water balloon fight.  Since it was so hot today the only way to go outside was to get wet so it was a perfect day to do it.  I pre-made most of the balloons inside before the kids even knew what I was doing.  They did fill a few more outside.  Zach never did get the hang of filling them but he sure did like to play with the hose!

Kristin tried to show Zach how to do it.

On with the water balloon fight.  Zach loved throwing them at his sisters.

They in turn got him back.

After they cleaned up all the broken balloon pieces I hooked up the water slide for a little slippery fun. 

Zach would have stayed out there slipping and sliding for hours but we were beginning to get a little muddy spot so I made him stop before we had no grass left. 

Another way the kids can get wet is by doing another thing on our bucket list, playing outside in the rain.  So far the weather hasn't cooperated with us on that one so we haven't been able to do it.  It either rains at night or it's also storming.  It's been a very dry, hot summer and we're just hoping that we can check that one off by the end of summer.  That one should be fun!

Happy Birthday Paul!

Who says that Friday the 13th is unlucky, this year we celebrated Paul's birthday on it.  The birthday person gets to choose the restaurant for dinner and Paul chose to go to JB Dawsons.  Him and I had been there before and loved it but the kids had never been there.  They got to enjoy it this time though, all 6 of us.  We all had a fabulous dinner and then the waitress brought out Paul's special birthday dessert.  

A bowl of ice cream with a huge sparkler thing on it. 

When we got home instead of singing happy birthday to Paul with candles on a cake we put a candle on a beer instead!

Happy Birthday Paul!   Hope it was a good one.

A Busy Tuesday

The day started off with Lauren getting her senior portraits taken. Her appointment wasn't until 10:00 but she got a tip from a girl that had her pictures taken yesterday that they weren't going by appointment times, they were going by whoever signed in first on their sign-in sheet.  So instead of going at 10:00 Lauren went at 9:00 which is when they started and she was the first one there. She was done at 10:10 and when we left there were a lot of people waiting.  I was glad we got there early! 

She went to 3 different photographers.  The first did her yearbook picture with her wearing the black drape.  The second did the pictures with the cap and gown.  This one is one of my favorites that I took with my phone.   

Checking herself out before the next round of pictures.

Can you believe that next year she'll be graduating and actually wearing a cap and gown?

The same photographer also took pictures of her in her first outfit, a white top and denim jeans, very casual!

She enjoyed her "photo shoot."  Here's one of the photographers taking her picture.

After changing it was then onto the third photographer for her second outfit, a sundress.

In 2 to 3 weeks we'll get the proofs and then probably pass out when we see how much they're going to cost! 

My next stop was to the library with Kristin, Megan and Zach.  Our library always does a summer program where they reward the kids for reading.  At 10 hours they get a book, at 30 hours they get a bag and at 60 hours they get entered into a drawing for prizes.   Zach had his 10 hours so he got to pick out his free book.  Kristin had 56 hours, they were quite impressed, she got her book and a nice drawstring bag.  Megan didn't even take her form with her so she'll have to wait until next time.  We didn't stay to get any new books out and instead went to the park that was next door until it was time for lunch and then we came home. 

Our day is not done yet though.  After lunch the 5 of us went bowling.  Once again the kids all can bowl 2 games free per day and then I added the family pass so that Lauren and I can bowl too.  The first game we bowled today was a lot of fun.  Here's Zach and Lauren watching Zach's ball as it nears the pins. 

The second game wasn't as fun because a bunch of camps came in and the place was suddenly filled with little kids.  Plus with Zach bowling the games go really slow.  We'll still do it again, hopefully next week, so if anyone would like to join us let us know.  I can bring 2 more family members on my pass.   

Hagley Museum

I had all intentions to go back to Winterthur when I left the house this morning.  Lauren was a little bummed that we went without her last time and since Winterthur is one of the places we can visit on our Brandywine Treasure Trail Passport we get to go again.  I figured I was somewhat of an expert at Winterthur now.  After all, I was just there a few weeks ago plus I was there this past spring for Zach's field trip.  Visiting two times in one year makes me an expert right?  So we pack up the car with another picnic lunch and head off this morning, all 5 of us.  We get all the way there and at the entrance is a big sign, CLOSED on Mondays.  Lauren says to me, "um, mom, didn't you check the website?"  Being an expert I didn't think I had to!  Definitely not one of my finer moments.

I salvaged the day though.  We can visit various museums on that pass so I start to think about what other place we could visit instead.  We've already visited the Delaware Museum of Natural History which is right down the street so we couldn't go there.  "I know, let's go to the Delaware Art Museum, that's not far.  Lauren, check their website and make sure they're open."  She checked and would you believe that they're closed on Mondays too?  Oh geez, now what?  Hagley was on the list and that wasn't far away so after checking their website and finding them open I drove to that museum and we spent our day there. 

I haven't been to Hagley since I was little and on a field trip.  As far as I can remember none of my kids have gone there on field trips so this place was new for us.  We start out at the Visitor Center which has 3 floors.  The kids are watching a short clip about someone in the Civil War:

 Standing by a flag that was used for mourning:

 Zach loved looking in Jeff Gordon's race car.  This was on the third floor which was very kid oriented. 

 My little miss scientist.   There were slides you could put under the microscope to compare natural materials to ones that duPont came up with. 

 After leaving the visitor center we boarded the bus that took us through Hagley and rode it all the way to the end which was "Eleutherian Mills."  We took a tour of the very first duPont home in America which was interesting at first but a little too long for us, Megan and Zach got bored.  Here's Megan and Lauren while we wait for the bus to come. 

 Lauren, Megan and Zach wanted to go eat our picnic lunch but I kind of wanted to check out the Sunday School which was near one of the bus stops before heading back.  We almost didn't get off the bus but I asked Kristin what she wanted to do and she said she didn't care so I took that opportunity to go see the Sunday School so off the bus we go. 

They call it a Sunday School because the children of mill workers could only attend on Sundays because during the week they had to do chores.  So basically it was just a schoolhouse, no church involved whatsoever.  The kids practiced writing with a quill dipped in ink. 

(Megan was being grumpy and opted to sit on a bench outside instead of coming in.  She changed her mind later and joined us but I wasn't taking another picture.) 

We toured the Gibbons House too but only because it was next door and saw how they cooked and did their laundry.  After coming out of there we were all starving and we saw the bus coming so we went back to the bus stop to take it back to the visitor's center.  We found the picnic tables at the end of the parking lot and set up our lunch.

We did miss doing some of the things like the millwright and machine shop which I would have loved to have seen but I had 3 of the 4 kids begging to go home (the 3 to the right in the picture above.)  So guess what we did?  After our picnic we went home. 

It was a very educational trip and I learned more than I wanted to know about the duPont family. It's in a beautiful area right along the Brandywine River and I'm very glad that my goof this morning brought us there.  I would definitely recommend this place to anyone that likes early American history.

Lauren's Specialty

On our summer bucket list I had "grill pizzas" so for dinner last night that's what I planned.  I could have made pizza dough in my bread machine but I took the easy way and bought 4 pizza doughs at the grocery store instead.  The kids (and Paul) helped stretch the dough.  Zach didn't do a very good job so I had to have Lauren come up and help him.  

 I thought it was funny that her night off from working and she's making pizzas at home!  Her expertise came in handy though.  The dough was stretched and then went on the grill. 

 That was a little tricky since the dough is sticky and the first one kind of got squished and misshapen.  Oh well, still edible.  After cooking one side the pizza comes off the grill and the cooked side gets topped. 

Then goes back on the grill to cook the other side.  Here's our very first pizza attempt on the grill.  Yeah, looks a little funny doesn't it?

 Lauren got her handy dandy pizza cutter that was given to her as a gag gift at her soccer banquet and cut the pizzas.  She's not allowed to do this at work, something about kids under 18 and sharp objects.  I'm fine with letting her though.

We made 4 different pizzas and even though they don't look very appetizing they were surprisingly very good.  We will definitely do this again now that we have somewhat of an idea how to do it.