Thursday, May 30, 2013

OBX'13 #3

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A Mother-Daughter Walk On The Beach

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The crabs come out at night, apparently after the birds can no longer see the beach very well.  There are crabs of all sizes, and they scurry around all over the beach.  It might be easy to step on one if you weren't careful, though they are pretty fast at getting out of the way when they see motion around them.
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It was another couple of great dinners over the last evenings.  Two evenings ago we had Taco Night, with beef, chicken and shrimp; and then we washed it all down with Chocolate Dessert Tacos. Last evening was a night of pizza with a Taco Pizza, a Cheese Pizza, and a BBQ Chicken Pizza.  Ella might have out-eaten us all.
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Yesterday we went to the Currituck Beach Lighthouse and Lincoln and I climbed to the top to take in the experience and the view.  He did great with the climb, and we got to see the Outer Banks from way up.  The little ones stayed down with Jenn and Grandma & Grandpa... too much of a climb, and Lydia would have been a jump risk, we believe.
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This last photo cracks me up.  It's from the inside of the Lighthouse, and I liked the brick pattern as a background.  I asked Lincoln to make a nervous face, and that's what he came up with.
The kids are getting more and more comfortable with the water, both the pool and the ocean.  It's way too cold to go swimming in the ocean, but Lincoln didn't mind getting wet in the waves this morning.
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It hit me today that it's now Thursday and we'll be packing up for home tomorrow evening and hitting the road in less than 48 hours.  The week has blown right by.  I suppose it's a metaphore for life, that each day passes quickly.  These days, in particular, have passed quickly and we'll soon be left with photos and memories.

Jenn and I have had a number of conversations over the past several months about taking memory-making vacations for and with the kids.  My parents did that with Emily and me, and when we hear successful parents at church discuss the things that made them successful families, one of their secrets is being intentional about giving their kids good memory-making opportunities.
One of the surprises of the week was Grandma's present to the kids: matching jammies!
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This followed an evening of Superhero Birthday Party for Grace, Cole and Lincoln, and we all donned Spiderman masks.
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We've been letting Lincoln stay up a bit later some of these evenings.  It's all a part of that memory-making philosophy.  Two evenings ago he wore his new jammies to the beach and got to watch Grandpa fish.  That evening proved to be the least-exciting evening of fishing (lots of skates the night before and two stingrays the night after), but Lincoln got some extra kite-flying time in, and Grandpa even let him reel in the line before we went to bed.
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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

OBX'13 #2

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Jenn has risen with the sun the past two mornings and combined a cup of coffee with a good book on the upper deck.  She says it's her most relaxing time of the day.

One of the things I really enjoy doing on the Outer Banks is flying kites.  There's just more reliable wind here than at home, and significantly fewer trees.  The kids really got into flying kites, too, and it was pretty easy for Jenn and me to get them going because they had very simple, user-friendly kites.  Last night we hit the beach for flying, and this morning was another good time for flying!
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Afterward, Grandpa and Uncle Jeremy tossed some lines in the water.  It made us laugh that when Uncle Jeremy went back to the house following no action on his line, Grandpa reeled in two fish... on Uncle Jeremy's line... at one time!

Yesterday's dinner was another good one: Pork Tenderloin with a good mix of seasoning, Grilled Peaches with a hint of cayenne pepper, and Israeli couscous.  We washed all of that down with a Lemon Pie and a Mexican Chocolate Pie.  I do believe everyone had a small slice of each.
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Grace and Cole got in late last evening.  Or was it early morning?  Hard to say.  And they slept past the point of this morning's trip to the beach, so they're not yet in any photos.  In similar news, we've pushed our lighthouse trip back to tomorrow morning.

Lincoln has really been into building sand castles.  This morning we dug a deep hole and used the sand to build a big castle wall to "keep the waves out."  Of course that didn't last long, but the fun was in the building and decorating.
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We also had more pool time this morning.  After Henry made a faceplant in the waves and sand we went back to the house to get rinsed off (the ocean is quite cold and anything other than running in the surf and getting more than the knees splashed is unpalatable to the Gates family) and then spent about an hour in the pool.  No other form of entertainment is really needed outdoors. Jenn and I are very thankful, though, that Grandma and Auntie Em brought a box full of crafts.  That has occupied the kids in between other happenings.

Jenn's been running on the beach, and while her knee is still giving her some pain after a couple of miles, yesterday she was able to get back and jump right in the pool because she ran in her new Athleta activewear.  (If you're ever looking for a gift for Jenn, something from Athleta is always a good idea.)

There have certainly been some "classic kid times" with some fussing and a meltdown here and there, but overall, the kids are doing quite well with all of the stimulation, wall-to-wall activities, near exhaustion and non-stop entertainment.  They've napped quite well, and they've even remained quite until after 7:00 am each day so far.  And no, I'm not worried about jinxing myself, because if they get up earlier they'll just be returning to their SOP.

Monday, May 27, 2013

OBX'13 #1

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It was a long drive, mostly because of stop-and-go volume south of DC on Saturday, but we made it to our beach house on Pine Island, and WOW! is it nice.
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The first day-and-a-half was chilly with lots of wind, but the kids didn't know any different.  We've enjoyed the beach so far by making a few sand forts and running in and out of the surf.
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It's been nothing short of a pleasure to see Lincoln enjoy the ocean.  He's at the perfect age to thoroughly enjoy himself, with big smiles, lots of laughs, running and splashing... it's just really cool as a parent to see him at this stage.
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Lydia and Henry are having fun on the beach in their own ways.  Henry had to learn to be okay with walking on the sand, and Lydia had to learn to not eat and throw the sand.  But they're doing good with things now.
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The kids have had a ton of fun with Grandpa and Grandma.  Between having extra story readers, and hands to hold onto on the beach, and craft buddies, and on and on, what's for a grandkid *not* to like?
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The pool has been nice, too.  It was cool at first as the heater kicked into gear, but by this morning (Monday) I didn't cringe as I walked down the steps.
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Jenn's menu has been out of this world, and we've only been here a short time.  Last evening we had a dinner of Grouper, Tilefish & Hush Puppies.  Um... yeah... it was good.
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Last night before bedtime, Lincoln and I were listing all of the new things he's seen and done just in the last couple of days.  That list will be a bit longer this evening after we saw a bunch of dolphin cruising the water just off our beach house this morning and even a bit into the afternoon time.  That and the number of pelicans dive-bombing the water around us suggest a decent sized school of fish in the water.

And more fun will be had tomorrow as Grace and Cole join us!  With less wind and higher temperatures, we'll no doubt be on the beach and in the pool for most of the rest of the week... when we're not at the Currituck Beach Lighthouse... look for photos of this visit soon!