OBX'13 #2

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!
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.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.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.