Saturday: Saturday was the drive…it was 7 hours door to door, which wasn’t too bad. The girls all watched Netflix on their IPADs most the car ride, so they were pretty quiet. Harper received a new IPAD for her 5th birthday, two days early so that she could have it for the car ride! Normally the day of arrival, we don’t do much else besides unpack and go to the grocery store. This year, we arrived a little earlier than normal (3:30) and with the help of Larrissa, were able to unpack quickly. Gus, Erin, and I went grocery shopping together to pick up items for dinner (we grilled burgers and hot dogs), and we still managed to spend a little time at the beach (this year our house was on the beach) and also go to bed early!
Sunday: Harper’s Birthday! My baby turned five. Honestly, this was a tough one to swallow. At age five, I clearly don’t have any babies…I don’t even have toddlers anymore. Ironically, Harper started acting older! I joke you not. I kept telling her happy birthday and in an annoyed voice she would respond “Mom (not even Mommy or Mama), you already told me that.” Then, she would not even let me pick her up! Maybe it was because she was with her friends! I hope so!
Anyway, Sunday morning the girls woke early….starting at 6:30! They never wake that early! Not sure if it was because it was so bright out or if it was simply the excitement of Harper’s birthday. Either way, they were up early…as were Mommy and Daddy. I started the first of many pots of coffee and then proceeded to make breakfast pancakes at Harper’s request. They were a hit!
We spent the morning at the beach and were on the beach by 9:30 am after what felt like a very leisurely morning. The light was amazing and I was having a ball with the camera!
The girls loved the water. The laughs that were coming out of them was so amazing to hear and brought such joy to me! These pictures of Emerson especially make my heart so happy because she is a tough one to please.
While Avery still didn’t like going in the water this year, she had a thrill getting close to it and having the waves hit her feet.
They even boogie boarded and had a blast riding the waves.
A little pool time followed by some lunch and then some quiet/movie/play time for the kids. While Harper and I went to the grocery store to pick out her cake, Daddy and Larissa took Avery and Emerson back to the beach. Harper and I joined upon our return but the threat of lightning and thunder abbreviated our afternoon beach time. So we took showers and ordered pizza to celebrate Harper’s fifth birthday! And we topped it off with cake, which was also a hit. These pictures are so funny because you can see the reflection of the kids in the table!
Happy 5th Birthday Harper Paige Maddy!
Monday: Monday morning Harper was up again early but the older girls slept in until around 8:00. We spent the morning at the beach. While the light wasn’t amazing, I still managed to take some incredibly pictures using filters and taking black and white photos. Again, their joy was abundant.
Some pool (and hot tub) time followed before eating leftover pizza for lunch.
In the afternoon, our family went miniature golfing. Emerson is extremely competitive and couldn’t handle the fact that Harper wasn’t playing by the rules. We eventually had to split up in two teams so Emerson was separated from her sisters. Her attitude improved by the end; however, while we played she was having a very tough time. It was Larrisa’s first time playing and she had a great time.
It was HOT playing and we were all dripping sweat. Ice cream seemed like the perfect thing to do next…we went to Booty Treats and it was delicious!
Next stop was Nags Head Pier, where the girls saw a 40 pound cobia being gutted and fileted. We took pictures on the pier.
Then went underneath the pier and on the sand for a few. Emerson and Harper got closer to the water than I was planning. The light was amazing again.
We came home to a delicious dinner of salmon, chicken, shrimp, and asparagus that Gus and Donald cooked. Followed by watermelon, dance parties, and fun.
Tuesday: Tuesday morning we made our way to the beach again. Harper and Emerson especially loved playing in the sand, water, and hours later still weren’t tired of doing so. Avery on the other hand loved playing near the water initially but was much more apt to complain after about an hour that she wanted to head to the pool. She doesn’t go into the water as much as the other girls so I think she just gets hotter. I tried pouring buckets of water on her a few times, which helped for a few minutes at a time.
The girls took a dip in the pool next. I stayed behind and read some on the beach!
After lunch our family went to Jockey’s Ridge. We went smack in the middle of the day in the sweltering heat. Emerson complained quite a bit and Avery and Harper some but overall enjoyed the short time we were there. Emerson refused to come up the final dune, thus why she looks like spec below!
We enjoyed Taco Tuesday at the beach house courtesy of the Brophys.
Wednesday: Wednesday morning we went to the beach again followed by pool!
Wednesday early evening the three families headed to Jenette’s Pier for our annual family picture taking.
Our family
The Brophys
The Nidays
The kids….Quinn wasn’t really into it and Harrison too wanted nothing to do with it.
Everyone!
Just when we were about to leave, some guys caught a shark. The kids had a great time watching it. Avery especially was laughing hysterically watching it wiggle and twist until the man threw him back in the water. 
After the pier, the families went out to dinner on our own. Justin and I decided to make it a date night and went to our can’t miss spot, Blue Moon Grill Café. Even arriving at 5:45 p.m, the wait time was 1 hour 45 minutes. After about 40 minutes and a beer at the new bar, we snagged a seat at the bar and ate a delicious dinner! Justin ordered the shrimp and grits. I ordered the swordfish special and they were both delicious! We even splurged on the lemon mascarpone cake, which too was excellent, and I had no regrets about ordering.
After dinner, we headed for a quick walk back on Jenette’s Pier since our walk on pass was good for the entire day. Justin snagged a picture of me on the turtle….the same turtle that the kids take a picture on.
We also took some selfies!
Thursday: Thursday we switched everything up…starting in the morning. I took my morning walk on the beach. The girls went swimming after breakfast, while I went to The Fresh Market to get dinner food for the evening. The girls were a little disappointed that they didn’t get to go out to eat last night so we quickly left the beach house at 11:10 to beat the crowd before doors opened at 11:30 to eat lunch at Kill Devil Grill. Lunch was delicious and fun.
Justin and I spent an hour together in the afternoon and went for another walk and a quick trip back to the grocery store since I didn’t think I had enough flank steak for dinner. He took a picture of me on a massive chair in the parking lot.
We went to the beach a little after 3:00 today and it was nice to enjoy the beach later in the day.
Dinner was flank steak with salad and of course a lot of other “little things”…pesto, chimichurri sauce, fruit, green beans, olives, sweet peppers. I didn’t get up to take my pitch, but HOMERUN!!
Friday: Our last day…always bittersweet! Justin and I woke up before 6:00 a.m. intentionally – he wanted to take pictures of the sunrise. I wanted to see it as well and figured I would just start my walk early on the beach – of course the multi-tasker in me would do that! I was on the beach walking at 6:07 a.m. Justin was waiting for the sunrise and it looked hazy….I started walking and close to a half hour later turned my head toward the ocean to see the most beautiful sunrise. Justin had said the sun started rising 14 minutes before I noticed it rising behind me. I brought a ziplock bag with me on my walk today and collected seashells at the same time. My walk ended at 8:00 a.m. – and I had 10,000 steps by then! Score!
We indulged in Duck Donuts for breakfast courtesy of Donald and Gus! I indulged having half with an oreo topping and half lemon coconut and then the crumbs and drippings in the box! Up until today, I ate darn well (nutrition wise)….todays nutrition was so-so at best.
After breakfast, we beached it up for one last time on the vacation. I took turns going for a walk and looking for shells with each of the girls individually. They enjoyed the one-on-one time.
The afternoon was spent packing and getting ready for our departure. And of course, the trip wouldn’t be complete without another trip for ice-cream. We went to Booty Treats again…just a different location. It was packed and we even got to see a few girls displaying their own booty treats. Emerson too was staring at the girl at the cash register who was wearing a string bikini thong and at certain angles appeared to be truly naked from the back.
The highlight of the day for the kids (perhaps even the week) was when the fire alarm went off and the code to turn it off wouldn’t work, triggering a visit from the police department. All was well and the kids received hats from the fire department and then proceeded to play fire and rescue in the beach house the next hour.
Our last dinner we did take out from Sooeys Barbecue and while I made better choices than I would have in the past, the hush puppies coupled with the donut, ice cream, left over slice of cake, and chocolate covered beans, clearly made today’s eating a bit disappointing in some ways. As for the entire trip, I nailed my exercise averaging 20,000 steps each day and not missing a single hour of my 250 steps during the 14-hour window. While I did indulge some earlier in the week, I made great choices for the majority of the trip!
I feel so blessed to be vacationing with the Brophys and Nidays again. The kids get along great and the memories that these kids are going to have just warms my heart. This vacation while I was more active then ever, didn’t get a single nap in or have much R&R, I still managed to take a vacation from giving my kids showers and brushing their teeth….Larissa did it daily, which was a nice break for this mama! We certainly made memories that will continue to last us a lifetime! Until next time Outer Banks!
The kids had a great time…even the boys! 
We had a leisurely morning allowing us time to open presents (a new water bottle, beach shoes, and swimsuits from Mommy and Daddy), and for me to read my annual birthday letter to each of the girls. 
Larrisa joined the girls and me for their birthday mani/pedis at RainLilly Salon. 
After enjoying their spa experience, we met Daddy, Papa and Grandma at Matchbox for lunch. Followed by some group picture outside the restaurant.
