OBX with the fam

Our vacation actually got off to an early start, thanks to the owners of the beach house we stayed in, who called me a few days before we were set to leave, to tell me we could get in the house on Friday!  (the owners are friends of mine!) Of course this is good news to everyone, because it gives you a whole extra day.  (Since normally we would have had to arrive Saturday after 4pm)  Jeff, Claire and I got to the house about 3 on Friday afternoon, while everyone else arrived late that night.  (there were 27 of us- including Claire!)  The house was just awesome, large enough for all of us, pool, hot tub, close to the beach & shopping...it was great!

The weather was beautiful all week.  It was HOT!  But, I didn't mind, and I don't think anyone else did either.  We ate delicious food (cooked by someone in the house each night!), and overall, had a wonderful time.

Claire wasn't too sure about the sand at the beach, but she really liked watching her cousin's catch crabs (and touching them too!)

We came home to a huge mess in the yard from the storms that occurred while we were gone, so we spent the morning cleaning up the best we could (well, I helped for an hour while Claire napped, and Jeff did the rest!)  We still have more to do, but we need to wait until Jeff can get to the dump to take the branches that would fit in the truck.  Now we have a bit more work to do, after more storms hit tonight, and actually knocked out our power.  We are spending the night at Krist's, so I'm very thankful that her place has power!

Here are some pictures from the week:

One day is "Pirate Day".  This is when everyone dresses up as a pirate, and we head to the beach for the kids to dig for a buried treasure!  It's really fun for the  younger kids, they get quite excited when they find that wooden box buried beneath the sand!

Claire, Dylan, Alaina

Claire, Ryan, Dylan & Alaina

I just love these series of pictures...all Claire wanted was Jeff's glasses!  (he has to wear his glasses because he is having Lasik next week, and one of the requirements is not to wear your contacts.)