Ridin' The Waves

We just got back from a week at Sunset Beach, NC with Grandma and our friends the Powells. We had a house on the canal, so we had the best of both worlds. We spent plenty of time at hte beach, just a block down the road, but also plenty of time fishing, crabbing, and kayaking. It was a really great, exciting, relaxing, fun vacation. It really couldn't have been better. I thought a week at the beach would be too long, but I think John put it best. I was saying to him, "Aren't you glad Daddy works so hard so that we can have this nice vacation? We should give him a big hug and say Thank You." Not meaning to be disrespectful or unappreciative he replied, "I wish Daddy could work harder so we could spend THE WHOLE SUMMER at the beach!" Here are some (OK, lots) pictures. Ellie spent more time in a chair snacking than riding the waves. She was OK with the water on her own terms for a short while, but enjoyed the food better. I think it was more of an attachment phase than a real dislike for the water. A couple of times Buck took her out into the waves and they jumped them together, and she actually loved it.

Our best purchase was this shovel.

Fort #1. That's a proud little boy!

What are we going to do with that girl? 20 more years, sweetie.

Lots of fishing to do, not so many fish to be had. Well, not so many to be had by us, at least. Still, lots and lots of fun.

Eve's favorite place to play. Eve, when you're older and looking at this and wondering why there aren't many pictures of you, it's because all week you said, "will you please not take any pictures of me?" Or more often, "DON'T TAKE MY PICTURE!!!!!"

Her legs are not really that long. It's the camera angle.

Ellie and Grandma bonded a lot this week.

The beginnings of fort #2 (I think). Ahhhhhh! So relaxing!

For some reason they both started eating fistfulls of sand and thought it was the greatest most hilarious thing. Gross.

July 4 - the kids decorated festive cupcakes.

And Suzie decorated a festive cake.

We caught at least 6 crabs, but a few were small and one died in the bucket (it was the biggest one...John caught it...bummer)

Ellie decided to decorate her face, too.

Every kid tried the crab except Eve. Every kid liked it. Yum!

Buck gave a concert to the entire canal. He got lots of applause. Now the kids won't stop singing "Bungalow Bill".

Thank you to the Buckinghams and Cushmans for leaving the boogie boards from our family reunion at Tybee Island a few years ago! We got your money's worth out of them this week!

Jumping over the volcano in the middle of fort #3, or was it 2? Either way, it was awesome! A volcano surrounded by a moat.

IN the volcano. I promise it's a big wide hole. He was never closed up in there and always had plenty of room to breathe. He's actually doing sort of a head stand.

Eve was a bit tired and found another use for the volcano (after she spent her share of time jumping over and in).

Here comes the water!!!!!

The work crew. This was a HUGE deal!

And once the water hit it was even more messy fun.

Ahhhhhh. This is the life.

Eve loved making sea-foam beards. Never a dull moment with that one.

John has a new love. He's gotten to be really good at casting. Unfortunately he practices a little too much to actually catch anything (and for me to feel like I can lower my guard for a minute and not worry about hooks flying near my head)

This is Ellie's new walking stance. A few times she started to walk happily and courageously (or ignorantly) toward the water...until a "big" wave came and stifled her happiness and courage.

What a great family time together to relax and enjoy each other. The kids were asking before we had all the sand rinsed off how long until we can go back.