Family Memories

Last week, we spent a blissful week with some extended family in the Outer Banks.  There were 12 of us in one house right on the ocean, and it couldn't not have been more perfect. We cooked at the house the whole week, which meant we were not running to reservations. This was made possible by the fact that we completely reorganized the kitchen when we arrived:

Instead of trying to capture every day, I want to capture the big memories here. Like beach walks:

 Our family was incredibly gracious with the kids. Brad and I were able to sneak out alone a few times, and even when we were at the house we got plenty of time with the rest of the grown-ups while our kids happily played with someone else. The kiddos also had the whole bottom floor as their lair, so they were content to just hang out at the house, too.

Every night, we took crabby walks:

I loved watching these little guys scurry on the beach. However, Aunt Shannon and Aunt Carol felt very differently and only joined us once!

 I have no idea how many hours were spent in the pool:

 Evan even tried our a ponytail one day to better allow for swimming:

The only time we had to leave the house at a certain time was for a dolphin tour:

 

 We saw so many dolphins! 

We took in the sunsets:

 We even got to watch the fireworks from our beach!

And we spent plenty of time near the ocean, just taking it all in:

 I think some of the best conversations happened in the surf:

We also spent plenty of time in the ocean:

We all took turns grocery shopping, and Issa and I were afeared of the crowds:

 But that shopping allowed us to spent plenty of time cooking and eating together:

 When we weren't at the water or in the kitchen, we were doing puzzles:

We actually finished four!

 One of the absolute highlights, though, was seeing Nana take her first trip into the ocean. She had never gone deeper than her ankles, and by the end of the week she was body surfing into shore:

It truly was a blissful week full of memory making and conversation. Everyone felt free to do as they pleased, but we always met up for dinner together. There was plenty of time and space for conversation and playing, and we all weren't quite ready for the week to end. It will be one of those weeks that we talk about for years to come.