Family Vacation to NC

Wow! What a week it has been. It all started last Wednesday when Sydney left with her Grammy and Papaw for Durham, NC. Tim, Addison, and I left the following day to meet up with the fam at my sister's house. This was our first time traveling a great distance with Addison (a 10 hr. and 15 min. trip.) She normally rides in the car pretty well and this trip was no exception. For the most part she slept and woke only to eat, which was every 3-4 hours. Tim and I made good use of our stops and only had to stop 3 times. Now, the trip home on the other hand was not as easy or pleasant. Both Sydney and Addison rode home with us, and our travel time increased by 2 hours! We had to make more stops and they took much longer than anticipated. The girls only slept through West Virginia and were awake the rest of the time. Addison had had enough with the car seat and Sydney couldn't find enough activities to keep her occupied. I heard a lot of "Hey, Mommy. . ." "Yes, Sydney." "Can I. . ., Where's my. . ., and Addison's crying." Needless to say, we were all very glad to finally be home.

Okay, now back to the actual vacation. For 3 days with 3 families, and using 3 vehicles, my family traveled to Emerald Isle, NC for a beach trip.

Day 1 (Thursday, before the beach trip)
Tim, Addison, and I arrived in Durham approx. 6:30 p.m. and met up with my fam at the mall to go out to eat. We ate at a local favorite~ Jim's Bar-B-Que. Very Yummy. Then it was back to Matt and Victoria's to get ready for the beach and sleep.

Day 2 (Friday, Beach trip begins)
Left for Emerald Isle around noon. Checked into the beach house about 3 p.m. Changed into our swimsuits and headed to the beach armed with all the beach gear imaginable. (towels, umbrella, baby cabana, baby play mat, sand pail, sand toys, sunscreen, beach chairs, cooler, and camera) Though we never expected that the wind would be blowing at 20 mph and we wouldn't be able to use all of that previously mentioned gear. Tim and I tried so hard to battle the wind and set up a place for Addison to "enjoy" the beach. Unfortunately, the wind won, and everything was completely covered in sand. After an hour, I gave up and took Addison back to the house for a nap. Though before we headed back, I dipped Addison's feet in the ocean and she wasn't impressed. The water was a little cold and I think the waves took her by surprise. Sydney on the other hand absolutely loves the beach and playing in the ocean, so Daddy stayed with Sydney.

Day 3
On day 3 (Saturday), we planned to be at the beach all day. This time we were a little wiser and didn't take as much gear. The wind wasn't as strong initially, so we were able to set up an area for Addison to play where she was protected from the sun and not sitting in the sand. She seemed to enjoy this trip to the beach much more and was content playing with the toys. Until, she had a messy diaper and needed a nap. So, daddy took her back to the house and I continued to play with Sydney in the ocean. Now, let's talk about suntans-I had hoped to get a really good tan during our stay on the beach, but that didn't happen. Sydney on the other hand looks like she lives on an island-thanks to her daddy's dark complexion. I am not at all jealous-can't you tell? ; ) Check out photo album to see family photos on the beach.

Day 4
In the morning, we packed up our things, checked out of the beach house, and headed to a nearby aquarium. The aquarium highlighted all of the marine life that inhabits the NC coast. The girls really enjoyed the aquarium. In the afternoon, on the way back to my sister's house, we stopped at an outlet mall. I was able to find a few things for the girls to wear next summer at some great prices.

Day 5 (Back in Durham)
Tim, the girls, and I shopped at the mall for a little bit-I picked up more things for the girls' summer wardrobes at TCP. Then we met the rest of the fam for supper at a local favorite in Chapel Hill called Nantucket Grill. (The desert was out of this world delicious-mile-high strawberry shortcake. Yum, Yum. ) After supper we went to the movies to see WALL-E. I never would have imagined taking a 7 month old to the movies, but it worked out great-she slept through the whole movie.

Day 6
The girls (Grammy, Victoria, Sydney, Addison, and I) went to Babies R Us to help Victoria with her baby registry. I had a lot of fun sharing my thoughts on baby stuff with my sister. It was neat that she asked me to be a part of that experience. In the evening, we ended our vacation with an all-American pastime ~ We saw a Durham Bulls baseball game. It was soo much fun. The weather was perfect, the tickets were cheap, the food prices were reasonable, there was a play area for Sydney, the Bulls won, and there were fireworks after the game.

Now we are back home catching up on laundry, and trying to recover from all of the excitement.

The title to this post will link you to the photo album.