Monday Fun at the Beach

My clock appears to be a bit off from the rest of the adult crew here....rising before the sun (which is about 5:00 am), but ready to hit the sack by 9:30 at night.  There are some advantages to this time schedule.  I am able to write this blog in a quiet room, with no interruptions, while watching the sunrise.

Isn't it gorgeous?  

But, yesterday morning, it was obvious to me, that I missed a whole lot of fun the night before!

Perhaps I should consider a mid-afternoon nap! 

Monday began with yet another delectable treat:  blueberry muffins ala Finn and Maddie.  Sorry...no photos...but you can take my word on it that the crew found them to be amazing.  

After breakfast, we headed to the beach to enjoy a nearly perfect weather day.  There are still yellow flags warning about the surf, but none of the littles venture in much further than the edge of the shore.

Leona enticed me to join her, once again, as she conquered her fear of the waves.  Iris, on the other hand, ran in and out of the surf as if it was her element.  It brings such a smile to my face seeing how unique they are, despite being identical twins.  

This little guy was a bit off of kilter yesterday, but still managed to enjoy his time on the sand.  

And we're lucky that his oldest cousin was on hand to help keep him entertained.

and the girls had fun with hims as well, although he was bound and determined to empty the buckets of water that they had retrieved from the ocean. 

In the meantime, there was plenty of beach activity

and Pap Pap G caught a spot! Actually, I heard that he caught a giant mullet earlier in the day, but we have to take the word of eye witnesses on the spot.  It made me laugh, when, later in the day, I was talking to my parents on FaceTime and Marty told them that the mullet was nearly as big as Parker.  Finn got to see first hand just how his PapPap can exaggerate a story and he immediately spoke up and gave his accounting of the size, which was quite a difference! 

After the beach there was some pool time, which involved some super excitement with water guns.  As you can see, the fun wasn't limited to little ones.

Then, there was evening relaxation with the girls working on making their own jeweled mermaids.

I'll be sure to get photos of the finished products. 

And there were snuggles with Gramma....always the best! 

Once again, there was a beautiful sunset...viewed from the comforts of our back deck. 

A beautiful ending to another great day. 

Fish Envy

 Yesterday began watching the sun rise, enjoying the sunset, and a whole lot sandwiched in between. 

Who wouldn't delight in starting the day with this happy kid for entertainment? 

And, as you can see, he was surely the center of early morning attention!

While PapPap ventured out in hopes of some luck with ocean fishing, Gramma G tried her hand at keeping 5 kiddos actively involved in helping her make some morning Cheese Danish.

The youngest was sandwiched in between the two oldest, who were quite willing to try to keep him out of trouble.  And he even managed to make his own Danish base, albeit a little lopsided.  But hey, he's two!  

And let me just say, for the record, those danish were DELICIOUS!

One of the great features of this place is that we can actually keep an eye on PapPap while he fishes!

No morning fish for him, though.

After breakfast, we headed down to the beach, which is just a short trip up and over a dune, then down the stairs to a pristine beach. 

 Yesterday was pretty quiet,  with scattered people in the distance, but this house is situated between two Sunday rentals, so I anticipate a LOT more activity today.  

The water was a bit cool, and it was exceedingly windy, adding a bit of a chill if situated in the shade, but that didn't keep these kiddies out of the water!

 

Leona was quite content to sit on the beach and play in the sand....and get other people to fetch the water for her.  She tried one trip to the ocean's edge, and scampered back in quick time when the waves crashed near her toes.  She was having none of THAT!

Aunt Amy had a little pep talk with her, and before we knew it, Leona was asking me if I would like to hold her hand while she stood in the ocean!  She didn't have to ask me twice!

She kept saying, let's go a little closer, Gramma, and before we knew it, she was up to her knees in the water, screaming with delight!  (I don't know what Amy said to her, but I'm calling her the Wave Whisperer.)  

How's that for a complete turnaround?

While Leona delighted in her newfound love of the ocean, Pap Pap was trying to share his love of fishing.  Not too many eager fans there!  But this one was a bit curious.

when he wasn't crashing sand castles!

Marty did manage to catch a mullet.  Since I was hand holding in the ocean, I asked Jim to take a photo so that I could share it.  Marty happily posed with his catch.

But I heard later that there was a bit more to the photo shoot that appears at first glance. 

I'll let you come to your own conclusions on that one.

The rest of the day, Marty watched with envy as a man just up the beach a bit reeled in a bluefish.  Of course, he had to head over there to strike up a conversation to glean any secrets to the man's success.  There were a couple more fish reeled in as well, so Marty is eager to see if he has better luck today.

After a full day in the ocean, we headed back for some pool time near the house.

The evening involved another delicious dinner, and relaxing while watching the sun set from the front porch. 

I'll leave you here with some special photos

Family memories:  you just can't get enough!

A Memorable Celebration

 Yesterday, this little guy turned TWO!

And what better place to celebrate than at the beach?  We all loaded up our cars and spent the day driving, in mostly dreary weather, towards the coast.  Amy was along with Marty and me for the drive, and she chose Yorktown Battlefield as our scheduled lunch stop.  We figured that we might as well enjoy our afternoon respite in a pleasant location.

We stopped into the visitor center to use the facilities, and were greeted by a very chatty park ranger who was eager to share the perks that Yorktown had to offer.  And, to be quite frank, she convinced us that it would be well worth a trip to visit sometime in the future. 

She also introduced us to Mrs. Martha Washington who has apparently delighted visitors for at least five years.  Martha seemed quite eager to make our acquaintance.  (Personally, I think she was eager to share our lunch.)

We decided to drive down to the waterfront parking lot to enjoy our sandwiches. 

As you can see, it was much more entertaining than sitting at a public rest stop.  

Feeling refreshed, we piled back into the loaded car and continued our drive south to the North Carolina beaches with our destination of Corolla. And as our anticipation mounted when we crossed the bridge over the sound...watching the sun peek out from behind the clouds, we found ourselves sitting in traffic unlike no other we had experienced in our past adventures on this island.  It took us over an hour to drive that last 13 miles to reach our destination.  But upon arrival, we were awed by our chosen accommodations, and ready to celebrate. 

After a scrumptious dinner of home made Lasagna, compliments of Stacey,  it was nearly time to blow out those candles.  Gramma spent some time helping this little guy practice.  First...a big breath...

then blow!

Then it was time!

In the end, it took a few huffs and puffs to blow out those two candles, but there were cheers from all when he managed to successfully snuff them out.  Certainly a fun time for all.  

And, speaking of fun......there's nothing quite like a Micky tattoo (or three) to add to the excitement.

After the celebration, I took a few photos from our beach house.

Ocean view:

Sound view"

Boy view:

As I type this blog, I'm sitting in bed, watching the sun rise through the sliding glass door of my bedroom, listening to the waves crashing on the shore.  I don't know about you, but I'd say that it doesn't get much better than this!  

So, here's to the start of a week of fun!  I'l try to keep you posted.