Beach Scenes

We're back from the Outer Banks and settling in to every day life again. It's always a little bit sad to have a vacation come to an end, but it's also good to be home in our own beds again!

1. These two littles LOVED the beach! Jonah brought his new Paw Patrol wagon and shovel, and the beach house also had buckets and shovels for the kids to play with. Many buckets of sand were filled up and dumped out into piles. And Noelle used her bucket to collect seashells- SO MANY shells! We came home with a plastic bag full that is too heavy for her to pick up. Our first day at the beach, Jonah was wearing regular clothes since it was a bit chilly with the wind, and he ended up COVERED in sand and had to be stripped down to his underwear for the drive back to the house.

2. On Sunday after church, we headed to Jockey's Ridge State Park to play in the sand dunes. Noelle and Jonah loved walking in the sand, scrambling up the dunes, rolling down the hills, racing Daddy and each other, and sitting in the holes that Uncle Max dug for them. I was blown away by how much walking they both did (especially Noelle who can barely handle walking to the end of our driveway!) Every time we drove by the dunes after that, they would always say "Look Mommy, the dunes!"

3. On our last full day there, we of course headed to the ocean for some more beach time. Jonah was dressed in his suit since we knew he would end up covered in sand, and didn't seem to mind getting hit by the 60ish degree water. The littles loved running back and forth to the water, getting their feet (and more) covered by little waves, helping daddy dig a giant hole, and attempting to put water in the hole with the beach buckets. Again, Noelle surprised me with how much she was actually enjoying running around and being outside. Maybe we need to move to the beach to get this girl active. :)

4. We also visited Jennette's Pier to check out the tank of fish. We didn't actually pay to walk out onto the pier, but the kids enjoyed watching the fish and playing with the interactive screens.

Overall, it was such a good trip, and SO different from our last trip to the beach when we went to Rehoboth with my family in 2015. Jonah was 14 months old at the time and miserable the entire week, and Noelle turned 3 while we were there and could only handle being out in the heat for so long. Maybe the secret for her is going before it gets too hot! Overall, they both did pretty well on the drive down and back, and thanks to Aunt Lyd who was able to help them with their toys and tablets!

the three year old covered in sand, and too busy to join the family picture