Beach Update

I've exchanged some texts with Amanda to get the skinny on what is happening at the beach. Tuesday was so hot that they stayed inside most of the day, but they did get out to the beach, the pool, and the hot tub yesterday. The weather was really nice in Raleigh, so I can only imagine how wonderful it must have been at Outer Banks.

Today and the rest of the week should prove interesting. The McKenzies had a water heater leak Monday morning and are getting some repairs done on their house. Jack had gone back to visit his dog who hurt her paw and decided to bring Brenna to the beach as a way of helping out and to give Brenna a little trip to the beach. They will travel back today. Amanda will now get to share a bedroom with all three children.

Cue the music.

Back from the Beach

We were invited to spend two nights at the beach with Amanda's Aunt Claudia, her son and his wife, and his mother-in-law.  We are not ones to pass up a trip to the Outer Banks, particularly when the accommodations are paid for, so I took the day off on Friday and we made a long weekend of it.  The only tough thing was that I was supposed to help break down after a banquet on Saturday evening, but I knew that there were others doing it and I couldn't very well not go because of this.

We left at 6:00 AM sharp Friday morning and arrived at the house by around 10:15 or 10:30.  During this trip Amanda learned the joys of Bojangles' biscuits.  We had a nice day at the beach and by the pool and capped it all off with a lovely dinner at the house.

Saturday was more of the same, but with less driving.  Noah and I fetched dinner Saturday evening, so we made ourselves at least somewhat useful.  Meanwhile, Amanda, Aunt C, and Sarah went out to check out some art galleries and to do some shopping.  Again, we had a nice time in the evening.

Today was a little more hectic.  We were actually the last ones out of the house, so we netted some groceries out of this little deal.  We spent the morning at the beach, had a nice picnic lunch, and then stopped back at the house just as the housekeepers came.  We wanted to rinse off using the outdoor shower, and they were nice about it.  We had an uneventful trip home and are now all crashing.

I'm saving some big news about Noah for tomorrow morning.  Stay tuned...

At the Beach

We're having a good time so far. Last night was a little rough as Noah woke up having a fit and wouldn't sleep for about 45 minutes. The good news is that Lily was so deeply asleep that she doesn't remember any of it. The tricky thing with these two is keeping them quiet when they get up first-thing in the morning. It's no small task, but we do have a nice balcony that seems to work. That's where we took our breakfast this morning and I suspect we will do the same tomorrow.

We spent the better part of the morning at the beach. Aunt Claudia got some chairs and umbrellas for us, so it was nice to hang out. Of course, with the kids there was little hanging out. Noah loved playing in the surf and recovered quite well emotionally when he got knocked down. Lily made some friends and had a wonderful time in the surf as well. She is becoming braver. In fact, she didn't even come crying when she got knocked over. He hair was wet, so she must have gone under for a second. Love those swim lessons!

Noah is napping right now. Amanda and Lily are at the pool. I'm getting ready to do some reading for school. All we need now is for Noah to sleep well tonight.

The Beach

We made our day trip to the beach yesterday. The trip to and from was very smooth, though it was harder to find ice cream than I expected (we did ultimately prevail). The weather was beautiful. The water was warm and there was a nice long shelf that Lily could walk on without it getting too deep. Amanda packed us a great picnic lunch that we all enjoyed.

I'd say the only negative was that the sunscreen washed off the tops of my feet and I have a pretty good sunburn going on them. Lily got a couple of small burns where either she didn't get enough sunscreen on or she wiped it off. Noah looks fine though.

Lily has already been spoiled by our week-long stays at the beach. She said that yesterday was fun, but she would have liked to stay overnight. We will certainly do that again sometime.

Here are a few photos for your enjoyment.

Day 3

The weather got really nasty yesterday. According to Jack, the weather folks declared the storm to be a true Nor'easter. We had some 45 degree rain that came down in sheets. One of the great features of this house is that we can see the ocean from the living room. The waves are quite impressive. It's still very windy this morning, but I still plan to hit the beach with Lily. Hopefully there is a beach to walk on. The waves may be going all the way to the sea oats.

We made Lily and Brenna nap yesterday afternoon. There is a sitting area in the ground floor in between Noah's room and the girls' room. Naptime was interesting. Noah never really did go to sleep other than a brief time that was interrupted when Amanda had to knock on Tiffany's door above his room. The girls took a while to go to sleep. Brenna kept wanting to talk to Lily. I went in a few times and even gave her some stern looks, which seemed to ultimately get her attention. There is no way to capture the moment in writing unless you know Brenna, so I won't try.

Lily actually did try to nap. They had to because they have been waking up really early. When I came in to quiet Brenna Lily was quick to point out that Brenna kept talking to her and wouldn't let her sleep. Lily definitely has a well-developed sense of justice.

Fortunately, Noah was really pleasant yesterday evening despite not napping in the afternoon. Let's hope today is a better day. It may be a good one for me to take Lily to the lighthouse. We shall see.

Four Days!

Yes, I'm counting down to the beach. Here is where we are staying. Cute name, eh?

I'm really looking forward to it, though not the drive. It will take us about 4 or 4 1/2 hours to travel the 224 miles to NC-12, which is the road that runs parallel to the ocean. Then it will probably take well over an hour to go the last 18 miles to the house because the traffic is so terrible. Still, it's worth it.

I'm really hoping for a time of rest and renewal for us. Life is normally pretty hectic here and it will be nice not to have to worry about much more than taking care of the kids and preparing the occasional meal.

More Beach News

Apparently Lily had one of her famous tantrums yesterday. Amanda saw her grabbing herself as she tends to do when she has to go potty, so Amanda told her to go. Lily tried to find a compromise by saying that she would only go if Amanda came with her. Naturally, Amanda refused. This led to a screaming fit.

Amanda was then at a loss for what to do. When we're home we put her in her room or in the basement. Sometimes Amanda will put her out on the deck, which is what she initially did. Then she realized that there were many neighbors on vacation nearby, so that wasn't a good option. She couldn't put her in our room because Noah was trying to nap. She couldn't use any other bathroom because there was stuff she could get into. She ended up putting her in the half bathroom near the living area.

This caused much consternation for some because hearing a Lily tantrum really is not a pleasant experience. We just keep praying that eventually Lily will understand who is in charge. She just will not be told what to do.

The Beach

I am back from the whirlwind time at the beach. I am glad to say that Lily seems to be more comfortable with the ocean than she was last year. Unfortunately, I gave her a really bad introduction to the ocean. I took her down to the beach as soon as we arrived and I didn't think to hold her hand in the 1 inch wave that swept over her feet. She lost her balance and plopped down on the wet sand. Naturally, being Lily, this led to an ocean of tears and a complete fear of going in the water.

This year went much better. I held her hand at first and then she grew more confident. Of course, she's stronger on her feet now, so the waves weren't as much of a problem. In fact, she began to get really confident and started running in the shallow waves. As she got even more confident she would go down on all fours and splash around in the waves. Unfortunately, one got the better of her and rolled her around. She came up sputtering a bit (though we did discuss breath holding) and her eyes stung from the salt water. She then became more cautious.

It's good to see her overcome her fears and enjoy the water a little bit. She's still very tentative in the pool, despite wearing a suit that ensures she will float. Hopefully by the end of the week she will be more confident in the pool too. Of course, any fear she has in the water can be blamed on me rather than her mom. Amanda is an excellent swimmer and has been since she was very young. I can keep myself up, but I would hardly call myself a swimmer.

Everyone seems to be enjoying Lily and Noah. It's kind of sad to be home alone, but the tranquility is nice too :)