OBX 2010

We have finally settled back into our routine somewhat after a great vacation in the Outer Banks for a week with the Legnards. It doesn't really feel good to be home, but it does feel good to be back into the swing of things. Our bags are still semi-packed (hey! we didn't pack our work clothes to go to the beach!) but we are still phasing back into reality :)

We started off with a quick trip to the 4 wheel drive area in Corova- it's kind of a tradition of ours to go there with just the fam. Blake and I used to go up there for day dates when we lived in the OBX in 2007...we loved to go "ultimate tubing"...oh the good ol days :) Going to the beach now with a toddler in tow is a whole different story...

The Outer Banks vacay of 2010 was HOT! With temps above 100 degrees for 5 out of the 7 days- it was a true scorcher. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining- I'm just stating the facts. Lucky for us, the water temperature for most of the week ran around the 65ish mark (well, maybe we were a bit unlucky) which is really cold. For those of you who have not gone swimming in 60ish degree water, it was freezing! I'm talking make your feet curl and leg cramp cold. The kind of cold that when you get out of the water you literally feel your body thawing... Later in the week around Thursday, the water was gorgeous and perfect. Temps near 75 degrees :) I love swimming in the ocean more than I love sitting on the beach watching the waves crash and reading a book...I would rather be chilling in the ocean all week then anything- so you can imagine my heart break at the water temps. Of course we made the best of it! Especially the warm water day...Blake treated me with the one request I had the week before...Paddleboarding!

I got the craving to try this sport out after I saw a couple pictures of friends doing it in Wilmington, NC over 4th of July. It's not too tough to grasp, but don't underestimate the monotonous motions...it's quite the workout! We chose to bring the board to the ocean versus the sound (against our better judgement) and had a blast! All of Blake's cousins were around to witness and the try the sport out as well. Blake and I did really well on it, although I think was more graceful about it ;) I'm sure my parents would take credit for teaching me how to surf when I was little in Hawaii (Aloha Mutti and Dad! I miss you guys! Sienna too!)

Blake and I were able to sneak out for a night and got to venture out to some of our favorite spots: Awful Arthurs, Tortuga's Lie, Ocean Blvd, etc. Another bonus was playing cornhole at a new spot with Amy and Lissa at MexiCali Brewz...the atmosphere is low key and good fun (good beer too).

Alright, now to the part that everyone wants to read about....How did lil b do at the beach? Well.... he hated the sand. This was heart breaking for Big B and I! How did we know he hated the sand you ask? Everytime he stepped on a patch of sand he would sit down and wipe it off of his foot (or attempt to). Did we try to put shoes on him? Of course we did! His caretaker, Rachel, was so thoughtful to let us have a pair of water shoes her daughter grew out of, and then of course we had his crocs. No dice. As soon as he stepped on his 3rd pile of sand, he would sit down and proceed to take off his shoes and shake them out :( The only time we got him to run around on the sand solo was when we distracted him with Baked Cheetos to throw at the seagulls. He LOVED chasing the birds and trying to scare them....until he realized he was standing in sand.

Lil b was fine in the water as long as we held him or had him on our shoulders- although we did not get to explore this avenue too much due to the water temps. He really enjoyed the pool- so at least he wasn't a complete party pooper! I haven't convinced him that he needs some kind of flotation device to aid him in his pool adventures, but that is a priority on my list. He shows no fear about the pool and it scares me! He would feel comfortable jumping or walking straight into the pool...guess we need to start working on that asap!

Alright, enough chit chat. Here are some pics of the week! Sorry for the long post, it was a long week!

Lil b shaking out his shoe

Quick pic after a family walk on the beach

Lil b's first time at the Pier House Restaurant (he liked it!)

a failed attempt to capture a family pic...at least it's natural!

:)

We are that family in the khakis...haha!

Sampling of the cousins

Fam pic in Nags Head

giiirrlllsss

<3

The fam in khakis...don't judge! We look good! ;)

Paddleboarding in the big blue

Noshing on his first DQ cone... kudos to Aunt Carol!

My studly Ray Ban baby!

There are plenty more pics, but I will save them for a rainy day! Hope the Summer is awesome for everyone!