Trip to the Outer Banks

We just spent a week in Duck, NC and had tons of fun! Alex really needed a vacation, and my mom was nice enough to let us use the timeshare. The Wilde's had some time off from school and were thinking of heading to the Outer Banks so we just went together. There are going to be lots of pictures in this post!

On our way down we stopped at Chincoteague Island in Virginia. We didn't really know what to do, so we just went to a park. The park actually ended up being a lot of fun and we spent a good bit of time there playing around. Nicole really enjoyed the assortment of things to do on the playground!



When we got to Duck, it was pretty windy and cold. Our resort was beachside, so we walked out to check out the beach. The next day Alex had to work, so I went with the Wilde's to the Currituck Beach Lighthouse and climbed to the top. It was really windy up top, but it was a beautiful view.

The Currituck Beach Lighthouse
Landon gave Nicole quite a ride on the rocking chair!

Alex and Troy tried surfing for the first time. And Nicole got to play in the sand and go in a swimming pool for the first time.
The Wilde's were nice enough to babysit while Alex and I went out for a belated Anniversary dinner. We both got some seafood at a fancy restaurant - it was delicious!
We visited the Wright Brothers Memorial which was pretty neat. They show you where the first flights started from and have markers showing how far they traveled with each sequential flight.
My little astronaut...
We made a few stops on the drive home - Alex wanted some authentic NC bbq so we went to the Currituck BBQ Company. So good! And we stopped at Chincoteague Island again and got some ice cream at the Island Creamery. They make the best waffle cones! Nicole was loving the ice cream! I think these will both be places we stop everytime we trek down to the south!

Mark & Cat Visit

My brother, Mark, sister-in-law, Cat, and their kids, Matt and Ethan came for a visit last Saturday. They are moving back to the states from Japan where my brother was stationed for the military. Cat's family is in Virginia so they started their trek there. Then they stopped to see us, headed to Denver to see my brother's family, and now they're in Utah. Their final destination is in Monterrey, California.

It was a lot of fun to see them, especially because we don't know when we'll see them again. We got some dinner at a local pizza shop and the boys enjoyed playing with their Uncle Alex. On Sunday we headed out to Valley Forge. We got to see a bunch of reenactors at the campsite, which was kind of fun.

Strawberry Festival

We headed up to Peddler's Village yesterday for the Strawberry Festival. There are a bunch of little shops, and there were booths set up everywhere with people selling things. This was definitely more my kind of thing than Alex's, but he is a good husband and goes with me! We ate some strawberry fritters, listened to the Daisy Junk Band (which Nicole loved), and enjoyed the beautiful landscaping. I got to go into the village candy shop (which I loved) and bought some fudge and hard to find candy bars. We also bought some strawberry tarts on our way out from the village bakery - SO delicious!

Oh, and Nicole is now 11 months old!