Bennett's Big Day

Although we had celebrated Bennett's birthday with a big party the week before, we couldn't let his actual birthday go by uncelebrated! Never mind that he had not a clue that it was his birthday. He still loved it when I sang "Happy Birthday" to him when he woke up. He loved all the attention at breakfast too. We didn't have any big plans for the day other than a birthday dinner, so we decided to go check out the Currituck Lighthouse as it was our very last day of vacation and we hadn't see it yet. I'm a sucker for lighthouses and since the Cape Hatteras lighthouse was too far away, I couldn't miss this one.

I'm not sure about the rest of my family, but I was happy to be there! Grammy, Pappap, Lorie and Alex accompanied us to the site of the lighthouse, but only Brent and I and the big kids chose to go up in the light. Yes, that's right, I abandoned my baby on his birthday to go explore the lighthouse. I don't think he was offended--Grammy and Pappap took good care of him!

Grammy with her girls. Pretty soon there will be another little girl grandbaby to join these two!
Brent and I waited in line with the kids til it was our turn to enter the lighthouse. I think I forgot how tall, curved and claustrophobic a lighthouse feels. You curve up and up as the walls close in closer and closer. I've never been terrified of heights, but I'll admit I was getting a bit anxious as we neared the top. Maura and Tristan showed no fear and just kept trucking up the stairs.

We finally made it to the top. Let me tell you, that little iron railing felt totally insufficient to me! I hugged the wall of the lighthouse and held the children's hands tightly as I peeked over the edge. The views were spectacular and the kids loved looking for our beach house and trying to spy Grammy, Pappap and Aunt Lorie down below.

It was a really fun experience to share with my big kids and I don't think they'll forget their trip to the lighthouse or it's 214 steps anytime soon! We headed back home soon after to enjoy our last afternoon of relaxation. Brent and Tristan chilled in the warm hot tub. Tristan called it the hot pool.

Bennett loved the pool, but I think he loved climbing around the floats even more than he did swimming. We filled the boat up with pool water and it made the perfect kiddie pool for him to play in. Maura and Tristan's favorite activity in the pool is being thrown up into the air. It's exhausting for Brent, but I just had to capture it in photos. I loved checking out their faces. Tristan's is the picture of joy.

Maura's is not so joyful! Every photo I have of her being thrown in the air looks just like this--rigid arms, grimace on her face. So funny--she loves being thrown and she swims well, but it must be stressful to her on takeoff! Even Bennett likes being thrown--just kidding. We just fly him up out of the water and he loves it!

Tristan has a fascination with the hose that I don't think I'll ever be able to cure. If he had it his way, the hose would be on all the time so that he could drink from it and spray everyone within reach. Such a boy! I'm sure Bennett will be just like him in a few years!
That evening, Grammy made a big spaghetti and meatball supper for us all--Bennett's favorite meal. We all took turns cooking all week, which is so much easier than taking this big group out to dinner--and so much more relaxing for those of us who weren't cooking! Bennett chowed down and then it was time for cake. He wasn't sure what to think when we all sang him "Happy Birthday!"
He was certainly a fan of the cake! What a mess! Our celebration was the perfect way to end our beach vacation. It was such an awesome week that we didn't want it to end, but I feel pretty certain that we'll make it back to the beautiful Outer Banks again someday.

Birthplace of Aviation

Before we left the Outer Banks, we travelled down to Kitty Hawk to witness the birthplace of aviation. Actually, the birthplace would be Dayton, Ohio, where the Wright Brothers conceived and built their world changing flying machine, but Kitty Hawk can lay claim to them because that's where it flew for the very first time. The kids were interested in the replicas of the planes, but as we weren't actually able to touch anything, I don't think the park held much interest for them.
It is difficult to believe that the first flight occurred just over a hundred years ago in 1903. Since that time, planes have been flown around the world and into space. It's amazing to me how quickly technology has evolved.

The kids enjoyed checking out the markers denoting the starting point and the end point of the first flight. Tristan was doing his customary check for "t's." When he sees a T on a sign, a t-shirt, or in a book he yells, "Mommy, a T!" Guess when it's the only letter you know, it's exciting to recognise it! I'll have to say that I was a bit underwhelmed by the distance of the first flight. It was only 120 feet, which is the equivalent of a twelve story building. Lets just say that it wasn't very far. The kids ran to the marker in about eight seconds and then pretended to fly.


Lorie was the driving force behind our trip to Kitty Hawk. She's always been fascinated by all things aeronautical. She was in her element.

They held a children's program during the course of the morning. We thought it was a kite making program. In actuality, it was a kite flying program. The kites were basically garbage bags with two stick and some strings taped to them. It didn't matter to the kids, though. They had an awesome time flying their garbage bags!

It was precious to watch the joy on the children's faces as they watched the kites fly. I love seeing them experience things for the first time and relive the joy with them.

It was great family time being there with some of the ones we love most in the world.

We stopped for a picnic on the grounds of the National Park and Aunt Emily enjoyed some quality nephew time. Maura and Tristan checked out the beautiful live oak on the property and they were just too cute not to photograph.


Stinker. We took the kids to a mini golf course just afterward for some real fun!! They couldn't wait to get started.
It was perhaps not the easiest golf outing for Brent, but he still managed to beat us all! The kids did awesome and we rewarded them with a Popsicle at the end. I think they'll always connect mini golf with Popsicles from now on!

It was a memorable day and a wonderful way to spend one of our last days on vacation.

Photo Shoot, Outer Banks Style

I love beach photos. They remind me of all the wonderful memories we make on our beach vacations. We always attempt beach photos of some type while we're there. I planned for my immediate family to take photos, but then recruited everyone else to join in our little photo shoot. We had barely set foot onto the beach before an amateur photographer volunteered to take our group photo. We managed to get some great shots and they'll remind us of our wonderful Outer Banks vacation forever.