Outer Banks 2017

Another week at the Outer Banks has come and gone and I am already looking forward to next year. We had an amazing time being with family and the beautiful scenery around us.

Our trip started off by celebrating this little man. He opted for a cousins birthday party at the Outer Banks so we delivered with games and some ice cream cake! 

I think he was just a little bit excited about the whole thing!!

This boy definitely loves his treats. Can't imagine where he gets that from ?!?!?

That same day, we painted our July 4th family shirts. We used tape and star stickers to make lots of different patriotic designs and they turned out great!

For weeks before we left, Abby Landon, and Nolan had schemed and planned on how to make money by selling things at the 4th of July parade that the town of Duck holds every year. They found the best deal they could find on bottled water, bags of chips, and Honey Buns to sell. They scoured the weather forecast, hoping that it would call for hot and humid conditions so that their items would sell well. 

On the morning of the 4th, they recruited their cousins, Dad and uncle to arrive at the parade site early to nab a good spot to sell their items. The chips and honey buns didn't sell too well, but they made bank on their ice cold bottled water! They had bought two packs of water (70 bottles) for $6 total that we brought with us and they sold out before the parade even started!! Selling the bottles for $1 each, they ended up making a great profit. They are already planning ahead for next year and trying to figure out how they can carry more water to sell!!

The American dream is alive and well!!

These girls enjoyed eating some of the snacks as we waited for the parade to begin!

We spent just about every morning and even a few evenings enjoying the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. The water was actually quite warm this year and we all enjoyed getting in to cool off from the hot sun.

A lot of time was spent on the sand too, building different creations and sand castles!

Abby enjoyed digging a big hole one day...

While Landon enjoyed sitting in it!

Willow was so fun to watch as she would sing and dance right at the water's edge. 

Maylie would join in sometimes too. Such a fun age!! I think they were channeling their inner "Moana" characters!"

Look at that face!

We always had two canopies set up to give us all a break from the sun when we would need it.

This boy loved being out in the surf, either body-boarding or strolling along looking for shells or other sea creatures. We had one morning where the beach was filled with jellyfish. It was actually really cool!

I even took the board out for a bit to try my hand at riding the waves. So much fun!

Chloe is working this summer, but she still managed to come up for a few days. She is worried about the younger cousins forgetting about her since she is quite a bit older than they are, so she spent a lot of time playing with Willow and Maylie!

Coldon and Landon are only 7 weeks apart in age and are the best of friends. They sure do love this time together at the beach every year.

We love cousin time!!

We were so thrilled that Tami was able to be with us at the beach house this year and it was so special to have all the Cleveland girls back together again!

We woke up one morning with some fairly strong winds so we decided to skip the beach until that evening and instead spent the day on the boardwalk. We visited lots of different shops and enjoyed the cool breeze on the sound side of the island.

Of course no beach trip would be complete without lots of pool time too.

One, two, three...jump!!

Jason was able to capture some pretty cool shots of Landon as Jeff would throw him a ball and he would attempt to catch it while diving into the water!

I think this one is my favorite!

Before Chloe had to return back home, we got a few family pictures with our flag shirts.

My parents would be so happy that we are continuing this fun tradition of going to the Outer Banks each year and creating these fun memories together. We miss them so much, but we are grateful for the good times we shared together at this home before their passing, and we look forward to many more years of memories to come!

We spent a few evenings at the beach this year and realized we need to do this much more often. It was gorgeous and so fun to be there as the sun was setting in the evening.

The best gift my parents gave to me...my three sisters who are the greatest of my friends.

Thank for some great memories OBX. See you next summer!!