Beach bums!

We just returned from our annual beach trip to Emerald Isle, NC yesterday. What a great week! We shared an oceanfront house with Dad & Cindy, Eddie & Emily, Mark & Dina Hamric, and their daughter Erin & her friend Caroline. We were the first to arrive last Saturday, and since we didn't have a key to the house, we took Tyler out on the beach. We weren't sure how he would take it this year. He didn't hate the beach last year, but he wasn't as excited as we thought he would be. This year? He LOVED the beach. He LOVED the water. He LOVED everything about it. He had a blast picking up shells, digging in the sand, wading in the water, jumping waves with Mommy & Daddy, all of it. As soon as we got there, he took off down the beach and before we knew it, he was soaking wet from head to toe in his clothes - and he didn't care at all. We knew right then and there that we had a beach bum on our hands for the week.

Our friends Chris & Carol Bowler (from Jacksonville, FL) were also at EI for the week with their family. They stayed a mere 1.8 miles from us, and we were able to hang out with them a few nights, as well as eat lunch with them and go to the NC Aquarium with them. It was wonderful to get together with them, as we don't see them often. Their daughter, Emma will be 4 in September and Mason will be 1 that same month. We are planning a week long trip to Florida in September to spend some time with them, and after this time with them, we are so excited to get down there for some more quality time. ther visitors included Maw Maw Ange & Paw Paw Jim, as well as Bridges, Jay, Wagner & Waylon. Tyler had a blast playing with "the boys" and we all loved spending more time with the Radicks & Spivas.

We spent the majority of our time on the beach, as it was a beautiful week (with the exception of Monday which was about a 90% washout). We saw porpoises one day, and even found a beautiful starfish one day too. But we did visit the Aquarium with the Bowlers and Erin & Caroline on Wednesday. We were able to see the newest exhibit, CRUNCH. Crunch is a 165-pound, 150 year old allligator snapping turtle. As a turtle lover myself, I was thrilled to see him. The kids were more interested in the sharks and stingrays. But we all had a great time, as always. The otters were very active as we walked by, and Emma & Tyler even got to hold a small crab on the outdoor decks. The snakes were disliked by, well, everyone. But we were fortunate to have the aquarium practically all to ourselves, as most everyone went on Monday when it rained.

We also went out one day and bought Tyler a new pet - a hermit crab. We picked a little one that was affectionately named "Frog" (his name has since moved to a more fitting "Crab"). I had decided that maybe we should get another crab to keep this one company, so on Friday Eddie & Emily returned with a much larger crab in a SpongeBob Square Pants shell. Tyler immediately focused in on him and his name is "Bob Pants". So Bob Pants and Crab are living harmoniously (for the most part) in their cage and we've had a lot of fun with them so far. Travis & Tyler have a project together later this summer to build a much larger cage for them using some old wood we have around the house, as well as some chicken wire. They'll have a great time together on that!

Overall, we had a wonderful week, and we're very sad that we're back to "normal life" tomorrow. We loved being able to spend quality time with everyone. And we were thrilled to see how much Tyler loved the beach. We can't wait for next year's trip. But as sad as we were to leave, it's always nice to get back into your own bed and back to your old routine. That is, unless you come home to a leaking pipe and mold in your breakfast nook, which is exactly what happened to us. Long story VERY short, we had the leak repaired today and have ServPro cleaning the mold and wetness. The leak appears to have been happening secretly & quietly for 10+ years, and it just all compounded while we were gone. We hope to get some answers soon as to what will happen in our kitchen and breakfast nook, but it looks like this will be a rest-of-the-summer process. What a way to come back home, huh?

The rest of our summer includes many trips to the pool, a Snead family reunion in early August, as well as one more trip back to Lynchburg so that we can attend the annual fishing club social. We went last year and we all had a blast so we can't wait to do it again. The Spivas and Radicks will be there, as well as Dad & Cindy and Em & Eddie. Other than that, we don't have much on the travel calendar as we lead up to the Florida trip in late September. But we'll find ways to pass the time!