Kure Beach

Well, hello there! We're back after a little family jaunt to the beach! And I must say, I am pleasantly surprised at what a great trip it was! We left Tuesday around 10 for the six hour drive to Kure Beach in North Carolina. Apparently this is the same time every year we hit the road, because my timehop app has been showing me pictures from previous road trips for the past week. This one was rather chilling:

The caption read: 9 hours down, 3 hours to go. Haha!

 I was hoping this year's trip would look more like this:

Smiling faces! This time they'll both face front!

And except for Annie's habit of taking off her headphones and then instantly regretting it, the trip to the beach was awesome! Matt had the great idea of stopping for lunch at a place with a playground, letting the kids play while we ate, then letting the girls have their food in the car. This meant they could run out the wiggles, we kept the stop short, and they had a vested interest in getting back into the car. Win, win, win!

So excited about unlimited movie time!

Clearly not as impressed.

After a fairly smooth drive, we arrived at our beautiful condo right across the street from the beach. We were shacking up with the grandparents, some cousins, some aunts and uncles, so there were plenty of people around to play with the girls. Within 30 minutes of arriving, they had their bathing suits on and we were hitting the beach! Annie took an immediate dislike to the idea of sand touching her hands and feet. I think she was mostly perplexed as to why it wouldn't come off. And of course, as soon as the water washed it away, more sand stuck on! (She got over it rather quickly the next day, whew!)

Hitting the beach for the first time!

Such a pretty view from the balcony!

My beach baby!

The next morning, we were up early hitting the sand. The luxury of living across the road from the beach... it was so easy! Just wake up, put on your suit, grab a towel and go! When you get hungry, just head back home. It was definitely nice not feeling like we had to bring a ton of gear and commit to an entire day.

Hanging out on the pier.

Fun in the sand.

Camp Loughman!

Breakfast with Uncle Phil.

Along with hanging at the beach, it was a great trip because of the family time we had. Every two years this particular gang gets together, always rotating the hosting hometown. I've been to Colorado, Montana and now North Carolina with this group, and a good time is always had by all. There are plenty of late night card games, lots of laughing, and this time it was especially sweet to watch my girls spending time with everyone. There was always an available lap and a willing story reader to keep them entertained, which certainly helped me relax and enjoy myself all the more.

Storytime with Aunt Cindy.

Hanging with Grandma.

Family shot!

Happy girls!

At the end of our beach stay, we reluctantly left our lovely condo and hopped back in the car. Destination: Williamsburg, Virginia!