Truly a George Adventure-- The Outer Banks

This past week, Matt and I had the opportunity to join his family on their very first family vacation! That's right. The whole George family had never been on a vacation all together. Since Dad George is a farmer, it obviously is difficult to get away. Whether it is planting season, harvesting season, or feeding-the-cows season (every day of the year), there was never a chance for everyone to all go somewhere on a vacation.
So this trip was monumental. And I believe it may become a tradition! :)

We began our trip at 10 pm (not something that I would willingly do again, mind you). The plan was that the children (ages 7 weeks, 8 months, 3 years [in a few weeks] and 5 years) would sleep happily in the car the whole night through, without constant crying or having to stop for 27 potty breaks on the way there.
Well, that plan went mostly smooth. However, I felt like I was going to be the one to start crying because of the bar that I was sitting on in the backseat... it proved difficult to sleep soundly on the way.

But, just as all hope seemed lost, we crossed the bridge onto the island and found our breakfast place-- Stack 'Em High.
Well, we found it after we sat at an abandoned Stack 'Em High for a few minutes waiting for it to open. :)
Nevertheless, we got inside, ordered our pancakes, and started eating. After one of the waiters took our first family picture of the trip, Mikayla (age 5) wanted me to take her to the restroom. I didn't mind another chance to stretch my legs, so I went with her. When we stepped back out into the restaurant, to our chagrin, we heard wailing coming from the direction of our table. And of course, it was Mikayla's sister, Madisyn. Zach, her dad, was holding her on his lap with a napkin pressed to the back of her head. I knew it wasn't a good sign when I saw blood on the back of Madisyn's shirt. Poor girl. Not a half an hour out of the car, and it was time for a trip to the ER.

Well about 2 hours, 2 staples, and 2 princess stickers later, we were back in the car heading to our beach house. We had to wait a few hours to check into the house, so we stopped at the beach to relax while we waited. The wind was probably blowing 35 mph, and the sand was whipping our faces, but we didn't let that discourage us. "Natural Exfoliation" is what we called it. :)

Despite the multiple other injuries-- Dad's severely sunburned feet, Mikayla's fork jab to her leg, and Lyndsey's seafood poisoning-- it really was a relaxing vacation! :) A couple days we left the Big Kahuna and explored the aquarium, visited Roanoke "The Lost Colony," ate at Dirty Dick's Crab House, went mini- golfing at Mutiny Bay, and took pictures of the Brodie Lighthouse. We spent our days on the beach, trying to learn how to use a boogie board, collecting shells, building sand castles, and playing a game called kubb.

Here are some pictures from the trip.

At the aquarium

Building the sand turtle

Siblings

Eating at Dirty Dick's crab house

Crab hunting

Brayden

Brodie Lighthouse

Big Kahuna- the middle house

Sunrise

We had a great time and are grateful for the time that we got to spend all together. God's amazing creation reminded me of His grace and mercy towards us. Think of how big the ocean is...yet God loves little people like us. :) This song was in my head a lot last week: 

                       

                       Could we with ink the ocean fill,

                   And were the skies of parchment made; 

                       Were every stalk on earth a quill,

                        And every man a scribe by trade;

                        To write the love of God above

                           Would drain the ocean dry, 

                     Nor could the scroll contain the whole 

                        Though stretched from sky to sky! 

So thankful for the love of God and the love of our family. :) The week truly was a George adventure!