Bakewell Beach Week 2020

We just arrived home after a wonderful week at Ocean Isle Beach! It is always my favorite week of the year. And also the fastest! The seven days pass by so quickly as they are filled with sand, sun, seafood, and other beach fun. Our vacation started last Saturday, and Emmy, Eli, and I caught a ride east with Grammy and Grandpa. Sadly, Boomer had to attend another family funeral. His Uncle Bubba passed away on July 11th, quite unexpectedly from a heart attack. Boomer had just been in Virginia for the passing of his grandmother, so it was with much sadness that he went back up for another memorial service. His family is grieving these two losses, and Granny and Uncle Bubba will both be missed greatly. Boomer was able to join us at the beach on Sunday evening, and we were sure not to have too much fun until he got there. On the way down, we were loaded down with beach chairs, a pack-n-play, linens, umbrellas, and food, not to mention three adults and two kiddos. When we stopped for lunch in Shallotte just outside of Ocean Isle Beach, we got a call from the realty company that the house was already available, so we headed straight there. I had to snap this photo of all of our shoes lined up by the door - it didn't take long for us to settle in!

Our mornings started pretty early. Megan brought along a special clock for her boys that would turn green at 7:30AM, but there would often be sounds of excited children at least an hour before that. Eli was a little "off" while we were there, mostly due to teething we think, so I didn't get quite as much sleep as I was hoping for on vacation. Thank goodness he is cute!

We would head to the beach each day around 10AM. By the end of the week, we became quite efficient at wrangling kids into bathing suits, lathering up the sunscreen, packing our cooler of snacks, and setting up in the sand. My dad would do the work of putting up the umbrellas, while my mom would fill the baby pool with water for Eli. Eli would usually be ready for his morning nap at this time, and he stayed awake just a few minutes before napping in Grammy's arms. After a quick cat nap, he would splash around in the pool while his older cousins jumped in the waves. Emmy's favorite activity this year was collecting seashells, and each day she would fill a bucket with all the shells in our immediate vicinity. She also loved singing Disney songs and running in and out of the water. On the last day, Grandpa brought cash along with us so that the grandkids could get some Italian ice from the Sunset Slush cart. Megan and I laugh that it is definitely a grandchild thing - we don't recall ever getting a sweet treat at the beach when we were little! :)

Here are a few of my favorite beach pictures!

After a few hours at the beach, we would head back to our house for lunch. The best thing about our new house this year was the POOL! We loved our previous house, Mema's Place, but we would always look longingly at the houses that had pools. Even before our week was over last year, we began searching for houses with pools and found Bingy's Bungalow, just two doors down from Mema's. Having the pool was a wonderful addition. We would often swim in the afternoon and in the evening after dinner. Because we have been going to the lake and the YMCA pool, Emmy was pretty comfortable in the water. She kept on her puddle jumper, but she would swim freely around the pool. I'm hoping that she was inspired by her cousins who were swimming like crazy. Zander and Maddox are such good swimmers. They could swim the length of the pool and even dive down to the bottom. We would make up other silly games to play in pool, like Categories, the Scream Game, and Get-the-torpedo-on-the-float. Emmy's favorite game was putting Grandpa in timeout. Grandpa didn't mind, since the "timeout seat" just happened to be the most comfortable spot in the pool (see below). We all agree that the pool was well worth it! 

This year, because of the continued concern with COVID (and because of four kids under 8!) we only went out to dinner once. On the other evenings, we cooked in: spaghetti on Saturday, tacos on Monday, lasagna on Wednesday, shrimp and grits with coconut shrimp on Thursday, and then clean-out-the-fridge leftovers on Friday. We did one night of take-out on Sunday night from Inlet View in Shallotte, and then on Tuesday night, we dressed up and headed to Calabash for our annual dinner at Dockside. We all decided that we loved going to Dockside, but we also equally loved staying in our bathing suits at home. Since we did actually dress up for Dockside, we took photos to document the occasion. 

After we arrived home from our dinner, I surprised my mom by changing Emmy into a dress that I wore when I was little. She had saved it for over 30 years, and the sailor style seemed just perfect for the beach. Emmy loves playing dress-up, so she danced around for a little bit while modeling Mommy's old dress. 

A few pictures of our food this week: Boomer and I escaped for a morning run/breakfast date at a local coffee shop on the island called Drift. I ordered the banana bread topped with ricotta cheese and Boomer got a ham and cheese breakfast sandwich. 

My mom outdid herself with our Thursday night meal. It was truly worth documenting! She picked up fresh shrimp from a local seafood market just off the island called Doug's, and she made two of my favorite seafood dishes: shrimp & grits and coconut shrimp. It was her first attempt at either dish, and they were both outstanding! My mouth is watering just thinking about it! 

 All too soon, we came to Friday, with Boomer singing Les Mis "One Day More" as a reminder that we would be going home the next day. After six days of sunny skies, a rain shower came through on Friday afternoon, giving us all an excuse to nap and relax indoors. After dinner, Boomer and I fit in one more evening walk after the kids were in bed. Then this morning, it was up-and-at-em packing and heading home. Until next year, we bid farewell to Bingy's Bungalow. 

But my post is not over yet! We made two special stops on the journey home; first at Kalawi Farms for some Ben's Ice Cream. It is a tradition to stop each year at the stand where Boomer worked in high school. Jan Williams, the owner, is always so happy to see her former employee with his family in tow. She loved meeting Eli, and we left loaded down with peaches and other produce. After filling up with ice cream (banana pudding for me, peach for Boomer, and strawberry for Emmy), we drove a little further west to watch Trivett play baseball in Asheboro. His team had a double header, and we were able to see the first game before making the final stretch home.

We have mostly settled in at home, and I am trying not to wish away the next 365 days until we get to go back. It is so special to have this time with family, and the memories we make last the whole year! 

8 Months Old

We are celebrating another month of Eli - Month 8!

It is hard to recall all the new and exciting things that Eli is doing. I will do my best! His newest habit is sniffing in and out very quickly, and he mostly does it to express that he is excited. Emmy has started to mimic him, and when we were riding in the car this week, I asked her what they were doing, and she said "We're smelling each other!" Even though they were separated by the middle seat, she went on to explain that it was kinda like smiling. Eli does a lot of that, too! Sometimes Eli will smile so big that his eyes will close. 

 Eli is wearing "6-9 month" and "9 month" clothing and size 2 diapers. In addition to his two bottom teeth, he now has four top teeth that are all coming in at the same time. Poor guy! It won't be long before his gummy grin is completely replaced with a mouthful of teeth. Despite the visible evidence of teething, you wouldn't know it from his personality. He continues to be pretty pleasant and laidback. He hasn't started officially crawling yet, but he will often roll or inch backwards to get to wherever he wants to go. Tummy time is no longer a forced exercise. He will switch to his belly all by himself. 

His balance is really improving. He is very sturdy when sitting on carpet, in the Bumbo, or even in the grass. 

Eli loves clapping...

...and looking at himself in selfie mode on the phone or in the mirror....

...but his favorite form of entertainment continues to be his sister. He loves his jumper, and he loves kicking around under his rainforest; but nothing quite holds his attention like Emmy. He watches her all throughout the day. In the morning or after naptime, I'll ask if he wants to go see his "sis-er-iss" and he gets so excited as we open the door to her room. As you can see in these photos, he doesn't quite know what to think of his silly sister!