Along our way to the coast, we made our usual stop through Wilmington to see Uncle Kyle. We had lunch at the same BBQ place, Whiskey Trail, and once again took a photo of the two brothers and Emmy. After saying good-bye to Kyle, we made the final stretch of the drive, about an hour and a half with the beach traffic, from Wilmington to Ocean Isle. Both of my passengers fell asleep on me! They woke up just in time before we crossed over the bridge onto the island.
Now that we have been going to Ocean Isle for a few years and have stayed at the same house "Mema's Place," we are pretty efficient with unpacking and making ourselves right at home. After unloading, we ordered pizza for dinner, and then while the guys handled bedtime, Mom, Megan, and I set off to the grocery store. We bought food to eat all of our breakfasts and lunches at the house, as well as three of our dinners (tacos on Tuesday night, spaghetti on Wednesday, and then hot dogs and leftovers for Friday). The three of us were such a good team, and we were in-and-out of the grocery store in under an hour! My mom said she is going to save the grocery list since we managed to get everything in one trip and did not have to go back later in the week for any forgotten items.
We had wonderful weather this year, with only one rainstorm on Tuesday evening which brought slightly cooler temps (mid-80s instead of mid-90s) for the second half of the week. There wasn't much sleeping in for our crew, but the early mornings allowed for us to get out to the beach mid-morning, around 10AM, each day. We spent about 2 to 2 1/2 hours out at the beach, which was enough to wear out the kids and adults. Zander and Maddox loved going out into the waves. Now that they are learning to swim, they were very brave this year going underwater and riding on their boogie boards. They also liked to play baseball and kick around a soccer ball. Emmy loved building sand castles and collecting seashells. She wasn't quite ready to follow her cousins into the deeper water, but she would laugh and scream as the tide chased her back-and-forth at the water's edge. We still have pretty good odds with six adults to three children, but they definitely have us beat in terms of their energy! Even after a couple of hours, they would be reluctant to leave, and only the promise of coming back the next day helped us coax them away from the beach. Once back at the house, Emmy loved playing in the water hose with Grandpa while he cleaned the sand off all of our beach gear!
We were sure to get our fill of seafood while we were at the beach. We returned to two of our favorite restaurants - Dockside in Calabash on Sunday night and Inlet View in Shallotte on Monday night - and then we went to a new restaurant on Thursday night, Clark's Seafood and Chophouse in Little River. On that evening, we met up with my parents' good friends, the Shorrs, who were staying close by in Myrtle Beach. The kiddos matched Grandpa in their Hawaiian attire, and we were sure to take lots of photos, on that night and on the other nights that we went out. It is not often that we are all together and dressed up - so we were sure to document it! :)
One thing that made this year a little different is that both Boomer and Zack had to leave at different times for work. We certainly missed them when they were gone, but we are thankful that we had time with them when we did. They are such busy, hard-working guys! Boomer had to be back in Yadkinville on Tuesday and Wednesday for full-day meetings, so he left Monday evening after dinner and returned late Wednesday night. When Boomer was back again, Emmy was his little shadow, following him around and even helping him with chores. Here are a few of the silly photos I sent him while he was gone, along with other snapshots from hanging around at the house and from breakfast one morning at a local coffee shop, called Drift Coffee & Kitchen.
On the evenings that Boomer was there, we would sneak away for a walk on the beach after Emmy went to bed. It was nice to stroll along on the sand as the sun was going down. On our last evening, the whole crew (minus Zack) joined us to walk to the pier for some ice cream and arcade games. Emmy is still too young to realize that we didn't put in any money to play - perhaps we can get away with that for another year or two!
While away on this trip, I hit the 23-week mark with Baby Kennedy #2. There is no hiding my baby bump when I am in a bathing suit! On several of our walks, Boomer and I discussed baby names, both for a boy and for a girl. I'm not sure we are any closer to picking - hopefully the right name will come to us by November!
When we left Ocean Isle this morning, it was sad saying farewell to Mema's Place. It has been such a wonderful house for our family over the last three years. With the kids getting older and our family growing once again, we have already picked out a different house for next year. It is still on Ocean Isle but with an extra bathroom and a POOL! We hope that it brings just as many special memories as Mema's!
On our drive home today, we made our usual stop at Kalawi Farms & Ben's Ice Cream, where Boomer's photos are still on the walls from when he worked there over a decade ago. It was Megan and the boys first stop at Kalawi, and I think everyone enjoyed their ice cream as one last taste of vacation.
Each year, there are two special photos that I like to recreate, first a picture on the dock in Calabash and then one of Emmy on the porch of the beach house. It is so special to have these memories over the years!
