Outer Banks 2011

Every summer our family heads to the Outer Banks, NC for a two week vacation.  We meet our Northern family members there and we have a great time.  This year we had the following people - Me, Phillip, Blakely, Drew, Mom, Dad, Quinn, Sandy, Fred, Grandma Rose, Jill, Tim, Alyson, Paige, Jodi, Mitch, Alexis, and Taylor.  How can you not have fun with that many people in one house!  Thank you so much Aunt Sandy and Uncle Fred for inviting us.  It is a long 12+ hour drive but it is well worth it - I mean who wouldn't love two weeks at the beach.  We enjoy every second of it.  We swim, eat (wonderful food - thanks again Aunt Sandy & Uncle Fred), play games, make crafts, talk, read, catch some rays, sleep, rest, shop, watch TV, etc...  I can't express how much we enjoy this trip and I am so grateful we have this opportunity.  I also really love it for my kids because without special trips like this they wouldn't know our Northern family that well.  They love it at the beach.  They love playing with the big girls.  I don't hardly have to deal with them while we are here - they just play and play and play until they are worn out and to bed we go.  One really fun thing we did this year was we went on a wild horse tour (Thanks Papa!).  It was really neat.  We boarded two open-aired jeep like things and we drove all down the beach and through the dunes and we got to see quite a few wild horse.  I really liked this and so did the kids.  We also went to Jockey's Ridge which is a BIG sand dune that you can play on, fly kites, etc...  The kids love this but they end up with sand anywhere and everywhere you can imagine it.  This relaxing vacation turned into a little craziness when on about the second day Quinn got "the phone call" stating there was a baby available for them to adopt - yes that is right we were at the beach and she got the phone call so it turned from being very relaxing to being very emotional really quick.  We didn't really know what to do, what to think, etc...  It was crazy. One thing we did know was that Quinn needed to get home ASAP.  So the next morning my Dad drove Quinn to the nearest airport and if you know anything about the Outer Banks the word "nearest" is a joke.  There is nothing near the Outer Banks!  So my Dad ended up driving her to Norfolk, Virginia so that she could get home.  Once she got home it was in fact true - there was a baby for her - Baby Maya!  It was crazy Quinn kept calling and crying - tears of enjoyment, excitement, tiredness and complete scariness!  I mean this was a total shock - someone just hands you a baby and you are expected to know what to do and now to be called Mom!  It was a good thing and we are all excited and we can't wait to get home to meet her.  Overall, this was a wonderful trip and everyone had a wonderful time!