Outer Banks North Carolina

Hi everyone!

We all had a fabulous time at the Outer Banks in North Carolina! We spent all of last week down there enjoying wonderful weather, great food and family time! The five of us accompanied my mom, my expecting sister Meghan and her husband Shay. The girls loved the beach! It was very different from New Jersey beaches, but was still great!

Zoe and Akela enjoying the surf.

Akela loved hanging out in the deep hole her Uncle Shay dug out for her!

Zoe ended up with a nice tan by the end of vacation.... as always!

Akela really enjoyed digging up the sand.... she likes sand better than water.

Zoe loved getting her feet wet!

This little guy is what they call a "ghost crab". If you walk down to the beach at night, the whole place is covered in these crazy critters! They are literally crawling everywhere! It was a little too creepy for me, so I didn't walk the beach at night.

And yes, Sonya did get to at least see the beach! Since she is in a spica cast, she couldn't actually sit down in the sand and live it up. If one little particle of sand were to get into the cast it could have caused a huge irritation and then infection! She loved pointing the ocean out to us!

Don't worry Sonya! In just four more weeks we will be at the Jersey shore and you will be out of that spica tomorrow!

Yes, that's a huge mascara smudge under my eye.... a huge wave got me right in the face! The surf was much more rough in comparison to the Jersey coast.


Even though Sonya didn't get in any beach time, she made the best of it back at the beach house! She had a great time snacking on treats while lounging in her bean bag chair and playing with a bunch of new toys that we secretly bought and then presented to her when we got down there!

Jockey Ridge is the tallest natural sand dune system in the Eastern United States. Located in Nags Head (just a few miles from where we stayed in Duck), it is one of the most significant land marks on the Outer Banks, North Carolina. It is always changing, always beautiful!

Yep, you bet we climbed those dunes! Here is Zoe and Akela starting the journey!

Climbing up the dunes! Akela has resorted to crawling up!


What goes up must come down! The girls had such a blast running down the tallest dunes on the East coast!

Akela tired very easily from running down and climbing up the dunes. She just wanted to play in the sand after a few runs.

Zoe and Akela also enjoyed flying their kites that their Aunt Kathy bought for them! Sorry, no amazing kite shots...

I was too busy holding this little monkey! Yep, Sonya got to come too! Ian hauled her all the way up the dunes! This is not something to be taken lightly, as Sonya weighs twice as much with her spica cast! She is just as heavy as her 4 year old sister Akela!

Sonya and Me!

Ok, so this was the longest trip we made with all of the kids in tow. Round trip including food and potty stops, it was a total of about 21 hours! So here's some of the proof!

Akela sitting all the way in the back of the van, listening to some tunes and in a pretty good mood.....


Akela listening to some tunes in a not so good mood!



Sonya in a pretty good mood....


Sonya voicing her opinion on how she would like to be anywhere except for in her car seat!


Zoe, well Zoe was in a great mood the whole time! She was a fantastic little helper too, making sure that her sisters had the toys, snacks, and pacifier (Sonya) they wanted! Thank you Zoe!


Zoe getting ready for a nap!

Almost home sweet home! I tried to take a photo of the Philadelphia signs, but I kept missing them with the delay on the digital.... Allentown is closer anyway!

Just 4 more weeks until our next vacation in Brigantine, New Jersey and Sonya gets her spica cast off tomorrow! Wish us luck!!!