I mentioned in my previous post that we had several hours before we could check in to the rental with my side of the family. The first thing we decided to do was get haircuts for the girls! That worked out perfectly, as it wasn't a busy time at the place we chose (...and the nice ladies brushed out the *bad* tangles we'd been neglecting😬).
Also, it was Cora's first haircut!
After that we met up with my sister and her family who had ended up driving through the night from D.C., after a cross-country plane ride the day before! We decided to have an early lunch at NY Corner Deli, one of our favorite spots. It was our first time meeting the squishy little guy below!
One of my other sisters arrived after we wrapped up lunch, so we all decided to head to the nearby Sea Turtle Hospital. None of us had ever been before, so we didn't know what to expect. It was an interesting place but I don't think we'd visit again, as the slow movement was a bit much! Maybe just trying to keep the turtle theme real? Idk. First we waited for a while in the VERY hot sun, then the lines slowly moved into the vestibule, and inched into the AC and past each exhibit. It was interesting to see the rescued turtles at the end and hear their stories. And props to the kids who all did so well with the heat and waiting!
After that we decided to take a chance to see if the house was ready early, and thankfully the linen company showed up just then for a delivery and left the house open for us!
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Remnants of Hurricane Florence in the lot next door |
This year all of my siblings except one and their families made it to NC! It was a very full, noisy, and busy week but so great to have everyone together, and for all the cousins to play with each other.
There were three babies- Audrey loved helping to feed this little guy; I lived my best Aunt life holding them!
The girls really enjoyed the pool and being able to practice their swimming.
Never an easy or simple feat, but glad we were able to get a family photo!
I kept hemming and hawing about doing color coded + numbered shirts for all of the grandkids. In the end I decided to go for it and am glad they worked out okay (haha, I was stressing about getting the order right!). Apologies to the checkout lady at Hobby Lobby who had to ring up each shirt and iron-on number individually, though!!
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Basically Cora's chosen attire for the week |
My brother and his wife were so sweet to have these drink koozies made for everyone!
We invaded the ice cream one place night,
And toasted my oldest sister on another. She recently finished a very strenuous master's program and we're so proud of her!
In the middle of the week we celebrated Evie's birthday. Everyone was so sweet to make it special for her- with balloons, gifts, and the ice cream cake made by my mom.
Unfortunately the last couple of days held cooler temperatures and some rain. In a way it was a good thing because it made me ready to go home (where it was nice and hot!).
On Friday we visited a small touch tank aquarium while it was raining and then headed back to the house for some beach and pool time when there was a break in the weather. There were lots of shell deposits on the beach, which made for great shell and shark tooth searching.
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view of the sound |
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We did get a full rainbow + lightning on the last night! |
I made a couple of side by side collages with photos from previous years:
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Different bench but same place:) |
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These two are a pair! I love their precious littleness in the bottom photo.❤ |
Like I mentioned before, it was a full week! Early mornings with a free alarm clock of stampeding kiddos up and down the stairs.;) Tim and I were also commenting about how we stood way more than we sat, and my legs kept swelling up which was kind of crazy. That being said, it was a blessing to have so many of us together. I'm glad the kids could spend time running around with their cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents in a place we all love!