Ocean Isle 2009

Looking back at my pictures, I realized that I was a pretty crappy photographer all last week when we spent the week at Ocean Isle. We stayed in a new house (awesome!) but I didn't get a picture of it. We didn't even get a "family shot" on the beach, and the last night when I wanted to take some family pictures, the wind blew like we were in a tornado, so Brooklyn and I didn't even stay out on the beach. Oh well! There's always next year! I did get some very cute pictures of Brooklyn and her friends throughout the week. We stayed all week and our family/friends, the Pattersons, stayed in a nearby condo. We shared a house with my parents and for the first half of the week, our friends, the Henzlers, stayed with us. Then, they left Wednesday, and Chad's parents spent the second half of the week in our house. It was a great time with everyone. The only thing that was missing was my brother, Eric, and his girl, Caroline. We missed them a lot but cannot wait to see them in Florida in a few weeks for Eric's graduation!

Here is just a "snippet" (or 12) of our week...

Allie and Brooklyn with our "beach loot." The amount dwindled each day, but I took this pic because in all the years before, Brooklyn actually RODE in the wagon. This year was the first year she walked the whole time back and forth to the beach and the pool. She is so grown up now!

Brooklyn on the beach- Day 1 in her first bikini! I think this was the last day I left her hair down, because the poor girl kept having it blow in her face and having to wipe it away with sandy hands. We have never had to worry about long hair before, so we were better prepared the rest of the week! :-)

The whole gang....lots of lounging, eating, laughing, sunburn/tanning, drinking, and digging in the sand all week long!

Day 1 in the pool...just made it to the second step, but we were patient with her.

Brooklyn and her "big sister" Allie. We loved having the Henzlers with us for 5 days!

We seemed to have a holiday/occasion to celebrate every night. Since Aunt Patty's grandson, Bryce, could not come to our family Easter egg hunt in April, we held Easter one evening with an egg hunt for the kids. They loved it and were so excited to get squirty toys, shovels, candy, and money in the eggs.

One day, I french braided Allie and Brooklyn's hair to match. They looked so cute! Gosh, I love having a girl!

One night, we went to see the "Turtle Show" at the Ocean Isle Community Center. It featured NO turtles, just a lady who spoke about the mating and living habits of turtles in the wild. Brooklyn was so bored, so we took pictures of her to keep her entertained.

We also made S'mores out on our little grill. The kids had a great time roasting the first marshmallow but then quickly got bored and just ate them cold (along with chunks of chocolate).

Lots of bocce ball was played out on the beach by the adults.

And the kids flew kites.

And made crab houses.

By Thursday, Brooklyn had decided that enough was enough and she started swimming in the pool. This was a HUGE accomplishment for a girl who, just a few years ago, cried whenever she even SAW a pool. She did a great job, and I hope she continues progressing in her love of water.

And by the end of the week, pre-dinner naps were a must. It's hard having so much fun "relaxing." :-)