OBX

We had a wonderful time back at our same vacation home in the Outer Banks with the MSU roommate girls and their families. We had a few pool and beach days and a trip to the North Carolina aquarium on the rainy day. It was just the right amount of time to get away, relax, hang out with friends, and get our fill of fresh seafood cooked by the men each night. One special thing about this vacation was letting Kayla and Khloe share a room. Each morning after Khloe woke up Kayla would crawl in her pack-n-play with her which gave us at least an extra 20 minutes of sleep. They were so cute to watch and listen to on the monitor. Lucky for Khloe, she got to celebrate her 2nd birthday on the beach! The second annual roommate reunion was a success, and next year we look forward to adding Patti and Brad's new little one!

The crew - plus a little one in Patti's tummy

Same little girls - all just one year older

 Boarding the plane - these little girls are great fliers! Fortunately Khloe is still a "lap rider" so she flew for free!

Although flying with the girls is easy, our trip home on Sunday was a travel nightmare - four airports, three planes, twelve hours - none of it planned. The girls did great, they hung in there the whole time without a complaint, without a single meltdown or tantrum. That's really quite amazing. Aaron and I on the other hand? Can't say the same about us. The girls did better than us - even when we had to run 20 minutes straight from one end of the Charlotte airport to the other. Even when we missed our flight. Even when the airline lost our luggage. We eventually made it home - six hours past our scheduled arrival time. Boy, we were all glad to be home!

Ahhhhh. Sun and surf. Finally.

Minutes after arriving at the house the kids were in their swimsuits and we were on our way to the beach.

 When you visit the Outer Banks in the "off season" as we do, you have the beach to yourself.

There is some strong undertow at the beach! The water is too cold for swimming in April but we have fun jumping the waves and collecting sea shells.

 The boys never stop goofing around. Every joke involves something about a MVP or LVP. Always.

 We had some amazing meals - both dining in and dining out. Mussels, oysters, ceviche, scallops, salmon, crab, shrimp, tuna - I think we tried it all.

 We dined out at two different restaurants - both of which have been featured on Diners, Drive-in's and Dives with Guy Fieri. He leaves this airbrush stamp and signature on the wall at every place he visits.

 First restaurant - The Brine and Bottle. If you love pickled anything, than you'll love this place. I passed on the pickled beets (there's nothing worse), pickled beans and pickled carrots.

Our second DDD restaurant - Tortugas Lie. This will forever be remembered as the place Aaron entered a shrimp coma.

 The aquarium was a very fun destination! It was Kayla's first experience at an aquarium.

It was a fun family vacation! We're so thankful we got to have this experience as a family!