Spring break

We spent spring break in the Outer Banks. An entire week of vacation! Almost unheard of. Also, somehow in TEN YEARS (?!?!) of living here we had not made it to the OBX before. It was really fun. I took a few scattered photos.

We went to the top of the Currituck lighthouse.

I liked the inside.

I DID NOT LIKE CLIMBING THE MANY MANY STAIRS. Stressful.

Found a little playground, and as the kids happily played, I daydreamed about how these are the moments I will remember forever. Much better than remembering my kids learning the F word and repeating it to one another under their breaths. Or remembering my kids tattling. Or remembering my kids punching each other...

Beautiful day.

Safety first...Lars left his bike helmet on for a while at this beach visit and Matt and I couldn't stop laughing about it.

We rented bikes, which was a nice way to get around. We rode into downtown Duck a few times--played at the park, ate Duck Donuts. The beach was a few blocks away from our house and riding was easier than walking or driving. I need to have some lessons with Theo and Ida on bike lane safety though. Especially Theo. Yeesh

It was really windy especially the beginning of the week.

We went to Roanoke Island which has a nice little trail. And a mystery. An entire community of the first British settlers there disappeared into thin air. What happened to them? Nobody knows.

Polly loved her sun hat and the stroller.

Finally got some warmer days at the end of the week. Matt and I even went into the water. No photographic evidence of that. But it happened. And it was freezing cold.

Wright brothers memorial at Kitty Hawk. These guys were awesome. Also awesome: the name of the town Kill Devil Hills.

Still loving that hat and stroller 

We shared a house with another family, and these girls were inseparable.

We stopped at Jamestown on our way home. Theo recently wrote a report on Christopher Newport for the third grade "Famous Americans" unit, and he was really into it. It was so satisfying to observe him checking everything out and talking about Christopher Newport, the town of Newport News, and the James River. I remember when I was exactly his age, doing a California mission project and visiting my assigned mission, San Juan Capistrano.

Four hundred years ago, people decided to just cross the ocean and settle in here. Just taking what they wanted and calling it theirs. So crazy. I want to learn more about Pocahontas. There's a beautiful statue of her at this site, which I didn't get a picture of.

It was a nice week. We came home, unpacked, prepped for Easter, and I proceeded to develop a nasty cold. But I'm still feeling refreshed and happy about life. The beach will do that to a person. Good thing we'll be back for a family reunion in June! Can't wait!