Outer Banks a Few Days Shy of 9 Months..

A few months back Adam got orders to PCS(move) to Alaska. So we have been trying to enjoy the beach life as much as possible before we leave here. We have already been to Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle, and Kure Beach. One place I REALLY wanted to go was Outer Banks. It was a further drive compared to the other beaches but one I REALLY wanted to make. So as soon as Adam got it approved I started planning the trip. My biggest fear with this trip was that I'd go into labor while I was there. I know I wouldn't be exactly 36 weeks just yet but I didn't want to go into labor and then be out all that money, the kids not get to enjoy the weekend I had planned, and have to make the 4 hour drive back while in labor! Thankfully surrobaby stayed put.

Friday morning we packed up the van and headed out. We made a few stops along the way but got there perfect timing. The drive really wasn't that bad. I was nervous about traffic but thankfully we didn't hit any. By the time we got to outer banks it was almost time for us to check in to our hotel. We decided to stop at a souvenir shop before the hotel because I have to buy a fridge magnet, Brett and Brynna needed kites to fly whenever we went to the sand dunes, and Brett needed a new boogie board.  Once we got to the hotel we unloaded the car and headed to the beach! The first day at the beach was extremely windy. The kids still enjoyed it but

man that wind was
crazy! And it hurt when the sand would hit you. So after a few hours we called it a day and headed back to the room. We all got showered, got the kites ready, and headed to Jockey's Ridge State Park. If any of y'all decide to go see the dunes I recommend going in the evening. I could not imagine going during the day, the sand gets HOT and when we went it felt amazing. Even with being huge pregnant and doing lots of walking and the sun being out I wasn't miserably hot and wasn't sweating. I actually really enjoyed it. Plus watching the sun set while on the dunes was gorgeous. Once we left the Dunes we stopped somewhere for a quick bite to eat before dinner. It was already late and we were all tired so we just found a place and pulled up.. The food was good but not $80 for 4 people amazingly good. It was expensive and the kids didn't even eat most of their food. So we decided we'd go buy a few groceries since our room had a stove, oven, microwave, and fridge.

 

 

 

Saturday morning we woke up and went to Duck Donuts for breakfast. A few people recommended this place so it was on my list of things to do. Who can say no to donuts? Not this pregnant woman and definitely not my kiddos. We get there and the line is out the door.. We were seriously standing outside waiting for donuts! WHO DOES THAT? Well it was worth the wait. The line went quick. And waiting on our donuts took no time at all.. The donuts are fresh and made right in front of you so that was neat. The kids picked chocolate donuts with sprinkles, I got a peanut butter donut with a sausage, egg, and cheese croissant, and Adam got a chocolate donut and a strawberry donut along with a bacon, egg, and cheese croissant. The bread part of the donut tasted like a funnel cake and they were delicious! REALLY SWEET! But still delicious! I couldn't eat them as much as I could eat Ennis(our home town in Texas has amazing donuts) donuts but they were still really good and I'm glad we waited. A little tip if you make the stop at Duck Donuts with kids, take a change of clothes and wipes. Thankfully we had paper towels and water in our car to clean the kids off with and we made a paper towel bib to protect their clothes so we didn't

 

After breakfast we went to The Bodie Island Lighthouse we weren't able to do the climb like I wanted to because Brynna is to short but it was still really neat to see. Plus they only do tours, you can't climb the light house on your own you have to go with a group of people and we happened to get there right when the tour was starting so it was too late for Adam and Brett to go. We hung around for a bit, took some pictures, and went to the pier they had. Brett saw a bunch of crabs and thought it was the coolest thing ever! He was upset though because he didn't see any snakes. They had a few signs that warned you to stay on the sidewalks or the paths because they have snakes all over. So he expected to see a snake. I told him I'd throw him in the tall grass and he can go find one but he wasn't too fond of that idea.





If it wasn't for Brett none of us would have seen this fish.
We waited around a bit and it finally got up and started
swimming.  

After the light house we went to the Aquarium and the kids acted like it was Christmas morning haha. The aquarium we went to on Roanoke Island also had a Dinosaur part that we saw once we were done with the aquarium part. Brett LOVES fish! He is crazy about all the different types of fish and it was funny because he would see things that we didn't see and point them out to us. We got to see an alligator, the otters put on a show for everyone, a huge tortoise, and lots of neat fish. Brett and I touched live sting rays which was really neat,


this is a cell phone photo so it's
not great quality

Adam and Brynna were a little scared and wouldn't touch one. We also saw the divers in the shark tanks. Brett and Brynna wanted to stay for the whole show so we waited until the end and Brett got to ask the divers, "Where do you get your animals from". At the end of the show they said they were going to feed the fish but not the sharks and the kids decided they wanted to go see the dinosaur part instead of seeing the fish being fed. The dinosaur part was okay but we expected a little more. After the aquarium we headed home so we could have dinner and then went for a little night time swim. Well Adam and the kids did. I decided to just hang out on the sand and get my feet wet.

Adam fell asleep on the beach.

Sunday morning we woke up, had breakfast, and headed to the beach. It was an all day beach day/fathers day for us. Which I am pretty sure Adam enjoyed. Brett made friends and played with them the whole time we were there and Brynna just hung out in the sand and made sand castles. She also played with Brett some but preferred to do her own thing. I got in the water some but man beach water is COLD! I prefer to eat ice and work on my tan while watching the kids enjoy the beach :) About 5:30 we headed back to our room and got ready to go out to eat and enjoy our last night there. I finally got to get the kids in cute clothes and take them out to have some cute pictures taken at the beach. Normally I have a hard time getting Brett to take decent pictures but for some reason this time it was turd Brynna that didn't want to cooperate during pictures. Every time someone offered to take a group picture of the 4 of us some reason or another she was not happy about something. And sure enough whenever I started to take cute pictures of the two of them this is how it turned out...

I ended up getting some cute ones also so in the

Look at that cankle!

end it all worked out. While we were taking pictures a woman walked over and offered to take one of the 4 of us and one of just Adam and I. Even though after I saw the pictures I decided I should have worn my hair up instead of using stupid sea salt spray I am still glad we got even more photos of the 4 of us while at the beach. I continued taking a few pictures of the kids and as I squat down to take a picture I start to wonder if my water broke. Their was a wetness in my underwear. Did my water just start leaking or did my bladder give out? I JUST peed 10 minutes ago how in the world could I have peed on myself? I continue taking pictures and whatever it is continues leaking. After pictures we run back by the room and I changed underwear and grabbed an extra pair just in case. Well my water didn't end up breaking so I guess my bladder decided to give out on me -___-. For dinner I found a neat little place called Pamlico Jacks. Our waitress was horrible but the view, food, and place was really nice. And dinner was only about $60 for the 4 of us and that was with a dessert and Adam got 2 beers. After dinner we headed right next door and played some putt putt before we headed home and CRASHED!! Well I actually got a foot rub before bed. My right foot, ankle, and leg was so swollen. The foot rub was a little painful but the next morning my right foot felt so much better.

Monday morning we woke up and packed the van up to head back home. We ate McDonalds for breakfast(I have been craving their Sausage McGriddles or whatever their called) and then we went to the Wright Brothers National Memorial. The memorial was pretty neat but it was so hot and so spread out. A lot of the stuff they closed down and it just didn't have much so we decided to call it quits and head home. The drive home also wasn't that bad thankfully. We made it home around 5-6pm and then we had a little bit of cleaning to do(well Adam did most of the cleaning I just sat in a chair and propped my feet up) before the furniture people came and dropped off our new furniture(last week Adam and I finally caved and bought new living room and bedroom furniture.. Now that we have it I have no idea why we waited SO LONG haha!)

Here are a few more pictures from our beach trip..