Tag Archives: sand

August 16, 2015 – Vacation!

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We had a lovely vacation this summer with my family at our traditional stomping grounds in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina.  The weather was nice and sunny every day except for one afternoon when it stormed. It was perfect weather for the beach where we spent several hours each day in the water, playing in the sand, and having picnic lunches. Once we arrived at the beach Finn rarely sat down. He constantly ran back and forth from the water to our sand play area with buckets of water, which he dumped immediately and then ran back for more. He love it.  He is at a great age for playing at the beach. He went out in the water with daddy, and Grandpa and Grandma many times (despite my worry of sharks!). He really wanted to let go and be the first to catch each wave. He kept telling Papa and daddy to go out further!

Here is the beginning of our trip. We hit the road by 7:30 am – I was impressed we met our goal departure time 🙂  Finn is all cozy in his pj’s with his fuzzy blanket and animals, and of course his sunglasses.  Our first stop: Tim Horton’s, for some doe doe’s, of course!IMG_20150807_073936502

Guess who we ran in to at our first pit-stop at the Tamarack exit in Beckley, WV! I had missed a text message that they were going to be stopping there and we were getting ready to leave when Kevin spotted mom and dad walking nearby in the parking lot!?IMG_20150807_113547077_HDR

Our first night we spent in Durham and ventured out for some ice cream after dinner. (top photo compliments of Amy!). 000025450022IMG_20150807_194228815_HDR IMG_20150807_194633016 IMG_20150807_194809228_HDR
As tradition has it, we stopped for lunch at Sharky’s once we arrived in Ocean Isle Beach. It was perfect timing and we enjoyed a yummy pizza, sweet potato fries, and chicken!  While we were waiting to check in at our house we enjoyed some time outside on the deck. IMG_20150808_134326407 IMG_20150808_143154117_HDR

Once we arrived at the house it was full on play mode followed by an evening trip to the water after dinner. It was a beautiful sunset that evening. And the days that followed were pretty much wake up, eat, beach, eat, nap, eat, sleep, repeat!IMG_20150808_152654 IMG_20150808_172233292 DSC_0001 DSC_0003 DSC_0005 DSC_0008 DSC_0011 DSC_0012 DSC_0015 DSC_0018 DSC_0021 DSC_0023 DSC_0026 DSC_0027 DSC_0028 DSC_0030 DSC_0032 DSC_0034 DSC_0038 DSC_0039 DSC_0040 DSC_0042 DSC_0047 DSC_0053 DSC_0059 DSC_0063 DSC_0069 DSC_0077

Cousins in matching new vacation pajamas!

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Daddy and Finn are about to get a big splash!

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Dad took a photo of me,
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Trying to take a photo of them doing this:

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But they were moving a bit too fast for my phone/camera…..so here is a better look:


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Finn and RoRo spent lots of time sharing the chairs.

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Special beach treat!IMG_20150813_120143052 IMG_20150813_120328218_HDR IMG_20150813_122021398

This is what Finn looks like after a day at the beach 🙂

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And if you can’t tell by the smirk on his face, this is him pretending to sleep. He’s snoring too. IMG_20150813_144043586 We had a nice family dinner overlooking the water. We were able to watch the sun set and capture a family selfie. IMG_20150813_194941474_HDR IMG_20150813_195053384 IMG_20150814_094616008_HDR DSC_0292 DSC_0293

Graham was posing with a fabulous smile, asking me to take his photo in these! Such a handsome boy. DSC_0295 DSC_0297 DSC_0300

G and Finn having some fun chats.
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Dad took these next two – good ones!DSC_0309 DSC_0311

Piggy back rides on Grandma!DSC_0314 DSC_0315

Grandma and Grandpa spent lots of time on the floor building really cool trucks, cars, towers and such with the new magnetic set they brought for the kiddos. DSC_0322

It’s always fun to play with the couch pillows…..where’s Grandpa?IMG_20150814_102651070 IMG_20150814_102757103 IMG_20150814_124723337 IMG_20150814_124751180

Hitting the big waves with Grandma and Grandpa!IMG_20150814_125503515

Heading out with Papa and Daddy. IMG_20150814_142922465

Snack time: rainbow goldfish and drinks! Uncle Andy had them each sit on a pillow 🙂

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And this photo is right before we departed for home, at about 6:45 in the morning on Saturday!IMG_20150815_063620553

Can anyone find Finn? His keepsake this year was a large stuffed turtle – you know, it was the year of the turtle with the ride and all. IMG_20150815_075038883_HDR

And here are many lovely family photos that Amy took, not that you couldn’t have sensed the focus and quality is far better than mine – but wanted to give credit where credit is due! Check out the crazy reflections in the sand and water!000025480001 000025480006 000025480008 000025550014 000025540011 000025460006 000025460022000025460023000025550004 000025550002Amy treated us to another family photo session on the beach this year. We are so fortunate to have her share her gift of photography with our family. When we arrived at the parking lot to head out to the beach we realized there were turtles to see! Amy was able to capture that too 🙂 There are several awesome photos – I can’t wait to get some prints!01_Armstrong_OIB 02_Armstrong_OIB 03_Armstrong_OIB 04_Armstrong_OIB 05_Armstrong_OIB 06_Armstrong_OIB 07_Armstrong_OIB 08_Armstrong_OIB 09_Armstrong_OIB 10_Armstrong_OIB 11_Armstrong_OIB 12_Armstrong_OIB 13_Armstrong_OIB 14_Armstrong_OIB 15_Armstrong_OIB 16_Armstrong_OIB 17_Armstrong_OIB 18_Armstrong_OIB 19_Armstrong_OIB 20_Armstrong_OIB 21_Armstrong_OIB 22_Armstrong_OIB 23_Armstrong_OIB 24_Armstrong_OIB 25_Armstrong_OIB 26_Armstrong_OIB 27_Armstrong_OIB

August 2, 2014

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DSC_0759We have arrived on vacation in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina!

Finn did pretty well in the car on the way down. He had a few cry fits and only slept 45 minutes each day (and the first day we had over 8 1/2 hours of driving) but overall he was a happy camper. He was certainly happy when we arrived at the house and we gave him free reign in the car.  He helped daddy steer and turned up the radio, of course. IMG_20140802_132348574 IMG_20140802_151223547_HDR IMG_20140802_151408453

We stopped at Sharkey’s on Ocean Isle when we first arrived – it has become our tradition. We enjoyed sweet potato fries (with cinnamon sugar butter, yum!) and pizza before we carried on to our house. 20140802_135551Finn absolutely loves the sand and water. The first evening we arrived we headed to the beach toward dusk and we had him in his street clothes – but he didn’t mind getting soaked! The weather has been less than ideal since we’ve arrived and actually for good portions of our drive.  We have been having crazy amounts of rain and thunderstorms which is great napping weather, however, Finn would far rather play with his cousins than sleep! He’s struggled with taking naps and going to bed at night – just screaming and crying which is completely atypical.  He sleeps much better once he knows everyone else (as in his cousins) have gone to bed.  Otherwise, he doesn’t want any part of it.  We’ve read a lot of books and Grandpa has helped Graham and Roro make some cool magnetic objects, featured below is the helicopter.  Finn likes building, but probably enjoys destroying everything even more! We were able to make a brief trip to the beach on Sunday in between rain showers. The kids all fit in a nice large wagon for the ride to the beach. IMG_20140802_180919714

DSC_0667 DSC_0665 DSC_0675 DSC_0677 DSC_0680 DSC_0685 DSC_0688 DSC_0689 DSC_0691 DSC_0694 DSC_0695 DSC_0700 DSC_0701 DSC_0708 DSC_0711 DSC_0713 DSC_0719 DSC_0720 DSC_0722 DSC_0723 DSC_0726 DSC_0728 DSC_0729 DSC_0735 DSC_0736 DSC_0738 DSC_0740 DSC_0742 DSC_0745 DSC_0746 DSC_0747 DSC_0751 DSC_0754 DSC_0756 DSC_0757 DSC_0762 DSC_0764 DSC_0769 DSC_0770 DSC_0772I was out of town for a work conference from Sunday through Wednesday at midnight. That was my first time being away from both Finn and Kevin, believe it or not, and I survived as did they. And quite well actually. They even had a fun dinner out with the Howard’s and Ackerman’s and all the kiddos 🙂  I returned home to our beautiful kitchen! The cabinet installation began while I was gone and is looking fabulous. Everything is really taking shape and the island is in place so we now have a good perspective on the final layout. There are still a few changes to make and cabinets to install but below you can see what everything is looking like. We are excited! The flooring is near completion too, with part of the office, dining room, and front foyer that remain. DSC_0659 DSC_0656 DSC_0661 DSC_0658 DSC_0657 DSC_0649 DSC_0648Until next week!