OBX 2012 (part 2) Beach Day!

I haven't been to the beach in YEARS. It was the summer before we got pregnant with Audrey. I went to Disney with my family and we went to Cape Canavral to see the space shuttle launch from the beach. I did nothing but sit in a chair and enjoy the sights and sounds of the beach.

Friends, going to the beach with children is so much different.

Chris and I were loaded with a huge bag, buckets & shovels, towels, an umbrella, floaties (that we never used) and 2 wiggly kids. We didn't walk too far until we settled on a spot far enough from the water but not too far from the pier.

Chris set up the umbrella and took Audrey to see the ocean while I got Abby changed into her swim suit. Audrey didn't LOVE the water, but she was ok getting her feet wet. She came back and decided it was much more her speed to sit in the sand with her shovel and bucket. Chris took Abigail out to the water and of course she LOVED it.

I blew up the small kiddie pool (a good $5 spent!) Abby only stayed in the pool for about 5 minutes, but it was nice to have something for them to splash around in (Audrey ended up shoveling sand into it, lol.)
Love this sweet face!
I took Audrey back to the water for a few minutes. She thought it was fun to let the waves chase her.

Turns out she doesn't like sand very much, either. I'm really hoping she grows out of it because we really want to go back!

I took Abby down to the water and held her hands as we waited for waved. She had the biggest smile on her face! She'd laugh when the waves crashed over her feet. Totally adorable! I wish I would've given Chris the camera :(



Kid was completely covered in sand, and also had sand in her mouth (she literally shoveled it into her mouth...ugh.) And of course I had forgotten to but the baby powder in the beach bag. We were a sweaty, sticky, sandy bunch!

After a couple of hours we'd had enough and it was nap time. We got the girls showered and Abigail had no problem falling asleep. I didn't have Audrey take a nap all week...I knew she'd fall asleep better at night if she was exhausted! So it was just "down time" for her...milk and cartoons. Chris and I alternated going to the pool. It was nice to have some quiet, by myself time to just lay out and enjoy the water. When Abigail woke up we all went to the pool for a couple hours.

We went back to the room and got ready for the evening. First we hit the outlets...I took Audrey and Chris took Abigail in the stroller. I ended up buying just a few things, including a backpack for Audrey (which is HUGE on her, BTW!) I was thisclose to buying her a little beach fedora but at the last minute she decided on a pair of shoes instead :) We went to dinner at Sugar Creek (1 minute down the road from the Oasis.) I had yummy fried shrimp. Everything was very good. There was a clown on the lower deck making balloon animals so we hung out while Audrey had a teddy bear made (I was hoping she'd ask for an alligator!) When we got back I took Audrey (and her teddy bear) for a walk. When Abby went to bed we sat out to watch for dolphins.

Next up: Day 3 at the Aquarium!