We returned Saturday from a weeklong trip to the North Carolina Outer Banks (OBX is the common abbr). The OBX are a popular vacation destination for many of my local friends but this was our first time to these beaches. We met 3 of Royce’s friends who all worked as phlebotomists together in college along with their wives and children. One of his friends couldn’t make it but his super awesome wife Crystal still came. That’s how close we all are; It’s the best. 7 adults, 5 children. Insane!
To be honest I was a bit nervous about the trip. Syd hasn’t been the easiest thing to be around and thinking of an entire week with her and 4 other children seemed a bit dicey at best, but it all went really smoothly and like our MN trip we took last year Syd’s behavior was perfection. This kid really does pull through when we travel.
She wasn’t a huge fan of the beach. We had maybe one day where we got her out there with minimal whining. She was afraid the dolphins were ‘going to get her’ and I think the sand wasn’t fun for her this time around either because the ocean was so loud…and so close…you know…those scary dolphins may sneak up at any moment.
Thankfully there was plenty of other activities to keep us busy. One rainy misty morning Albert, Royce and Jeremy took Syd and Jake miniature golfing while the girls and younger kids stayed home.
Most of my time was spent in the condo either watching kids nap or feeding Ingrid. Thankfully we splurged for the ocean view condo so even though I didn’t get my feet wet all that often I could at least see and hear the ocean!
Many of our nights were spent dining together over fantastic meals but Crystals night of fresh steamed seafood was hands down the best!
Overall it was a nice trip, even if the most relaxing part of my day came at 8 PM when all the kidlings were in bed and the wine and champagne came out…and all the adults piled in the hot tub. It’s the memories that will stay with us, — the jokes about Royce’s meat and Albert’s shirts showing up in odd places — the things we will laugh about for years to come. These trips will only get easier and more fun as the kids get older.
The OBX was a long hike for all our Midwestern friends so hopefully we can find a place more central for us all to meet and still enjoy the sun. I’m sure we will return to the OBX next year just the 4 of us at some point during the summer!
More of our photos are online in the OBX 2012 set on Flickr
Midwestkids 
It is a long hike for us Midwesterners, but anyplace with an ocean is! We loved OBX too and would happily drive there again next year!
(And yes, Syd was an angel the whole week that we were there. I guess if she acts up at home, that all goes away when there are so many eyes on her 🙂 ).
She did the same thing last year in MSP…Royce and I were both stunned and shocked. Considering it’s practically a year ago to the day we must be entering the ‘good cycle’ again which would be nice! Now if we could just get over the poop hurdle… she had 4 outputs in the 7 days we were at the OBX, however Royce typically carried her away so you all didn’t have to listen to the screaming…you just got to see the happy dance aftermath. : D