Summer's Last Hurrah

Earlier this month our family treated itself to a week by the ocean in North Carolina.  We rented a rinky-dinky little house right on the beach and enjoyed this beautiful view every day:

Rex most definitely remembered the beach from last year as soon as he saw it and got incredibly excited.  His enjoyment of the sand and waves over and over again warmed our hearts:

And with all that hard playing, Rex took some mighty naps:

Emilia was far more cautious about the "wawa" this year than last year.  She steered clear of big waves and her favorite time to splash was when the tide was way out and the ocean was relatively calm and very warm:

The kids really couldn't have been happier the entire week:

If you look in the background,
you see our little beach house on the right.

"Are we in trouble for tipping over the umbrella?"

The weather was great all week.  We had lots of sunshine and only two short rain showers.  We really did nothing but swim, eat and sleep.  At night, the kids were blissfully tired from all the action, so Craig and I had the chance to watch a few movies (The Descendants, Django Unchained, Argo, and The Silver Linings Playbook).

A highlight of the trip was meeting my friend Amie who came to spend a night and a day with us.  We have known each other for over four years and finally had a chance to meet in person.  I so enjoyed our time together and hope we will see each other again soon.

I am truly thankful that we are able to share these special experiences as a family and make memories that will last a lifetime.

P.S. I forgot my camera, so all of these photos were taken with Craig's cell phone.