… to keep up with the blog while we were on vacation last week at the Outer Banks. But it never happened.
I guess you can say I was a bit lazy about that.
In fact, despite the fact that I took my laptop with me, I never even logged into work to check email. It was very liberating!
We had another wonder beach trip with the beach families: The Atkins, Lloyd, McNally and Owens families. This was our fourth year doing this trip and it just doesn’t get any better. I have highlighted the week into the following shorts:
What a Difference a Year Makes
More than 500 photos from the week and I don’t even have one to show what I am talking about! What I mean by this title is what a difference a year of swimming has made for Thomas.
Finally he got a chance to REALLY enjoy the ocean and the pool. He felt comfortable jumping into the pool, using the rafts, noodles, etc. and just swimming all about. It was great! This is exactly why I decided on having him (and Matthew) take swim lessons year-round. I think some people must have thought I was crazy or questioned my intentions but really this past week proved to me that every hour I spent at the indoor pool this past year was worth it! 
In fact, I think the week made him even more confident to want to learn to be an even better swimmer (and he still has a long way to go in terms of his strokes but at least he does all the fun stuff!).
Bon Appetite!
If you are already a friend of mine on Facebook then you know that much of the week is about FOOD… glorious food. We have it down to a science on how we do it at the beach. The first night is pot luck taco that we bring from home… everything from ground beef and meatless beef to fish.
Then each family (couple) takes one night to cook dinner for the adults and kids. The last night we eat leftovers, go out or do take out.
This year most of us stayed in and ate leftovers while we ordered pizza for the kids. I know it is crazy that we don’t go out but with 23 people it is impossible and we could split up but the fun of the trip is all of us together. Plus, all the kids together then go off to play or watch movies while the adults then eat a nice meal. It works perfectly for our group.
Fun Activities
We had boccie (the boys), cocktails every evening, movies galore for the kids, World Cup soccer watching, pool party for the kids, walking, running and biking for some members of the group, lots of reading (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the Girl Who Played with Fire were popular), reading trash (Us Magazine), watching lots of funny takes on You Tube and just lots of good old laughter!
The Beach
Of course one of the best parts of the vacation is the beach itself. Is there anything more relaxing than sitting on the sandy beach? Even better was that this year it was hot and sunny. That is my kind of beach vacation! The first few days the water was quite cold – ice numbing cold in fact. But by the third day it was nice and cool and refreshing.
I could go on and on about the vacation but I will stop here. The photos themselves tell a story. Of course, we are already planning beach 2011!!! It will be a different experience for us but we are certainly looking forward to it 
