At the Beach for Spring Break

Rest, relaxation and pure fun--those are the words that come to mind when I think of our spring break. We were lucky enough to go the Outer Banks in NC. We rented a house with another family in a great neighborhood community with a sports center. There were about 5 other church families who also rented houses in the same neighborhood, so there was never a lack of play mates for Tobin, Noah and Brenna, and for us as well. This is our second year going to the beach and we love it! It was cold the first two/three days and then became so beautiful for the rest of our week. We filled our days with puzzles, walleyball, reading, bike rides, shopping, flying kites, and swimming attempts in the still frigid waters of the Atlantic Ocean. We filled our nights with karaoke, movies, hot tubs, American Idol, and spending time with our friends. It was a great vacation--one that we will cherish with fond memories.

One experience that sticks out in my mind was the second day we were there. Brenna wanted to take Harley (our friend's dog) for a walk. So, we got on our winter coats and headed out. We somehow ended up at the beach which I really hadn't planned on because it was so cold. But end up there we did. As I walked on the beach, I saw that no one was on the beach with us so we had it all to ourselves. As I walked, I realized that the beach was slowly waking up from winter. It sounds crazy to say, but that is exactly how I would describe it. The sand was hard underneath my feet and only broke occasionally as I walked on it. There were shells all over the place, something I never see in the summer. The shells also seemed un-ordinary in color. They were black and white. I don't remember seeing that color combination before. The other thing that there to be a lot of were crab and horseshoe crab shells all over the place. The beach just seemed untouched, but all the while it kept hinting of things to come as the waves crashed on the sand. It was an absolutely beautiful walk on the beach. It does somehow seem to be a paradox to have a winter coat on when at the beach!! One of the adventures of coming during spring break is that you never know what you are going to get with the weather. Our last three days were absolutely beautiful and perfect for going to the beach. There were more people out and about, the kids played in the sand and only occasionally had to go dip their feet in to cool off from the sun.

The picture of Noah's back tells a story. Noah and the others had gone to the beach with Julie, one of the teenage girls with whom we were staying while at the beach. She asked him twice if he wanted help putting sunscreen on his back. He replied "no" both times and proceeded to do it himself. Yes, you can see his two hand prints on the lower part of his back if you look closely. Hmmm...don't think that was good enough as you have proceeded to burn most of your back. Noah called it art. I called it painful. In the end, Andy called it both! We had a wonderful time and know that our children are building friendships with great friends in the church. It was so much fun.

If you click on the photo collage, it will enlarge. :)