OBX Day 4

We woke up early today with a plan in place. Leaving the house around 8:15, we headed south on the island to a state park called "Jockey's Ridge," a sand dune area. Our goal there was to fly a nice kite that Eddie had gotten. We were glad to have gotten there as early as we did, because it was already hot. After a good effort, it was determined that the kite was too complicated for kite novices. The girls didn't really enjoy the dunes and I had to endure a good bit of complaining from them. Kaela, like a scene from a movie, was actually crawling up the dune! Oh, the drama. I intentionally hiked away to the next dune over just to get away from them for a bit. It was worth the sweat and effort. I even found a toe ring in the sand. I wished that Cameron had found it with his metal detector, but he was pleased enough that I gave it to him. After rinsing the sand off and refreshing ourselves with drinks, we headed further south to the Bodie Island lighthouse, one of 5 lighthouses on the Outer Banks. As we were approaching the lighthouse, Kaela said, "I can't believe we're going in the president's house!" I explained that we were going into a LIGHThouse, not the WHITEhouse! So cute. Anyway, we walked in and looked up at the winding staircase going to the top. Pretty neat. Other lighthouses allow people to climb to the top, for a fee, of course. Afterwards, we grabbed lunch at a Subway and then took the kids to play putt putt at a cute pirate themed course. It was hot, but fun. Kaela dropped her ball in the water, but did not have a melt down, thankfully. I was able to get another ball easily. It was the girls' turn to ride in the Jeep, so they were happy. The Jeep people stopped at a hammock store, the van people continued on, and all who wanted ice cream met at Big Buck's for some creamy, cold yumminess. Everyone needed some veg-out time when we finally got home around 3:00, so we watched some cartoons and hopped on laptops. Habits die hard, don't they? We hung around the house until dinner and went to eat at a local place called Sooey's. The kids got frisbees for plates and ate poorly because of the late ice cream treat. Oh well. It's vacation! Upon our return, the kids hit the pool for a little while and then we all went to the beach again for another "crabbing" excursion. The kids just totally love catching those crabs! After that, when the kids should have been put to bed, we let them perform their variety show. The kids were so cute performing their magic tricks, skits, and singing songs. I videoed the whole thing, like 35 minutes worth! Maybe Rho can do something cute with it. It was a late night, the kids getting to bed around 10:30!

OBX Day 3

Even though everyone was up at a decent time, our morning was a bit slow as we batted around ideas and ate breakfast. The kids spent a lot of time putting together a talent show that they'll perform for us later. The boys were using the Internet to find magic tricks they could do and the girls were practicing songs that they plan to sing. Should be cute. Around 10:30, we gathered our gear and gooped up with sunscreen and walked over to the beach. It was a real hot day, but very pleasant on the beach with the breeze. Since Rho isn't here to do ocean play with the kids, I did the best I could. Corban and Cameron stuck together and went pretty far out. Since Eddie was out there, I felt ok about it. The girls needed more attention, of course, and fortunately, Eddie took Karis out to where she wanted to go.....further than I could make myself go. I went up to my waist, however, which is farther than I've ever been, so I'm getting braver! Karis is so brave and just loved being in the water. I was so proud of her and am happy that she isn't showing signs of having lots of fears like I did as a kid. Kaela enjoyed the water, moderately. I was trying to take her out further, but even though I was holding her, she repeatedly asked me to go back closer to the beach. The adults got a little more reading done (I have started Twilight, compliments of Shannon, and am really enjoying it) and soaked up the sun. We saw a group of dolphins go by at one point. That was exciting. I'm just glad I wasn't in the water then. I'm sure it would have scared me. We also saw an F18 or something like that fly over and do a little show off move. When we were all hungry, we packed up and came home for a late lunch. After lunch, Mom and I and all the kids went down to the house pool. I was able to convince Kaela to use only ONE floatation device for a little while. She wears a life vest AND wants an inner tube around her also! I don't have to worry about her drowning! When everyone had had their fill of the pool, we came in. The kids played around the house while Mom, Dad and I cooked dinner (bbq chicken on the grill, fried potatoes, stir fry green beans, squash/zucchini, and rolls....sorry Rho!) Eddie and Shannon did another Jeep ride to take her parents to view the wild horses. Mom and Dad and I stayed here with the kids. The kids messed around and then rode bikes and scooters out front. Corban and I played Jai Lai (sp?). When the Jeep riders returned home, we ate brownies that I had made earlier in the day along with homemade ice cream that Shannon made. So good! Sorry again Rho. :) Then, the whole gang walked down to the beach to do some "crabbing." Armed with shovels, buckets, and flashlights, the kids ran around chasing and catching crabs. It was really neat. Corban and Karis worked together and caught 7 or 8 crabs. Kaela was carrying her little bucket around, too scared to actually catch one, so Corban caught a couple for her. She was very content to carry them around and when she dropped the bucket and her crab friends escaped, she was very distraught. All together, I think the kids got close to 20 crabs and we had a mass release when we were done for the evening and bid our crab friends goodnight. Another fun day here!

Oh, the turtles. At some point today, I walked down to the neighborhood pond with Corban, Cameron, Karis and Kaela (Matthew was napping) to feed turtles. We had walked by the pond on Sunday, stopping to look at a couple of turtles that we spotted. The turtles spotted us too, and there were probably 100 turtles that came swimming over, waiting for us to feed them. We were ready today, with a few heels of bread and some Matzo crackers left over from communion. I just couldn't get over how many turtles were in this little pond! I tried counting, but they don't cooperate and just keep moving around.

OBX Day 2

(I plan to add pictures and spiff up the writing later. I have to put something down now though or I will forget)

Early risers made eggs, bacon, and pancakes. Around 10:45, we headed out to the Currituck Nature Center for a presentation on dragonflies, geared toward children...cute. Went into the small nature museum there, Kaela and Corban tried on turtle costumes, then all walked over to a lighthouse. Just looked at this one. Costs $7 to climb up. Might do that at a different, more famous lighthouse. Came back to house for lunch. Swam for a few hours at house pool. E/S/C/C played some tennis in the crazy heat. Ate spaghetti dinner, made by Kathy. Ed/Lana/3K went for beach drive in Eddie's Jeep to see wild horses. Drove 11 miles to Virginia border. Saw probably 15 horses, 2 kayakers, lots of dogs, 2 sailboats, and 1 wedding! "Wild" horses actually quite tame, coming within a few feet of Karis and Keala....pictures will show! E/S/C/M, S's parents, and Corban went to play putt-putt while we were Jeeping. Baths upon return. Terrible tangles in girl's hair....no more Jeep rides w/o ponytails! Shannon sprained ankle while going down stairs to beach. :(

Outer Banks Day 1

Left TN 6:30. 10 and 1/2 hour drive, arrived at 5:30. Unpacked, went to dinner at a pizza place, walked to ocean for a quick look. Spotted several crabs.

Day 1
Morning....Eddie took all 5 kids to the beach for early walk while others woke up/dressed/etc. After breakfast, we held church services here at the beach house. Eddie "preached" about blessings, in general, tying in lessons that the kids had just had at VBS last week. Corban helped serve Lord's Supper and led closing prayer. His maturity shouldn't surprise me, but he even included things from the "sermon" during his prayer. Such a special boy. Kaela squirmed around the whole time, falling asleep near the end. Other 4 kids swam in house pool, used hot tub. Woke Kaela, ate lunch, then all 12 went to beach, about 100 yards away. Kids wave jumped, found shells, dug holes, built castles. Adults sat, read. Headed home late afternoon, made dinner (hamburgers, hot dogs). E/S/boys took Jeep drive to see wild horses. Ed/Lana/3K walked to community pool and playground to check it out, then across street to shops. Played at another playground there and ate ice cream. Karis completed monkey bars for first time. Kaela did 2 bars! Passed pond with LOTS of turtles. Plan to go back to feed them.

Corban's 10th Birthday

It was a "big" birthday this year for Corban, turning double digits. I remember thinking it was pretty important turning 10. I don't think Corban thought it was such a big deal. Thankfully, Rho was still here in TN to celebrate Corban's birthday. Originally, he was not supposed to have been here, but it worked out that he was. We had a pretty "normal" day as I recall, torturing Corban until the evening to celebrate. He had chosen manicotti for dinner and a multi-flavored cheesecake for dessert. Eddie's family was over to celebrate with us....that's Cameron and Matthew in the pictures. I wish I could remember to have someone take a family picture on the kid's birthdays, but I always forget.

































Corban celebrates his iTouch, his only desire this year. He's turning into a techno kid, for sure.

AMSE

So this is more old news, from when Rho was here in TN, and that was FOREVER ago.

Us Greens and all the Kuhls made a trip to Oak Ridge, TN to visit the American Museum of Science and Energy. There were lots of interactive exhibits for the kids to enjoy. In the pictures, Kaela is working a dinosaur puzzle, Corban is making his name in braille, and the big group standing around the table is working various puzzles. There were so many neat things to do, including a demonstration of the "big ball that makes your hair stand up." It has a real name, but like I said, this is old news and I can't remember what it was called. Karis was brave enough to volunteer to go up on stage and have a room full of people laugh at her crazy hair!

She's Got Talent

A couple of days ago, as we were out shopping, Kaela must have gotten bored. She was wearing a sleeveless dress and was trying to be patient while my focus was on Karis. She made a neat discovery and announced to us all, "I can lick my armpit!" You can just imagine how proud I am. Thought about posting a picture of it, but don't want to encourage that behavior! Gross!