Swimsuits & Sandcakes

Well, July did not let up!  It was a great month, in so many ways.  We still plan to expand on some of the ways God poured out His incredibly gracious goodness upon us in a post of its own, but for now, let's back track to our fun in the sun in the Outer Banks.

Once again, we were so blessed by the generosity of my Uncle Tom & Aunt Viv for the use of their lovely beach home and my parents for making this special vacation possible.  While the weather wasn't always cooperative (including a crazy thunderstorm that interrupted our first full day at the beach leaving all of us, but especially poor Steve and my dad, DRENCHED!!!) and Maelee's still not a huge fan of the ocean, we all had a blast.

Here's our trip in pictures:

 

Enjoying the little pool right before the rain poured down on our  first full day in NC...
At least it held off long enough for us to enjoy our lunch on the beach!

Too-Dad and Mary Catherine (aka "Too-Mom") were even able to join us for a couple nights which we all loved...

.. 

With another rainy morning our third day, we decided to enjoy a yummy pancake breakfast...

then check out a nearby aquarium. Maelee didn't mind a bit.  She loved both the real and not-so-real animals...

Then enjoyed another fun meal and the sweet company after the aquarium at the Sugar Creek restaurant.

We were also able to meet up with Mee-Maw and Grandpa one morning at a quaint little river town, Plymouth, midway between us!  It was a quick visit but with a 2 year old who doesn't nap in the car (e.v.e.r.) and a car ride smack in the middle of said "naptime," it's probably a good thing we didn't try to stretch our time much longer.  Not a very happy trip back for any of us...  But, we are so glad it worked and Maelee loved seeing her Mee-Maw & Grandpa! 

Being the first day with sunshine, and the fact that a little Miss Someone was just not interested in napping by this point, we decided to head to the beach after our trip back from Plymouth...

After getting all the fussies out with mommy & daddy in the car, Maelee was ready for some fun with Nana & Pop-Pop!

And some sweet fun with daddy

Watching daddy build some sand castles...

and building some "sandcakes" of her own.

Not sure where she came up with that, but according to Maelee, that's what she was making :)

More fun and more sunshine (yay!) on our next to last day.

And more sandcake making :)

Enjoying an early celebration of Nana's big 6-0 birthday on the beautiful sound in Duck.

Happy Birthday, Nana!

And really enjoying the special treat after our special dinner.

Some more fun on our last day...

And mommy & daddy enjoying the water!

The ominous clouds that (praise the Lord!) stayed out to sea

Such a fun time.  July was a big month and we are so grateful for this relaxing break right in the middle.  Lots of sweet memories were made and we still can't believe what a summer it has been.  August has been off to a sweet & sour note with some excitement with Steve's job (more to come on that one of these days...) but some sadness as we say goodbye to one of our dearest friends in this city.  They have taught us an awful lot about friendship and brotherly love and will be dearly missed.  Hopefully before the month ends, I'll have more pics up with some of those sweet memories made.

But for now, enjoy some more beach time shots in a slideshow: