The Meeces: Outer Banks 2013!!

We had so much fun at the beach this year! It is always great for the cousins to see each other, and this was the first time that all four of them had been together since William had been born. They had a blast!

We spent lots of time outside and lots of time in the kitchen eating- as usual! It rained a little bit everyday except one, but we made it work rain or shine. The ocean feels much cooler at the Outer Banks than it does in SC or FL, so we really needed it to be super sunny and hot so that the water felt refreshing and not cold :) Savannah still doesn't love cold water or the ocean, so she wouldn't go near it all week until the last day. It finally got hot enough on the last day to drag her in to the water with me :)

The Richardson boys were adorable all week and enjoyed being entertained by the wild Meece girls.

Savannah too excited to sleep the night before our trip!

This was a little lesson we were going to attempt for the week with the intention of at least Savannah not getting out of bed until she saw a 7 that matched the 7:00 am. (Sky we knew was a lost cause on 7am...she is an early bird & no clock is going to tell her different :)The plan kindof worked, but then also kindof backfired on us because Savannah became obsessed with the clock and then was so confused about why it said 7 when we were going to bed because that is supposed to mean to wake up.?? And I think she would wake up early than she might have- just so she could check the clock and see if it was time to get up. But, she did physically stay in her bed until 7 :)

Ready to roll!

Sitting in backed up beach traffic and the girls are in a Dora coma...

We made it! First look at the beach!...

And then the unpacking and getting beds ready begins!

This is how Skylar sleeps in style at the beach :) It was her 6th summer to the OBX and each year through trial and error, we have learned new lessons regarding her sleep accommodations :). And even though it is completely ridiculous, it is also completely necessary for our sanity the whole week. So, we turn her room into sleeping heaven. We brought our own blackout shades, bumper (that was a bit overboard), bed rails, and a box fan. We made everything comfortable for our vampire child lol. But all the effort is so worth it in the end if she is happy and sleeps well, then we are happy and sleep well.

First morning at the beach. It's raining, so we got out the big coloring roll...

Ben working hard on his dump truck...

Will is such a happy smiley boy!

Headed to the beach for a little bit after the rain died down...

Ben doesn't care about water temp- he loves it anytime!

Sweet family! Jenny said she thought they looked like they had just hopped off the subway from New York ...in their gray and black and in "pre-tan" phase...

Busy busy digging and finding shells...

Day 2 setup...

Ryan was holding a sleeping Will in almost all of the pictures ... So sweet...

Out to dinner with Gigi and Grandude :)

We brought home a sucker for Ben which quickly turned into all kinds of other things (sword, microphone...) for the girls and Ben was the only one who ate his....

Little sunglass stealer...

Snackin with the cousins

Love this crew of kids!!

Reading with Gigi

This particular afternoon was one of my favorite parts of the trip! Unfortunately Ty was sick and had been at the doctor all morning, so he stayed inside with Sky who had also been acting tired/whiny. But Ben and Savannah had THE best time playing in the tide pools late one afternoon. There was a spot where the water would enter the tide pool and you could play in it like a little river with water flowing.

Jumping the river!

Uncle Ryan got such a work out taking turns swinging them into the air. I mean, look how high Savannah is?! He could have let go of her and she would have launched into the sky...

Sideways Savannah

Double decker iPad watching...

Day 4 on the beach! Jenny and little Gerber baby Will...

Skylar loves the waves and loves watching the ocean!

Look at this big girl walking in the sand all by herself!

Dinner with a beautiful view...

Gigi and Grandudes last night! :(

Lots of pajama time playing all week...

Last day on the beach :(

And finally....Savannah will go near the ocean yay!

We always try and get a group photo of the fam while were at the beach. They are proving to be even more challenging but entertaining. :)

Super cute little sailor outfits from Aunt Jenny! Skylar was not feelin the pictures at all that day. :(

She just wanted to sit and play with Rapunzel and skip pictures...

The boys were so cooperative and cheesin and flirting for the camera. They look beautiful like they are on some Grecian vacation!?

And then literally right after that, they took our picture and this is what our family gave us haha. I'm still laughing at it. Hilarious. Sky never ended up wanting to join in on the picture fun....