North Carolina Beach Vacation

I am always excited to have a reason to go to the beach. But even more excited when that reason involves a wedding! My friend Debbie got married to a wonderful guy on the beach in North Carolina, and J and I took the whole family. My parents even came along which was EXCELLENT because then J and I could go to the wedding without the kids and not have to cut our evening short.This picture of Rosemary and my dad should give you an idea of just how much R LOVED the beach. This beach was absolutely awesome--the sand was wonderful and the water was amazing. So clear and clean, and the waves were tons and tons of fun. It was so much fun, in fact, that I did not take nearly enough pictures.

We saw lots of marine life, too--a sting ray, tons of little fish, a big crab, and of course little sand crabs and other small critters living in the sand.

We arrived on a Thursday and had Friday and Saturday as full days at the beach. We made the most of our time there, spending several hours each morning out by the water, coming in to get lunch out, and then going back out at least once in the afternoon. We also took morning walks out on the sand--this was one of them. The weather was absolutely perfect while we were there. Warm enough to enjoy the water and the ocean, but not so blazing hot you were uncomfortable being outside.
We even saw a rainbow!
The wedding was gorgeous. My friend H (the one who has given R and RUS camel shirts, and who is responsible for the kids "THAIBOXING"!) was one of the bridesmaids. I thought the dresses were so beautiful, and I loved how vibrant the flowers were against the dresses. Perfect colors for a beach wedding, aren't they?
Here we are at lunch one day. I love this picture of all of us.
It was such a great vacation. Definitely well-worth the 12-hour drive there and back--we're even talking about possibly trying to recruit my brothers and get everyone out there for a family vacation out there. We'll see, though, as word is that Local Hero will be spending the next three years in Hawaii, which is also right up there on the list of "Excellent Vacation Spots."