Outer Banks, North Carolina

We are enjoying our trip thus far in North Carolina, though it definitely isn't relaxing with Benjamin and Abby! It has been great to spend quality time with my twin Mike and his family.
We left at 10:30 p.m. Friday night, and arrived at noon Saturday.

We went right to the beach!

It was a bit rough, so we decided to try the pool next. I was the only one willing to brave the cold.

Mike and Christy arrived that night. Abby bonded with the guys over football.

On Sunday, Logan took a polar bear plunge into the icy waters.

Benjamin supervised.

They watched our kids while went out for a seafood buffet. 

I dont have photos from yesterday's trip to the beach and dunes. But, today, we took a walk in Duck.

Keri’s wedding weekend

I love how Benjamin has been taking such good care of Abby. She cracks up at his antics, and she loves when he stops to read to her or talk to her.

This past weekend, Jeremy’s sister got married. She was a BEAUTIFUL bride, and we had a great time. Here is Abby with Nana pre wedding.

And, here we all are after the ceremony, back in Findlay to put the kids to bed before the reception.

Abby is so funny when she sleeps. She puts both hands behind her head like this. So cute!

Here is Jeremy at the reception with his brother Brian and new brother-in-law Aric.

The next day, we went swimming at Great Grandma Hilty’s retirement community. (Well, Jeremy and Benjamin swam…)

All of Benjamin’s first cousins were there too, which made it fun.

Grandpa Hilty helped supervise.

That afternoon, we dressed Abby for the OSU football game.

And we had a wonderful visit from “Great” Nancy and GG and Bob Bob.

Day out with Thomas

We took Benjamin to meet Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt last Friday. He was super excited about riding on a real train. While we were a tad disappointed with the whole experience, Benjamin still had fun.

 

We arrived super early, so nothing was really open yet. We wandered around until Thomas “woke up.”

They also had some train tables to play with, so we did that for a while.

Benjamin was a bit grumpy, so we didn’t get many smiles from him.

All aboard!!!!

Finally, after waiting in line for 20 minutes (I wanted while Jeremy chased Benjamin around), we met Sir Topham Hatt. Apparently, he is scarier in person than on TV.

Feeding ducks and riding bikes

Benjamin had a blast playing with Grandma Jan last weekend in Bluffton. She brought bread crumbs to the park, as well as buckets for treasures. We met up with my friend Renee and her girls who are visiting from Canada. Here they all are feeding the VERY aggressive ducks. We had to put the kids on the table to keep the ducks from biting them.

It was so great to visit with an old friend!

We also spent time with Nana and Papa.

Papa was so excited to take Benjamin out on a bike ride. He bought a bike seat and helmet. The night before the ride, Benjamin walked around with his helmet on. But, poor Papa discovered the seat wouldn’t fit on his bike. So, he had to go get tires for my mom’s old bike. But, when he blew them up…he blew one up, literally. So, back to the store he went for another tire. FINALLY, they got to go on their ride.

Benjamin is looking forward to round two this coming weekend!

 

Meanwhile, Nana, Abby and I went out for a tea party.  

We didn’t get a photo there, but here we are later.