At the end of June we finally finished Teagan's room and moved him into his new room. This was a big transition for Teagan and he didn't look back. He loves his new room and it has given him a sense of independence. He usually wakes up, makes his bed, gets dressed and comes up for breakfast. Yes, I am lucky that he is doing this at 5 and will ride it out as long as I can. Trevor built a built in shelf on one wall so now Teagan has plenty of room for his books and toys.
Landry moved into her much anticipated owl room with no fight at all. She was sooo excited to see the finished room and sleep in her big girl bed. She is definitely a little girl now and packing the crib away made it even more certain. 
We made the 5 hour drive down the coast from Maryland, through Virginia, and into North Carolina. Our friends the Winslows flew in from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to rendezvous at our rental house in Kill Devil Hills. We had only seen pictures online, but the house ended up working out great and was plenty big enough for two families. The biggest benefit in my opinion was having our own kitchen so we didn't have to eat out with little ones for every meal, major sanity saver. 
We were so lucky to get to do a trip like this with friends. Our first vacation with Travis and Kate was to Bali, Indonesia back in 2004 and I hope we are able to continue to do these great trips with them. The fact that our kids are the same age was an added perk. Yes, having 4 kids five and under in the same house can be a bit challenging at times, but they also entertained each other, made each other laugh, and became the next generation of friends by the time we left. We will cherish our memories of nightly ice cream runs; Andrew's awesome dance moves; pj's, milk, couch and cartoons in the morning; Star Wars duels; bunk bed invasions; and jet tub bubble baths. Thanks for a great vacation Winslows!!!
The beaches of the Outer Banks are very nice. They are wide, clean and not overcrowded even during peak week. The water was not nearly as warm as we thought it would be considering the air tempurature was in the 100's. There are also tons of sea shells to find along the shore and Teagan had bucket after bucket full each day that we went. We told him we hope he knows how lucky he is that he got to swim in the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean (San Diego) all in one year. He seemed to appreciate every moment of it.
One of the major perks of our rental house was the pool. It was the perfect size and temperature and the kids spent hours in it. I packed both lifejackets in our luggage, but we never used them once. Teagan loves the water anyway, but he was a swimming fool by the time we left. He also discovered the power of the cannonball jump! Landry discovered the noodles and used them to jump into the pool and float around by herself. Now this is vacation!
We took the kids over to Roanoke Island to visit the Aquarium one day. It is a fairly small aquarium with a few good tanks and displays. It was air conditioned which is a selling point in itself.
One evening we trudged barefoot up the expansive sand dunes to fly kites and jump the hills. The wind was whipping across those hills which makes for great kite flying and a free leg exfoilation (or body exfoilation if you are at Landry and Andrew's height). Teagan's favorite part was running and jumping from the top of the hill into the soft sand on the side
We spent a great day on nearby Roanoke Island where we attended a pirate play and feast and then visited the site of The Lost Colony. The kids loved the pirates and their sword fights over treasure. We all got a pirate bandanna and eye patch which are still being put to good use.
Teagan was totally fascinated by the lost colony and kept asking, "yeah, but where did they go?". This was the site of the first English colony in America, but by the time the next ships arrived the people had completely disappeared and it is still a mystery today as to where or how they disappeared. The Elizabeth II was a representive ship of the settlers and the kids loved exploring the lower decks and Teagan even got to lower the flag from the mast.
We ended the day at a restuarant to celebrate my birthday. With 4 tired kids we barely made it out alive, but all in all it was a good day. One memorable moment at dinner was when I took Landry outside for a "time out" and as her and I sat on the deck overlooking the water, two dolphins started jumping out of the water in front of us. It was amazing to witness in the wild and was one of my favorite memories of the trip. 
It was a bit of a drive to see the tallest brick lighthouse in the world, but we made it. Trevor and Travis dutifully made the trek to the top with Maddie and Teagan despite the hot and humid conditions. Amazingly it was reported that the kids didn't whine once and loved the view from the top. The view of the spiraling lighthouse was pretty amazing from the bottom too. 
On our last day we visited the Wright Brothers Memorial. This was the actual sight in Kill Devil Hills that their first flight was taken December 17, 1903. In the top picture Teagan is looking at the white markers that represent the actual flight (it lasted 12 seconds).
The middle picture has the memorial in the background.
The bottom picture is the kids in front of a model of the airplane used by Orville and Wilbur. The actual plane used is in the Smithsonian in D.C.
Our last night in North Carolina we wanted to get one last beach visit in. It stays in the 90's even after the sun goes down so there was no worries about getting cold and it was nice not having to worry about sunburn. There was a beautiful full moon out that night. Teagan and Andrew chased each other in the waves giggling and having a great time. The perfect way to end a wonderful vacation.
We had been looking forward to this day for almost a year and were so glad it finally arrived. Teagan was all business and did a great job as ring bearer. Landry wasn't too sure about all those faces looking at her so I had to walk her down the aisle, but otherwise she did a great job as flower girl. The pink beach theme was done so beautifully and the flowers and cake were perfect.
My favorite part of the day was seeing all my mom's family from all over the country come together for a happy occassion. Thanks Laura and Chris for making it all happen and we wish you a wonderful life together.
My cousin Laura Wilson became Mrs. Chris Ewing on July 17. It was such a beautiful wedding and we felt honored to be a part of it.
