Travel Blog - Day 6: Pictures, Cooking and lots of crabs
Monday was the big family picture day. A local photographer came to the house at 7:30 AM for pics. 7:30!!! He said the light on the beach was best at the time and the babies were well rested and in the best temperament. We managed to all be ready by 7:30, though I can't imagine it would have been as successful, if we had to get in the car and go somewhere.
I was up pretty early and stood for a few mins on the big deck overlooking the water. It was gorgeous and peaceful. I'm convinced heaven must be a beach. Cool breeze blew in off the water. The sky was a light violet color and warm, golden rays of the sun tried to push through the morning cloud cover. The ocean was as calm as I've ever seen it. It spread out in every direction like cool, aqua colored glass. Ever morning we have seen dolphins out in the water below the house, but Monday morning they were really playing. 5 little fins bobbed up and down along the coast.
It rained a bit during our pictures, so we ran back into the house to take a break. The photographer asked Grace to be his helper and she had fun dancing around, making faces at the babies and just generally acting silly. He took a few shots of her at the end as a thank you for helping him. Maybe we'll use one as her baptism picture. I haven't seen the proofs yet, obviously, but I'm pretty sure that some of the best pic will be of the three little granddaughters (Grace, Brynn and Livvy) all dressed in white, down playing in the water. The girls lifting up their dresses, so they could walk in the waves without getting wet, holding Livvy's hands to help her walk in the water, they were all darling and the photographer got some great candid shots.
Yesterday was my day to cook, so I made french toast, homemade hash browns and bacon for breakfast. It tasted good, though the potatoes didn't turn out as good as I usually make them. The pans were really bad, so I had to keep flipping the potatoes to keep them from sticking/burning. So much movement made them mushier than I like them, but they tasted good, which is all that matters.
The kids spent the morning at the beach and then we loaded everyone up and took them to Kitty Hawk kites. We bought each of the girls a kite and then went out to lunch. I love Nags Head and I really love the addresses. There are basically two roads -- a main road and a beach road. Addresses are something like this: Mile marker 4, beach road. That's it. So yesterday for lunch we ate at The Black Pelican, in Kitty Hawk. Chad and I had crab legs, Brynn shared a cheese pizza with Liv and Grace quickly polished off a basket of fish and chips, all the while declaring "I love seafood!"
We got back to the house after lunch and the girls couldn't put their suits on fast enough. Chad took them out to the beach, while I finished getting dinner ready. Now cooking for 18 people is no small feat. I'd planned a pretty simple meal, cooking wise, but it was still a lot of work. Chad came in after a while to get the kites and said "keeping the kids away from you, that's the best way I can help right?" Yep, but I wasn't going to miss the kites and luckily I was at a good point for taking a break, so we went out and flew the new kites.
Flying kites here is fun. The Wright brothers knew what they were doing when they came it Outer Banks to build the first airplane. It is windy here and we learned last year that a chevron shaped kite is the easiest to fly. Basically you hold it over your head and let go, the wind takes care of the rest. Even Brynn got her kite into the air without help and boy was she proud of herself. The girls only flew the kites for a while and then Chad and I flew them. I took a turn keeping them both in the air, while Chad took pics and then we swapped. When Chad had a turn to hold both kites he invented very elaborate, gymnastic inspired game. It involved running, leaping, twirling and twisting (and speaking in a made up foreign accent). The purpose of the game seemed to be keep both kites in the air, without crossing the streams. (Name that quote -- Don't cross the streams, Ray.) If the strings get twisted, which happened once, it takes some finagling to get them untwisted without crashing the kites and ruining them. Chad was funny, we were laughing and scoring his efforts. That French judge is so picky. :)
We ate dinner--pulled pork sandwiches, chips and grapes with strawberry shortcake for desert. Not long after dinner we put the kids to bed. These are long days with lots of activity and sun, so it wears the girls out. I laid by Brynn for less than 10 mins last night and she was sawing logs.
After the kids went to bed, Chad and I went for a long walk on the beach. It was perfect out and we walked far. There were sand crabs everywhere. It was kind of creeping me out actually. Big ones, little ones. Popping in and out of their holes, running along the sand. You seriously had to watch your feet or you would step on them...ewwwww. Really, ewww. The big ones aren't as creepy as the little ones. The little ones are kind of bug like. The little ones give me the willies.
Chad and I came in once it was too dark to see. I threw in a few loads of sandy laundry, finished up the dishes, helped Amelia and Chad polish off the rest of the strawberry shortcake, because we don't have a way to store it. No tupperware or anything, so you just have to eat it right?!? Right.
We finished off the night playing a game and then hit the sack. Fun day, really fun. I love it here.
I was up pretty early and stood for a few mins on the big deck overlooking the water. It was gorgeous and peaceful. I'm convinced heaven must be a beach. Cool breeze blew in off the water. The sky was a light violet color and warm, golden rays of the sun tried to push through the morning cloud cover. The ocean was as calm as I've ever seen it. It spread out in every direction like cool, aqua colored glass. Ever morning we have seen dolphins out in the water below the house, but Monday morning they were really playing. 5 little fins bobbed up and down along the coast.
It rained a bit during our pictures, so we ran back into the house to take a break. The photographer asked Grace to be his helper and she had fun dancing around, making faces at the babies and just generally acting silly. He took a few shots of her at the end as a thank you for helping him. Maybe we'll use one as her baptism picture. I haven't seen the proofs yet, obviously, but I'm pretty sure that some of the best pic will be of the three little granddaughters (Grace, Brynn and Livvy) all dressed in white, down playing in the water. The girls lifting up their dresses, so they could walk in the waves without getting wet, holding Livvy's hands to help her walk in the water, they were all darling and the photographer got some great candid shots.
Yesterday was my day to cook, so I made french toast, homemade hash browns and bacon for breakfast. It tasted good, though the potatoes didn't turn out as good as I usually make them. The pans were really bad, so I had to keep flipping the potatoes to keep them from sticking/burning. So much movement made them mushier than I like them, but they tasted good, which is all that matters.
The kids spent the morning at the beach and then we loaded everyone up and took them to Kitty Hawk kites. We bought each of the girls a kite and then went out to lunch. I love Nags Head and I really love the addresses. There are basically two roads -- a main road and a beach road. Addresses are something like this: Mile marker 4, beach road. That's it. So yesterday for lunch we ate at The Black Pelican, in Kitty Hawk. Chad and I had crab legs, Brynn shared a cheese pizza with Liv and Grace quickly polished off a basket of fish and chips, all the while declaring "I love seafood!"
We got back to the house after lunch and the girls couldn't put their suits on fast enough. Chad took them out to the beach, while I finished getting dinner ready. Now cooking for 18 people is no small feat. I'd planned a pretty simple meal, cooking wise, but it was still a lot of work. Chad came in after a while to get the kites and said "keeping the kids away from you, that's the best way I can help right?" Yep, but I wasn't going to miss the kites and luckily I was at a good point for taking a break, so we went out and flew the new kites.
Flying kites here is fun. The Wright brothers knew what they were doing when they came it Outer Banks to build the first airplane. It is windy here and we learned last year that a chevron shaped kite is the easiest to fly. Basically you hold it over your head and let go, the wind takes care of the rest. Even Brynn got her kite into the air without help and boy was she proud of herself. The girls only flew the kites for a while and then Chad and I flew them. I took a turn keeping them both in the air, while Chad took pics and then we swapped. When Chad had a turn to hold both kites he invented very elaborate, gymnastic inspired game. It involved running, leaping, twirling and twisting (and speaking in a made up foreign accent). The purpose of the game seemed to be keep both kites in the air, without crossing the streams. (Name that quote -- Don't cross the streams, Ray.) If the strings get twisted, which happened once, it takes some finagling to get them untwisted without crashing the kites and ruining them. Chad was funny, we were laughing and scoring his efforts. That French judge is so picky. :)
We ate dinner--pulled pork sandwiches, chips and grapes with strawberry shortcake for desert. Not long after dinner we put the kids to bed. These are long days with lots of activity and sun, so it wears the girls out. I laid by Brynn for less than 10 mins last night and she was sawing logs.
After the kids went to bed, Chad and I went for a long walk on the beach. It was perfect out and we walked far. There were sand crabs everywhere. It was kind of creeping me out actually. Big ones, little ones. Popping in and out of their holes, running along the sand. You seriously had to watch your feet or you would step on them...ewwwww. Really, ewww. The big ones aren't as creepy as the little ones. The little ones are kind of bug like. The little ones give me the willies.
Chad and I came in once it was too dark to see. I threw in a few loads of sandy laundry, finished up the dishes, helped Amelia and Chad polish off the rest of the strawberry shortcake, because we don't have a way to store it. No tupperware or anything, so you just have to eat it right?!? Right.
We finished off the night playing a game and then hit the sack. Fun day, really fun. I love it here.
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