Late summer beach trip!  Paul and I joined Ken, Karen, and the kids at the beach for a weekend.  Emerald Isle is one of North Carolina’s “outer banks.”  It’s part of a series of long sandy islands running right up close along the coastline.  The islands are like a long winding snake, but so narrow that from the second story of any building you can see the wide, reedy salt marsh on one side (between the island and the mainland) and the dunes, beach, and sea on the other side.  It’s really magical.

We got there Friday, went straight down to the beach to swim and play, and then spent the evening getting settled in our rooms and putting together an evening picnic of crackers and hummus and carrot sticks.  (And bourbon.)  And then the kids went to bed and Paul and Ken got out the guitars.  I remember falling asleep while my mom played guitar and sang to us, and while I know reading to your child is one of the most important things you can do, I think singing to your child is just as important.

Xak takes sandcastle building very seriously (and so do I).

 

We also sang the Little Bunny FooFoo song…  about six million times.  Good thing I like that song!  ;)

Nova has been to the beach before, but only as a tiny baby, so this was her first real adventure in the ocean.  She was a little afraid, and honestly, I’d encourage anybody to be a little afraid of the ocean.  Cautious.

But also to get in and swim!  And swim and swim and swim.  Being in the ocean makes all the stress and worry in my life just wash right out of me.