The Sink Family!: #sinksinthesand2017

I'm pretty impressed with myself that I'm starting this post and we haven't even been home for 8 hours... but let's be honest, it'll take about a month for me to write, upload pictures, and actually post.

Sinks in the Sand 2017: our annual beach vacation - this year to Corolla with the Trevillian/Overstreet clan. Compared to last year's sickness fiasco at the beach, this year kicked ass. There really isn't anything about a beach vacation with two 2-year olds that's relaxing (except naptime and bedtime), but holy moly it was so enjoyable. The girls loooooved the Ocean - playing in the sand, running away from waves, and searching for seashells - so much joy and happy giggles.

we made it to Corolla! Having an enjoyable outside lunch with these two

... and we made it! "Hiiii Ocean!"

getting our piggies wet

me and my girls <3

walking back to wait for our house

...more waiting... didn't the rental company know it was naptime!?
P.S. they never did nap

We finally got unpacked and settled for the week. Since it was late, we didn't go to the beach or do anything fun... until the kiddos went to bed, and we tried out the hot tub!

Ah, vacation!

First full day: bring on the salty air and sandy toes. We spent the morning searching for sea shells (SO much fun, and sadly no pictures) - it was like an Easter egg hunt. The girls would run from shell to shell and put in their bags. After nap time, we headed out for salty air and sandy toes

making the trek to the Ocean with Daddy
we made sure to make our beach treks super simple - we each had a chair and a bag and a kid

#sinksinthesand2017 ya'll

sweet, sweet girls

we replaced the playroom with one very large sand box

Cover up Daddy's feet!

Sea you soon

Our whole week was relatively breezy + not super warm. It was perfect to just hang out by the ocean wearing long sleeves. It's not-so-perfect when you have little ones with 0% body fat, since they get cold so easy, but we made the best of it! We made sure not to get them wet in the ocean until it was time to head back. And since our pool was freezing cold... we had to improvise :)

"da hot tubbbb"

After getting warmed up in the hot tub, and cleaned up in the bath tub, we cozied up with our cousins to Sing.

E, S, A, S

Day #2 - the potential "Tropical Storm Irma" started to blow in. It wasn't ever a named storm for us, just caused some wind and a little bit of rain. We spent some time at the beach in the morning.

searching for shells

oh hey, Hollywood!

When Ella was done with the beach, she would say "towel" and put her head on your shoulder. She hung out with Nana for a bit so Sydney could play a bit longer

but first... warming up before lunch & a nap

their shirts have a crab on them and say "Oh, Snap!"
how punny!

Day #3 - "Irma" day - we planned on a big, lazy rainy day, which actually turned out to be gorgeous in the afternoon.

PJs and attacking Nana!

movie time in the theater room

there was a break in the rain, so we took the girls for a stroll... look at that hot dad

and our rainy day turned into this gorgeous afternoon

watermelon cousins

The breeze and currents caused the whole OBX to be red-flagged ALL WEEK. How crazy is that!? Daniel was a little bummed, but it wasn't a huge deal because it's not like two little ones can really get IN the ocean and do much. So, if it's going to happen on one of our vacations, I don't mind it when they can just enjoy the edge of the surf.

Sydney going for her first boogie board adventure

"Eyya's turn"

the hot tub turned violent war zone

Day 4: long sleeves, tutus, and so many happy toddler squeals

perfect view
P.S. I didn't get to sit often, so when I did, I soaked it up. All 35 seconds of it.

ready to go shell hunting with our adorable sea-shell bags

sand-jumping off the mounds created by the tides

The most fun thing ever - watching these two run away from the waves... they would squeal and shout and laugh, and it was so much fun. We had such a great time on our trip because we got a first row seat to the beach through a toddler's eyes. My heart was so full, and I had a permanent smile on my face.

Daddy & E running away from the waves

they did this hilarious crab-crawl towards the water, and laughed the whole time

oh, I wish you could hear their squeals!

WARNING: shark sighting! beach is closed - must go in for lunch and naps!

We had to get squeaky clean and well-rested for our BEACH PICTURES! Amazingly, our photographer was on vacation at the same time as us, in the same place, and agreed to do a session.
YA'LL
oh.my.godddddd.
THEY WERE AMAZING! They deserve their own post, so this one only gets some teasers.
After naps, we headed to Kitty Hawk to visit our favorite Brew Thru store and got our bellies filled up, just the 4 of us. It was nice to spend some time with just the girls, since a beach house with 11 people can get a little crazy.

Brew Thru Shopping

then this happened
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

I'm telling you, they are to die for. You need one more.

We got home and put our sweet girls to bed, and relaxed in the hot tub... chatting about how much fun we've had all week.

love this guy

Day #5

each family was in charge of two breakfasts. for the first breakfast, we took the lazy way out and picked up Duck Donuts. for the second, we put our girls in charge - their most favorite breakfast to fix (and well, only one...) - pancakes!

Because the forecast looked a little chilly, we Amazon Prime'd wet suits!

because a girl's gotta snack!

even Darth Vader needs to eat lunch

nap-time floating

We finished up dinner and grabbed our flashlights for a little evening crab hunting - how fun!

cousins by the sea

Day 6 - kind of gloomy, but perfect for packing up, not chasing little ones in the sand, and not giving anyone a bath :)

Daniel and I snuck away after breakfast for our first (and only) walk on the beach. It was cool, cloudy, and almost deserted.

enjoyed some time solo with this guy

Then we took the girls for a little walk and found the neighborhood park. Perfect size for two year olds!

Ella getting herself up on that platform is hilarious

It was nice to sit on a bench with Daniel and just watch them play

naptime vibes

this fierce little girl cried all.week.long! being a newborn is tough.

And that was it! We made the trek home, and loved our week in Corolla. Our girls make us so happy, and made our vacation exhausting and so, so wonderful.