Our Day Trip to the Outer Banks

Last week, we headed to the Outer Banks for a day trip. We started by visiting the Wright Brother's National Park in Kitty Hawk, NC. 

It was so much fun seeing the place where the Wright Brothers made the first flight. Martin and I read the book, The Wright Brothers and their Sister, last year and have been wanting to visit since we read that book! I will be reading it to Aaron this coming school year ... so the timing was perfect!

The walk to the monument wasn't a short one ...  but the walk up the hill ... was TOTALLY worth it!

The view was fantastic!

We couldn't make a trip all the way to the coast without sticking our toes in the water! We didn't originally plan to get wet ... but alas ... we got wet. (after spending about 20 minutes at the beach we had to head out to our next stop) When we got back to the van, I discovered a bag full of swim suits ... that I had no idea was in the van)

Next we headed off to the Roanoke Island Aquarium. We really enjoyed it!

We especially enjoyed petting the rays! We didn't realize that we'd get through the aquarium so quickly ... so next we headed to ...

the Bodie Island Lighthouse. They were still doing some repairs ... but it was fun to visit and see up close! We also walked around the historic house next to it and read all the fascinating history associated with this lighthouse.

And of course ... since we had time ... and those swimsuits ... we headed back to the beach for some REAL swimming and playing! SO MUCH FUN! This was the first time the children were able to swim at a real oceanfront beach (we've gone to a beach on the chesapeake bay and a beach on one of the rivers that feeds the bay and to Virginia Beach, but didn't get to swim)so, as you might imagine, the children were absolutely thrilled! It was so much fun to watch them enjoy it as they did.

Rosalie wasn't too excited about the water ... it took her awhile to warm up to it ... even after she let it touch her feet, she wanted to be holding someone's hand.

Jonathan was so funny. He kept shouting, "THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!" He was also very concerned about Martin and Aaron. He kept shouting at them to come back ... and telling them they were going too far in. Rich finally said, "Jonathan, it's okay buddy, I've got this! You don't have to worry about them!" After the beach, we cleaned up and went out for dinner. We packed snacks and lunch, but went to a restaurant for dinner. Since we do that so rarely, the children were super excited about that too!

This was the scene after we ate and headed home. The 3 boys were out like a light ... but Rosalie was still wide awake and driving us crazy with her NON-STOP talking. She finally fell asleep about an hour from home. We had such a fun time! I included bunches of more pictures for all the grandparents to enjoy ... and anyone else who has the time!