Best week of the entire year has finally come! July 21 -24 2013

This summer has been filled with amazing fun times. Lots of sun, swimming, laughs and memories made. However this summer has been missing one very important thing.....Daddy.

Andy has been out of town since the last week of May and just came back two weeks ago. We have missed him terribly. He had to miss out on all the fun we have been having and wasn't even here to enjoy the 4th of July. BIG BUMMER! He is officially back in town and we just got home from the best week of the entire year.....VACATION WEEK!

We went alone this year which was different from last year when we went with some close friends. It was just us three and we needed the time together so very badly. So off we went on a little adventure to soak up the sun, relax and enjoy each other.

We left Sunday morning and would return Thursday afternoon. We headed off to Kure Beach (one of our favorite places in the world) early Sunday morning. 3 hours later we could smell the salt in the air :) We had arrived!

Our first night at the beach! Beautiful full moon!

We stayed at a new place called Kure Keys, a small, quaint, family owed place with a lot of character and no crowds. It was perfect!

We spent our first day settling in enjoying the beach and pool and soaking up the sun.


The first night we had to make our usual stop for dinner at Big Daddy's, a popular seafood restaurant in Kure Beach and visited the pier. It was a perfect day to start our vacation. We were all so happy to just be together.

Day two began early with just some quiet time on the beach front porch of our hotel enjoying all of God's beauty. As much as I love being home, every time we are at the beach I wonder, "Why don't we live here?!" It is just so beautiful and relaxing.

We spent the morning at the pool and the afternoon at the beach! It was perfect weather the whole time we were at the beach. No rain. Not too hot. Always breezy :)

The evening was full of carnival rides all lit up. Tons of games with large stuffed animals dangling over head. Funnel cake scented air, and a walk on a new pier!

If you look really closely at this picture you will see Hensley trying to whistle...he is OBSESSED! 

Wrapped up with a late evening swim til the underwater lights came on and a walk on the beach to soak up the beautiful sunset.

Day three arrived and we realized, "Hey this vacation is flying by!?"

We ate breakfast at a place that Andy has been going to since he was about Hensley's age. It brings back a lot of memories for him and we visit it each time we come down. I love that we are continuing this tradition with our little family.

at breakfast! 

We cruised around up in the Carolina Beach and did a little shopping. We did some sight seeing and looking at what all had changed since last year.

This day was overcast but it never rained. It was still perfect beach weather and while we were out we decided to take full advantage of this extra breezy day and bought a kite! Awesome decision! It was the perfect day to fly a kite. So we did! 

We had went far north this morning to see Carolina Beach and decided to take the afternoon to go way down south to the end of the island and see what the beach at Fort Fisher had to offer. Another awesome decision. It was the most laid back, quiet and beautiful beach ever! This will be getting a lot more of our time the next time we visit!

We visited a new place for dinner called Uncle Vinny's Pizza and it was lovely. The best food we had while we were on vacation and such a warm and different atmosphere inside.

By day four we were all getting a little low on energy. We had swam until we couldn't swim anymore. The beach was beautiful but we had had enough sand for a while. We decided to change it up a bit and start the morning off by visiting the aquarium at Fort Fisher. We had went two years ago but Hensley was so young that we knew it would be a different and much more fun experience this time around. We had a lot of fun.

We found a local playground right on the lake in Carolina Beach. It was full of little ones just what we needed. It was beautiful

Grabbed some dinner and realized we were already having beach withdraws. We hit the beach for some sand castle building and family photos. A night without walking down to the pier for ice cream just isn't a night at the beach...so off we went for one last visit to the pier :)

We had originally planned to leave Thursday morning but here it was Wednesday night, 11 pm, and we were exhausted and Hensley was very homesick. So we packed the car, cleaned our room, and hit the road. 11 pm and three hours ahead of us. What we didn't know was that a storm that would follow us all three hours was ahead.

3 AM : pulling the driveway, pouring rain, two very exhausted parents, little boy who slept the whole way and two doggies who were overly excited to see us.

We might have fell asleep at 5 AM UGH!

We 100% used the next two days to REST!!


After a long summer of it just being Hensley and I it was really nice to all be together and be able to relax and enjoy so much time together. And lucky for us....Andy had three more days off once we arrived home :)