A Day at the Beach

Another first for this week! We took our first trip to the beach with Natalie and Abby. Aunt Reagan and Uncle Jeffie invited us to join them at Reagan's family's beach cottage at Kure beach. The cottage is a few blocks off the beach and perfect for a weekend get-a-way.

We arrived Early Saturday afternoon - to cloudy skies and rain. We were tired though, so we were just as happy to hang out at the cottage - and watch the UNC football game. It ended up being as poor as the weather outside :-(

We enjoyed an amazing dinner of grilled tuna steaks, stuffed crab cakes, roasted vegetables, corn, and salad. Reagan and Jeff are great cooks. Well, Reagan is a great cook - Jeff is a great griller:-)

Saturday night was rough. Natalie and Abby settled down more easily than I expected, but about 1:30am, the rest of the night went to hell. Abby started with the crying and there was holding and snuggling. Then bad to bed for her, where she continued to talk and babble for HOURS! We were in the same room as she was, so I couldn't sleep at all (that and my restless legs were very restless.) It was easily close to3:30 or 4 before I fell asleep at all. Then Natalie started up about 4am. Ben handled her for the most part. By morning, we were exhausted. Natalie and Abby were up and ready to go. Reagan and Jeff were troopers. They said all the crying didn't bother them. I hope they meant it.

The bright side of Sunday was the sunny day and clear skies. Although a little windy, the sun was quite warm and it was beautiful. We finally got ourselves together and loaded up the girls for their first look at the ocean. We rode down to Fort Fisher and joined dozens of fishermen in appreciating a beautiful fall day at the beach.

The girls seemed to like it. Mostly they were interested in trying to eat the sand -or the shells. It was pretty cute though. Natalie and Abby are funny in that they are very serious in new situations. They studied the sand and waves with great deliberateness. (That's to say not to expect smiles and laughs in the pictures:-)).

We were very tired on the way home, but at least we were able to listen to the Carolina Panthers beat the Saints. That perked us up a bit:-)
(Abby exploring the sand)

We had a really great time, despite the rain and lack of sleep. It was wonderful to spend time with Jeff and Reagan. They are so cute with the girls. I'm hoping we will have many more days at the beach - especially this summer. I can't wait to dangle their feet in the waves!

Natalie and Daddy




Jeff and Natalie Jeff, Natalie, Reagan, Abby Reagan and Natalie