Last week, the Heat’s went to the beach. And it was wonderful.  And now we’re home. And that’s not wonderful.

The end.

Honestly, that’s all I really feel like writing as it sums up life today perfectly.  But that’s not the whole story.  We drove to the Outer Banks of North Carolina last week by way of Jamestown, VA so my history nut husband could impress us with his smarts.  Breaking the 12 hour drive up to 3 days felt so luxurious- we never once sat in traffic longer then 5 minutes and we had all the time in the world to explore.

The kids and I exploring a replica of one of the ships that sailed from England to Jamestown, VA.

Jamestown was really neat- they had a Native American village, a replica of the settlement set up by the English and replica’s of the 3 ships used by the English to sail to America (ships that I couldn’t imagine spending 1 day on, let alone 4.5 months). The kids enjoyed it and it was a perfect pitstop for a few hours during our travels.

But the main attraction for the week was our time in Nags Head, NC.  We rented a house with my mother-in-law, her husband, and my husband’s brothers and their families. In all, we had 14 people in one house- 8 adults and 6 kids ranging from 4 to 13 years old.  It was an awesome week. We don’t see my brother in laws often as they live all over the country, so it’s always a treat to hang out with them and my nephews. The kids get along like long-lost best friends and keep themselves entertained well, so there is plenty of time for the adults to catch up.

Wiffle ball on the beach- can’t beat it!

We did some sightseeing- first, at the Wright Brothers National Monument.  The Hubs and I thought this was awesome, but it was wasted on the kiddos.  Maybe in a few years they’ll appreciate it.

We also went to my favorite place in the whole OBX- Jockey Ridge State Park. 

Jockey Ridge consists of the largest natural sand dunes on the East Coast. The sand is powder fine, the views are breath taking and everyone has a blast- as long as you don’t mind getting sand everywhere. See that huge hill behind the Hubs and Bean? People run down it, boogie board down it or roll down it.  There is also a hang gliding school located there where people throw themselves off the dunes. It’s amazing.

But mainly, we hopped between the beach, the pool, the hot tub and the kitchen. We got too much sun, went to bed too late, slept too long, ate too much, jump a lot of waves, read a lot, reconnected and basically loved life.

Scorch and his cousin dodging waves.

And now we’re back to the land of alarm clocks and schedules and laundry and real life. And while our real life is pretty great, it’s no day at the beach.