Via Vacay 2018 - Installment 3: Getting into a routine and Lessons about Ghost Crabs

Every morning began with the sun...literally.

Coffee, breakfast, coffee, quiet times, coffee

and soccer were all essential before heading to the beach.

Oh, and coffee!

I got this packing idea from Pinterest,

and it is absolutely brilliant!

Storage drawers for designated things.

Drawer 1: everything we needed for the fire, 

coffee and eating utensils and paper plates

Drawer 2: condiments, and bread

Drawer 3: essential oils, first aid kit, sunscreen, bug spray, flashlights, card games

The kids set up their own changing room behind the tent

Playing on the sand dunes proved to be just as much fun as playing in the waves

These little ghost crabs were EVERYWHERE! 

Did you know each of these crab's eyeballs can see 360 degrees?  They dig themselves under the snd except for their eyes, which blend in with the sand.  We couldn't even see them watching us all day!

The crabs would run from hold to hole that they had dug on the beach.
We all had a fun time trying to dig them out.
But they are SUPER smart.  We learned tons about them.

boogie boards doubled as wheelbarrows to haul sand around the beach

Jude spent the majority of his time buried in the sand.

The kids had a sandcastle building competition.

Cai was the judge.

Zeke and Jude's creation

Alethia and Rainy's creation.  Check out their walk-in pool and tennis court!

We would hike back to our campsite to eat lunch and have some mandatory downtime

in the shade before heading back out to play.

We took a dinnertime adventure to the Island Lighthouse

and then ate at a local Taco Truck for dinner which was AMAZING!

Ezekiel Cohen is 12 today!

One year shy of being a teenager...I can't even...

Zeke, you are strong, sensitive and loyal.

You are persistent, resourceful and creative.

You are a growing leader who somehow gets masses of people to do what you say, ha!

Your logic is 100% out of the box,

your ambition and passion is uncontainable,

and your imagination is wild!

You make life quite the adventure around here.

Happy birthday Zeke,

We sure love you!

Via Vacay 2018 - Installment 2: Sunset swimming and Sleeping Arrangements

playing with my fast shutter speed

We met some very creative sand artists while we were hanging out on the beach!

Overlooking our campground from the top of the dune

We had the perfect tent setup.

We found a great deal on a 12-sleeper tent.

The boys took one side, the girls took the other,

and Josh and I set up our air mattress in the middle!

Via Vacay 2018 - Installment 1: Packed in, A ferry ride, Setting up camp and Heading to the beach

The last several years we have been able to get away for a few days.

Just our family.

It started with just a short 2 nights at the beach but has extended to this year's 4 nights.

We were blessed with a beach house to borrow for the first year.

The next year we had to skip,

but the past two years have been in little hotels near the beach.

But THIS year...

we found a deal on a sweet tent,

and finally found the perfect campsite on the beach on Ocracoke Island.

We were scheduled to stay 3 nights but after a unanimous vote we decided to stay for one more night!

Here is a look back at our adventure!

The car was packed! Totally different packing for CAMPING than just a road trip with hotels.

Since we were "technology-free" for our vacation I spent the trip trying to learn my camera a little better.

We had an hour-long ferry ride to the island

And then we made it!

We drove around the campsite loops and found our perfect spot.

Close to bathrooms.

Enough privacy.

Enough open space for some soccer horseshoes and 5 crazy kids, ha!

After dinner we decided to head to the beach and check it out.

We went a couple of spaces down.

Turned left.

Hiked over the dune.

And there it was!