Our beach vacation in Duck, NC

We just arrived back from a week at the beach on friday night- we decided to leave the night before checkout to avoid the traffic. This tactic paid off because we got home in 4 hours and 15 minutes, in contrast to the 9 hour trip down!
It was a wonderful week and we were happy to have aunt Amy stay with us for the first few days. Bedtime was extra special with aunt Amy around because each night Amy told Lily a Nicki and Lene story (abbreviations of our middle names), which Lily absolutely loved and still requests nightly. After Amy left, Lily would randomly say things like "I love aunt Amy, I really love her" and "I hope I see aunt Amy again soon".
Below are some pictures of where we stayed and some of the week's activities. As an overview, we did all of the usual beachy things: played in the ocean waves, built sand castles, played minigolf, visited a few tourist attractions, gorged ourselves at a seafood buffet, etc. One night (a night in which I forgot the camera :( ), Lily was lucky enough to have a free pony ride and then saw her first rainbow on the way back from dinner!
Enjoy the pics!

The sound of the ocean waves would just soothe Sophie right to sleep, despite her attempts to fight those heavy lids!

Lily was so giddy with excitement when she first set foot in the ocean that she couldn't stop laughing and shrieking- such a funny little girl!

Fun with daddy!

So glad I bought these beach hats with ties for the girls- especially on those really hot and sunny days!

Don't know who liked the kite more- Lily or Will!

Despite the fact that there was no macaroni and cheese on the menu, Lily still thought her dinner was yummy, yummy!

Here we are on the deck of a row of cute shops overlooking the sound side of duck.

This brings back memories of my childhood- we're in Kitty Hawk at the Wilbur and Orville Wright exhibit where the first airplane flight took place.

Here is the actual spot where the first take-off occurred.

Here we are at the NC aquarium on Roanoke Island watching the river otters playfully swimming about- they were really cute:)

Lily is now explaining to me how the river otters have to hold their breaths and blow bubbles when they go under water:)

Snapping turtles!

Will's favorite part: the sharks!

Sophie sharing her lollipop with Lily back at the beach house.

Lily conquering the rock wall at the little playground in the town of Duck.

This piece of playground equipment was really cool- it would spin around and around at different speeds based on how you lean in certain directions.

Time for miniature golf!

Lily with her game face on!

Hole in one!

Just before our last day at the beach.

The beach really wiped them out!

Here is Sophie falling asleep in her high chair during dinner!

BTW- after a week of sleeping together in the same room, Sophie is now finally sleeping in Lily's room in the crib! Woohoo!!!!