With Mother having driven in last Sat we spent the majority of the entire week outside hiking, fishing, playing and doing a day trip to the outer banks. After seeing the south end last time and being able to take the ferries and drive up to see Cape Lookout, Ocracoke, Hatteras, and Bodie Island we opted to go north this time. Driving from Raleigh we crossed over at Nags Head and drove north all the way to the northern tip to see The Whalehead Club and Currituck Light. In the spring we'll head back to see the historical reenactment of The Lost Colony, the story of Virgina Dare, and Fort Raleigh that stand on Roanoke Island. Due to the limited time this week we just played on the beach and climbed the light. With Hatteras not allowing anyone under the age of 7 to climb I didn't expect much differently at Currituck. It was shocking and quite the surprise when we were met by two kind old men that fell in love with all of the children and allowed the entire group of us up. 7 and under were free but due to the number of children in tow and how impressed they were with manners displayed they allowed Aubrey up for free also. It added to the spontaneity and fun to discover the last day of the season for the light to be open to climb is this Sunday...so our timing was perfect. It closes at 5 pm everyday, we arrived at 4:15....enough time to climb it and watch the sunset from 158 feet in the air and experience its first blink of the night to the world. So, we ascended to the top....all 214 steps. At the top we were met with cold 46+ mph winds that did not prove to be kind to featherweight children, or adults with backpacks that acted as parachutes in the wind. So, any picture taking at the top was a bit limited due to death grips on kids hands and a trepidiatious Grant. It was quite the memorable experience and absolutely amazing to be able to let the children experience sunset by lighthouse.
By the next morning I had intelligently ascertained that instead of P90Xing that day my legs screamed that I had instead just done 214 squats on the climb up. With 17 extra pounds of pregnancy and a 25 lb baby on my back I figured I had some pretty good resistance going in my favor. They don't open back up for the new season until Easter Sunday of next year. I had every intention of begging Brad to take me around my due date so we could climb together and perhaps put me into labor....but seeing as how Easter comes a month after baby is due I'm hoping I won't still be pregnant at that point. It would be quite the story though. And how many people can say they've climbed a lighthouse at 40 wks pregnant?
More to come of the week's events and emotions that are capable of swinging so volatily back and forth as the adjustment to life so very far away from Texas still continues and we grow accustomed to a different world. I'm a little emotionally drained at this point...as tears consumed much of day today with Mother pulling away on her return journey southwest. So, any writing at this point is a little fact driven and lacks a little enthusiasm. How very much in love I am with this place though....but how very far away it is from the relationships we have always had in our lives and that of the children's. I am so absolutely in love with the opportunities we have here and what the children are able to experience. And how in love I am with the richness of life here....but how much I miss those we left behind....and how grateful I am when we see them. I miss Mother....alot. Lots of lots of laughter when she is here and many many tears when she pulls away. Late night trips to Wal Mart and Target with Grayson and Evye in tow as laughter consumes. I love what she is in our children's lives, the same sense of humor we all possess, and I love the friend that she is to me. I wait for the day she can join us here and the fun never stops.
.....These are their one year pics but since they didn't get out of the stroller near the water these worked.
Twins.....
........and twins.
Trying for a rare pic with me actually in it. Had Evye chosen to actually look at the camera and Ivye been a little more cooperable I'm thinking it wouldn't have been too bad.
...and everybody with Granny.
Currituck Lighthouse
The climb up. How forever grateful I am for Grayson...his willingness, strength, ability, and tender heart as he is more than willing to backpack a baby too when Brad is absent. I am in awe of the glimpses we are beginning to see of the man he is becoming.
Little blurry...or alot blurry. One of the many landings we hit, looking upward at what still remains. Pretty cool.
Sunset from 158 ft in the air
Everybody at the top. Poor Grant.
"Granny time" as they try to figure out what it all is.
Waiting for the 1st wave immediately after they were set free. Ivye was more than a little overcome by the vastness of it. I fell in love with this pic once home and we downloaded to see what moments had been captured. This one was pretty priceless and entirely indicative of everyday life....Grayson and Evye forever side by side, Aubrey and the little boys inseparable, and somebody always and forever watching out for Ivye.
Phone pics.....
When she couldn't hold on any longer.
A few days before. How I found both when I went in to get them up from naps. There's something to be said for the ability to go naked when one feels the urge!
This wasn't entirely what I had planned. The van is still coughing up sand.
Light was swiftly fading and these were taken with the phone. They're grainy and a little blurry because of it.
The joy of group pics. Ivye...forever in love with her Grayson. And there's a baby on his back so despite the fact it looks like one's missing...he really is there.
Due to the fact it's a sideways phone pic you have to click on this one to get the whole picture. It's too large to fit normally in a post. I could shrink it through photobucket...but I don't want to take the time to do it at the current moment.
