Outerbanks, Part II

Part II really just means I had too many photos for one post. These pictures are more of the same wonderfulness with a couple organized, group activities thrown in.

Avery's 10th!!! birthday happened to land in the middle of our week. When you are surrounded by cousins on a beach vacation, there's not a whole lot left to wish for. Her only two requests were to watch a movie and to have Oreo cookies. Done and done. It took Shaun just three short hours to get the media equipment up and running.

The Family 5K was born this year. In an effort to beat the heat my uncle set the start time at 5:30. In the morning. On vacation. I thought it was remarkable that we had FIFTEEN entrants (and finishers + 2 spectators)! SO impressive! And as someone with health issues, it meant so much to me that we have so many active family members, taking care of their bodies.

I think the "before" and "after" is pretty clear here, but note the smiles in both. ;)

Sweet reward. :)

My aunt thought up a brilliant scheme to send the middle generation out to dinner while the older generation stayed behind and tag-teamed watching the 21 kids. It was a lovely idea and a lovely evening. We talked about old times and we talked about our shared Montana family and grandparents.

The week was...amazing. It will be interesting to see what the family looks like three years from now when we (hopefully!) do it again. One thing's for sure...we are very blessed.

If you missed it the first time, here is the slideshow I put together of the week.