This vacation was an extra special one because not only did we have our parents with us, we also had our California family (well, most of it!) with us! My aunt Laurie has been a huge part of my life and my brother’s life, so when she mentioned wanting to go on vacation all together this summer, we made sure to clear our calendars!

I think it is so interesting how each beach has different vibes. The Outer Banks are much calmer, removed from a lot of commercial stores, whereas Virginia Beach has the party vibe and there is a boardwalk that hosts the early birds as well as the night owls. We enjoyed some time on the beach and at the pool. One day Huxley went so hard in the pool that she fell asleep in our makeshift pool bag, which happened to be a laundry basket!

Since we don’t live at the beach anymore, I often crave fresh seafood. We had to capitalize on our vicinity to the ocean when selecting our meals! We had crab legs and shrimp and oysters and scallops…oh, how I miss being able to have them any time I want!

We enjoyed so many activities while we were there too. Top Golf has become one of our new favorites, so we found one there and enjoyed a couple hours swinging some clubs. We also ventured over to the go-cart park before we left…I was the only girl that participated, and I beat them all, just for the record. One day while we were out at the beach, we noticed all the families that were bicycling together on the boardwalk and thought, “That looks fun! We are a family of relatively in shape people…let’s try it.” When we approached, they first asked to keep one person’s driver’s license, and we were a little caught off guard, but we let them because, of course, this was an experience we just had to have. Then we were told that we get two hours with the family bike—buy one, get one free! Fast forward to a quarter mile later…we were exhausted and ready to turn around! Ha—no wonder you get the second hour “free” because no one makes it that long!

On our last night there, we celebrated my brother’s 22nd birthday by all wearing matching “Life is Good” t-shirts to dinner—yes, we were that family. And believe it or not (if you know my brother then it is probably easy to believe), it was Parker’s decision to wear all matching t-shirts!

As Huxley grows, I realize that making memories is just what life is made of. Sometimes I have to force myself to slow down because I find myself always thinking to the next thing I need to do in order to complete my “To Do” list for the day. This vacation was the perfect opportunity to slow down and spend time with family that we don’t often get to see.