Summer 2021:Part 3

 The last two legs of our summer tour were in Alexandria, VA and Oak Island, NC.  We were so excited to see all of the people we shared a life with for our four years in Alexandria. And we were especially excited to see our newly purchased house!  Then, after six way too short days with our friends, we headed to Oak Island with the goal of recreating our awesome vacation from last year.  We were successful and had a wonderful and relaxing week with our dear friends, The Paulsens.

First stop after a grueling 10 hours on I-95, our beloved Taqueria Poblano.  

I had been dreaming of that margarita for months.  

The girls were so excited to be reunited with Savannah and Delaney and spent our first afternoon at their new house with lunch and swimming.  

We had a big group coffee morning before this but the reunions were too emotional so I didn't get any pictures.  

And that evening, Miss Jess had a beautiful backyard mermaid birthday party for all of our 10 year olds.  

Seeing how much all of these girls who we've known since Kindergarten becoming little tweens is almost too much for this Mama's heart.  

These moments remind me we still have a little more time with our little girls though.  ;)

Hearts and bellies full.

Another night, another family get together will all of our favorite people.  

                                                                                   

The Paulsen's new pool was a hit.  

                                                                                   

A morning play-date at our favorite playground was the perfect way to start a day.

Then lunch (at another neighborhood mexican place) and italian ices for dessert kept the summer perfection going.  

                                                                                

These ladies.  They gave me the best belated 40th birthday celebration. After a kid free day by the pool with tacos and margaritas, we got dressed up and had the most amazing dinner at a new spot in Old Town.  The view was stunning and the food was delicious, but the company was by far my favorite part.  

Lots of ice cream was eaten at our beloved Dairy Godmother. 

Sarah Avery had a fun reunion with her best friend from Kindergarten.

And Susannah was so excited to see one of her favorite friends from her basketball and soccer teams. 

Our last night was a pizza party in Miss Jessica's backyard.  

These girls were sad to say goodbye, but they tried to keep it light.  ;)

A little unsuccessfully there at the end.  Tears were definitely shed.  


By kids and adults alike.  Love these ladies so much.  
  

We've shared a lot of life with these families.  It was sad to leave but we were so grateful for our time together.  Already looking forward to next summer!   Thank you Jessica and Lindsey for hosting us, Jenn for being our historian, Beth and Robyn and Liz for squeezing us in to your work schedules.  We love each of you so much!!  

                               

Leaving Alexandria was made much more manageable because we knew we had this view waiting on us.  This year, we stayed one beach down from Oak Island. The much more deserted Caswell Beach was the perfect spot to decompress from our crazy year.  

Our Day 1 sandcastle creation.  

Lunch al fresco. 

We had some crazy weather throughout the week.  While not always ideal for beach-going, the views from our porch were stunning.  

This double rainbow was breathtaking.  

Ready to hit the sand.

The waves didn't disappoint.  

The beach was so deserted.  It was the perfect place for a walk.  

Another day, another sand castle project. 

On our rainy day, we had an uno tournament that pitted parents against kids and it was so much fun.  

We had brackets and everything.  Foosball was next.  And then a viewing of Hamilton.  The perfect rainy day.

This girl loved the beach this year.  The sand, the waves, the kayak, the shells.  She had a blast.  

The two big girls felt very cool because we allowed them to take walks on the beach by themselves.  

Peter rented a kayak for the week that brought lots of extra fun and adventure.  

The kids loved it.  

We got dressed one night out of seven, and headed to an old school seafood place on the bay.  

The views were perfect for photos. 

The littles.  These two were such good friends (and roommates) the entire week.  

I'll never get tired of traveling with this guy.

Beautiful girls on a beautiful evening.  

After dinner photo shoot on the beach was a little hit or miss.  ;)

It was a gorgeous night. 

These two.  

The sunset was really showing off.  

Last day of pool fun.  

And sand fun.  

These two barely made it for this picture before busting out.  

Here is the Kayak King of Caswell Beach enjoying his last few hours of salt air.  

We drove from our beach house to LaGrange to spend one night with Mimi and Poppy.  We didn't take any photos, but a steak dinner and big hugs from them was a great way to end the trip.  A huge thank you to Mimi for letting us borrow her car.  And to Leah for being our airport transfer service.  We love and miss all of you so much already.  I don't have words to describe just how much this summer with the people we love most meant to us.  From Georgia to Tennessee to Charleston to DC to North Carolina and back to Georgia. It was a whirlwind.  We covered a lot of miles and got to hug all the people we love the most.  So very thankful.  Can't wait to start planning for next year.