Vacation, All I Ever Wanted.....

We ventured on another memorable family vacation last week to the Outer Banks in North Carolina.  The trip was amazing from start to finish. 

Sunday: Arrived, unpacked, grocery store and take out High Cotton BBQ for dinner.

Monday: Duck Donuts!  Pool time!  Sun, relaxing, reading and my dear friend, Chirleen and family came down to say hello and join us for dinner at Rundown Cafe.  They brought us an awesome goodie basket!  It was SO cool to finally get to hug her and squeeze her!!

Tuesday: BEACH.   Pool, outlet shopping, Black Pelican for dinner.

Wednesday: Pool, dinner cooking and more pool.  Chris dropped off some fresh Mahi for dinner YUM!

Thursday: Said goodbye to Bob,  beach, pool, and date night with my husband.  Hello crab-legs.

Friday: Pool, more shopping and Barefoot Bernies for lunch.  Cooked some picnic food for the arrival of Scott and Jenn.

Saturday: Maybe another Duck Donut run happened.   Pool!  Chirleen, Chris and Gabby rejoined us for the day.  We did another pasta night and enjoyed the awesome company.

Sunday: Packed up and drove home in nasty traffic.  Hated saying goodbye to everyone :(

Five Friday Favorites

OK so I started this post on Thursday.  Sue me ;)

Thanks to my super cool phone, all pictures will be at the bottom, but you get the idea folks!

1.  My dear friend Boom Chicka Pop in Frosted Sugar Cookie.  Dear God above don't let this be a limited time flavor.

2. This beach house which I will be making my home one week this summer!

3.  The sunshine that FINALLY made its appearance yesterday.

4.  The awesome dishes I found while antiquing with my Sister.  Vintage Pyrex *swoon*

5. Sisters Sleepover.  I'm staying with Heidi and the furry kids this weekend.  Watch out shopping, we're coming for you!

Beach Life

We're loving beach life and our "adults only" trip to Myrtle Beach.   I deep down hope it's the last childless trip we ever take (my step kiddo is back in school or he'd be here with us now). 

The first day here was rainy and dreary so it gave me too much time to focus on the should have beens: I should be avoiding the hot tub because I'm pregnant.  I should be able to buy the cute baby stuff in the gift shops.  I should be relieved that the whole world finally knows we're expecting.

But after that day, I've tried so hard to focus on the positives.  We've laughed, swam, spatted, ate and sunbathed our way through the week.   The weather has been great and we had a fun date night (dinner and a show) last night. 

The pool is calling my name so I'm off to work on my tan (with sunscreen, Jenni).  :)

Running Away

This weekend we ran away from our lives.  We packed a bag and my husband booked us a room in a historic hotel an hour out of town.  I'll forever be thankful for the masterminds behind this great idea. 

Saturday we did some shopping in antique stores, Christmas shops and other craft stores.   I completely melted down over Raggedy Ann dolls and Amish baby furniture.   One minute you're looking at Christmas decor and the next minute, BAM baby stuff. 

We had a nice lunch at a quaint Italian place and then checked into our room to relax.   We rocking chair rocked,  Keith swam (I'm not allowed in water for 2 weeks) and we got dressed up for dinner.  We had a nice meal on the veranda and called it a night. 

Sunday we played some checkers and had breakfast and quickly realized we weren't feeling great.   We spent the majority of the rest of the day battling mild food poisoning.  Apparently sharing my crab cakes wasn't such a sweet idea ooops.

My favorite part of the weekend was dancing with Keith in our hotel room (I used to gag at mushy stuff like this lol).  There was a wedding below us so we took advantage of the thin insulation and danced to their music.   I can't explain why but in those minutes I knew we'd be OK.   I love him now more than ever. 

So now we're back to reality.  Back to work and life,  but at least we got a little break.   I still lose my breath sometimes because it hurts so bad.   I'd run away again at the drop of a hat, but that isn't an option so we keep moving forward.   Slowly.  Very slowly. 

Beach Bums

The Riggle clan went on the first family vacation they've ever taken together.  We rented a beach house in Emerald Isle,  NC and set out for a week of fun in the sun.

We arrived late Friday night and crashed with Keith's brother who lives nearby.  Saturday we ran errands and checked into the house.  The rest of the family arrived over the next few days and we all got settled in.

This was my first "stay in" vacation and I didn't properly pack.   We only went sightseeing one day and ate out once as a group.   Luckily right before we left I threw some extra lounge clothes in my bag or I would have been way overdressed all week.  I finally kidnapped Keith for a date night on Friday because I was going stir crazy.  

We did tons of pool and hot tub lounging and thanks to my stupid knee slipping out,  I only walked in the sand twice.   I did at least get a little sunshine and glow.  My kiddo also developed a major bed wetting issue while we were gone,  so that was super stressful! 

At the end of the week,  I was more than ready to come home.   I'm thankful for the experience,  but I now totally understand why they don't vacation together more often lol.  

Beach Bums

The week of July 20-27, we ventured to Myrtle Beach, SC for a family vacation.  Keith and I thought about cancelling the trip because life has been so nuts, but we really wanted to take Perry somewhere fun and honestly we needed a break from reality.  We have some "extended family" who own a condo which makes our vacations SO much easier!!

During the planning phase we decided that we wanted to take someone along to have an extra set of eyes on the ocean and also so I would have someone to do girl stuff with lol.  The boys would rather be beaten up than be taken into a single store so we knew it was in everyone’s best interest to have another girl along to even out the estrogen/testosterone ratio. 

My friend, Beth aka Bethy, came along because she has been dying for a vacation and I knew she would be the perfect partner in crime for sand, surf and shopping. 

We drove through the night on Saturday and after some sleep/passing out, we got up to do grocery shopping and visit with my brother and sister in law who had driven up from their place in SC.  We all met for Mexican food and then we called it a night. 

The next day was BEACH DAY…..Scott and Jenn joined us for some sun and then they hit the road.  It was nice to see them, but I wish they could have stayed longer.  We got cleaned up a bit early and headed out for seafood.  YUM!! 

The rest of our time was filled with Broadway at the Beach, swimming, paddle boats, playing in the sand, relaxing, eating some amazing food and Keith and I even managed to squeeze in a date night thanks to our Perry-sitter. 

The week came to an end quickly, but we all came home a little less stressed and ready to go back again next year.  After all, I have to get my annual pic with my favorite condo cup!!