Trip to NC! (The Beach)

First of all, I might start by saying two things: First, WOW I'm bad at blogging. Second, I'm hoping that will change now that I've downloaded the newest version of Picasa to my computer. Seriously... Best. Program. EVER. I can make collages easily with just a couple clicks, add text, sort the pictures around, edit photos... you get the idea. It's wonderful! And I suggest it to EVERYONE looking for an easier way to post a billion pictures to their blog (and you don't mind compromising a bit of quality and size). Anyway, thanks a ton to Kasee Thomas for teaching me how! I owe you, big time!

Second of all, on to my second (of three) posts from our vacation to North Carolina! We spent just over half the time we were there at an amazing beach house just a row back from the beach at Emerald Isle, NC. Just a little piece of heaven. And I've got lots of pictures I'd like to share with you!

For the first half of the week, we had the entirety of my Mom's side of the family come to the beach with us (this includes her 3 siblings, their spouses and children). But don't worry, our beach house was spacious and awesome enough that the 15 of us fit happily and comfortably and didn't drive each other crazy ;)

This is how we all looked most of the time - just hanging out under our rainbow umbrellas:

I usually took to sitting in a beach chair and soaking in the rays on my front (since laying on my tummy is a bit of an issue these days!), but I didn't want to be totally uneven, so I got smart and used the malleability of sand to my advantage. Lo and behold, I dug myself a belly hole in the sand and placed my towel on top. It was actually so comfortable, in fact, that I fell asleep laying on my towel at least twice. Ahh I sure do miss sleeping on my stomach! Do they make beds with belly holes? :)
Anyway, here are a couple pictures of the beautiful ocean with some of my favorite people. Like my brother, deciding which wave to skimboard next:
My husband and my brother, both playing the role of "beach bum" marvelously:
Later in the week, about halfway through, the Kepley (mom's) side of the family left and my Dad's side (Hopkins) of the family came in. This includes his parents (my Nana and Granddaddy) as well as his two siblings, their wives and kids. The total count for this side was also 15!

This next picture is pretty special because it actually shows my Nana dipping her feet in the ocean! They weren't on the beach too much, but I think she really enjoyed her time out. From L to R: Taylor, Brittney, Mike, Lauryn, and Nana:

Also, I did snap a shot of my Granddaddy Frank during his approximate 15 minutes of beach time. You've got to document these things, you know! :)
So, now I'd like to share with you (via some of my awesome new collages) some of the beach activities we did all week! Feel free to click on the pictures to make them a lot bigger.

Bocce ball was a huge hit. I don't think there was a single day that we weren't up playing it. And yes, I played a couple of rounds. Although throwing a heavy ball sometimes made my belly hurt since I no longer have abs to support anything haha!
Going on walks and spotting jellyfish! The one of the left we identified as a Portuguese Man O' War jellyfish. You want to stay away from those suckers! The one of the right is a less-threatening, normal, boring jellyfish (official name unknown):
We did a lot of reading. In fact, my mom and Trevor were reading the same book at the same time (book 2 from the Hunger Games series - Catching Fire), so they had to play nice and learn how to share:
We built a sandcastle! And spend most of our energy just keeping the huge waves from washing it away. It's kind of a lame sandcastle, but that's what you get with a tiny shovel and a shortage of creativity ;) Although I do have to say my Dad's ideas to add the "tennis court" and "pool" were pretty awesome!

And for the most part, the girls usually took to their favorite activity of sunbathing! :) Here are me and all of my cousins on my Dad's side (minus 7 year old Lauryn). Yes, we are all girls, which is why it's even MORE fun that I'm adding a boy to this family! From L to R: Me, Brittney, Morgan, and Taylor:
Oh yes - I have to prove that I was a part of this beach trip too. And my baby bump. Please enjoy this lovely self portrait of me and my belly:
I also thought you could appreciate my view at the beach. Hey! I can still see my toes down there! :)
Also, I really love the above picture because it shows how much the change in weather changed the beach while we were there. Earlier in the week (on the left), it was really clear, dry, and breezy. It was gorgeous beach weather! Starting about Wednesday, some offshore storms caused the wind to pick up and the ocean became really choppy and the waves were much bigger. It also caused the air to become very humid and the sky looked hazier. With all the wind and waves, a lot of seaweed (and jellyfish) washed up onto the beach, leaving it looking like the picture on the right in many places. Cool, huh?

Anyway, I'm about done with this very long post, but I did have to include our beach heart, which is a family tradition that I can't ever remember not doing. It includes the dates we were at the beach and the names of everyone who was there with us. This beach heart has quite a few names, since it includes everyone on both sides of my family (minus my Mom's late parents). It really was great fun to get to see everyone!

Anyway, now that it's done, I'm glad I made this post. And I'll be glad to make the next few posts I have on my list. Let's just see how long it takes me to get to the next post. Hopefully less than a full week this time ;)