Once again I find myself saying, it’s been awhile. It’s been a crazy, lovely holiday season, and when I woke up on New Year’s Day, I thought, “whew, we made it”. Intact.
We went to the Outer Banks in North Carolina again this year. We are lucky enough to be able to go stay there, and it is a great time of year to go if you want to avoid the sensory overload that beach season can bring. I mean, Hatteras Island is all but deserted this time of year, there are a few families who come down for the holiday, and the local residents, but it is quiet with a capital Q. In fact until the last week before the holiday we didn’t even know if we could make it down to the house as one of the main bridges was closed. It reopened in time, thank goodness.
Packing for the trip is pretty involved, and would be even without worrying about Christmas gifts, a small, tree, Christmas crafts, etc. Two kids with special diets and only one small grocery store on the island can kinda lead to some challenges. We have discovered that there is a Harris Teeter a little further up in the Outer Banks and actually ordered a Christmas dinner from them this year- that cut down on the scavenging quite a bit. That being said, we took a huge cooler full down with us, mostly of the kids’ food. And coffee creamer- the important stuff- of course in my hurry, I forgot the COFFEE. Oh. My. God. I got the look of death from John on the first morning when it hit us that we had zero caffeine. I found coffee- quickly. Good thing because Jack was up by 5:30 every day of the trip.




Anyhoo, we also hit the Wright Brother’s memorial again this year, as it is one of Jack’s favorite things to do. He did so well at the museum, as did Nate. There was even a bit of brotherly interaction, which we are seeing more and more lately it seems. Nate is more receptive to Jack’s advances, and it makes Jack so happy.
In terms of Christmas itself, it was nice. I missed my parents and my sister, who live near enough these days that I can actually see them. In other words, I am starting to feel like I may be ready to stay home for the holidays at some point. We shall see. Jack was thrilled with his gifts- especially his stuffed colossal squid, and Nathan was annoyed that we woke him up early. He did eventually open a few gifts, and even played with some of them, which was really exciting for me and John.
All in all, it was a great holiday. We spent time with our families the weekend that we got back and I was surprised (read: shocked!!!!amazed!!!!) to find that my mom had painted our master bedroom secretly while we were gone. We had talked about doing it together this spring, but she managed to find out the color I wanted by sending my baby sister as a spy, and she just ….painted it! How awesome is that! And what a nice thing to come home to! I will have another, not so happy post in a day or two, but I need to cool off first. Here, let me give you a hint…..insurance, and also….Jack’s study. Let your imagination run wild J And another post....about Nate, and saying bye bye, and night night, and no no to Jack....yep it's been awhile. Sorry about that.
Just wondering Jenny, does your family follow the Orioles? My favorite team by the way....
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