Trip to the Outer Banks

I can't believe I haven't posted since July. Time has slipped away since I've returned to work. It's taken me awhile to finally get all the pictures together from our trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Mark's family and lots of relatives rented a house in Northern Shores, so we spent the week showing the boys what it meant to go on a beach vacation. They both loved it, of course. Below are some pictures from our trip.

We drove north a bit to see the wild horses on the beach. It's amazing how close they came.

Cameron often ended up naked by the end of our beach time so we could get all the sand out of everywhere.

Carter and Mark loved chasing the waves.

Cameron helped us bury Carter in the sand.

Carter and I chased the edge of the water.

Mark tried to ride some waves on the boogy board.

Cameron loved to watch us play wii and stole the remote when he could. Since then, we've gotten our own wii and play it almost every night.

In the evenings we played corn hole, and Carter liked to watch from the back of Brian's truck.

Here's the whole lot of us that spent the week together. The kids loved having people everywhere to play with them.

Home

(The view of the sunset out our front door)

After a lovely week at the Outer Banks of North Carolina, our family is home and beginning to find the rhythm of regular life again. Although I would love to share our adventures of the trip, I accidentally left my camera in my brother-in-law's car, so I'll save my stories and pictures for another post. For now, a few thoughts on coming home.

I lived on the East coast for a good 12 or so years, if you count my time in Nashville, so I know humidity. But having now lived in Colorado for the past 7, I know it doesn't suit me. Mark and I found ourselves commenting more than once on the way back home how much we were looking forward to returning to our dry Colorado air. And that's when I was reminded how much I really love where I live.

I know that dry air doesn't sound like much to those of you who've never been here during the summer, but it's amazing. It's a cool 65 or so degrees in the morning. And the sky is amazing because it's just so blue. The day slowly heats up and you can begin to shed your morning layers (yes, we wear layers even in summer) as the sun peaks and heats the earth. Swimming is delightful because the water cools your skin so quickly as it evaporates in the dry air.

And then there are the evenings. Bugs are hard to come by, sunsets are always amazing because of the lingering clouds from the frequent afternoon cloud bursts, and the chimenea calls your name as the air cools once again to that temperature that is just chilled enough to make you want to cuddle.

It's these things I looked forward to as our plane headed towards Denver. But not only the weather. Also the sense of home. A place where all our family comes together to be with each other. To find space together and apart. To come and go and pass one another in these familiar rooms and hallways. Where we brush up against each other as we move, as we have a thousand times before.

Familiarity can become mundane at times, but after a trip, it's comforting, like a blanket from your childhood. It makes you appreciate what you have and be thankful that, even after a wonderful trip, you want to come back home.