happy place

I had a realization on this vacation; a true blue epiphany....  Ocracoke Island is MY "happy place".  Have you ever thought about "that" place.. where aside from your home, you feel happier than anywhere else on earth? Where you find yourself wiping away tears just at the peacefulness and beauty of it all?  This island is mine. Sure, I've been to more beautiful places, done more spectacular things, but there is something about this small peaceful island and the memories that my family has made there over the years, that just fills me with such happiness and joy! The pictures tell the tale... and yes, there are a lot of them;) Oh..and just in case your wondering about all the "hard pose" collages (and the two or three pictures of Brent and I which is a miracle)...my kids learned how to take pictures with our camera this trip. Oh boy. 

our first picture of the trip...tripod style at a gas station.

ferry ride to Ocracoke; where the vacation butterflies begin

the kids first run into the ocean. love the excitement of  that first time; Marley's face is priceless.

this looked good, though i never actually got to sit there for more than 2 minutes at a time:(

Brent dug huge holes and filled them up with water for the kids to play in everyday. Marley loved them!

this was the trip of hard poses for B-man. cracked me plum up. 

sand make-overs  by Maddie

the colors of town

we ate every meal together as a family on this vacation...i made and froze all our dinners before we left..props please;)

my FAVORITE thing to do in Ocracoke is ride bikes. luckily the kids love it too. 

we allowed the kids to each get a souvenir this year (they never cared before this year but times are a changin'). it took them FOREVER to choose the perfect thing. Maddie ended up getting a shark tooth necklace, which she is SO proud of, and Brody...appropriately got a sling shot.... which he promptly wailed me in the cheek with when we got home...grr. 

wildlife everywhere. Maddie was determined this year to catch a duck for a pet; that's a whole other blog post..lol

say cheese...

some more...

and some more!

out watching the sunset together

it is rare to find a picture of Marley where she is both smiling..AND looking at the camera. love this one.

Maddie learned how to body surf this year. she spent most of the time in the water. 

beach and town early morning. 

Maddie helped Marley a lot this trip. great big sister. 

we fed the ducks and geese everyday. the kids were scared to death but loved it. 

we went out for ice cream four nights out of seven. what can i say...it's vacation right? there is a homemade ice cream stand in the middle of the island that has the BEST ice cream in the world. 4 bucks a scoop though...ouch. we got ours there, and the kids somewhere else..shhhh;) lol

dinner out at Howards. 

Maddie went to take pictures of the sunset with Brent one night. for some reason i love these pictures of her; they capture so much about her. 

family picture night with the tripod. it's getting harder people. i tell ya, those kids of mine are not as cooperative as they look!

Marley's HAD IT with this picture stuff. 

The end. until next year Ocracoke.