Outer Banks Adventures...

Lest you think the kids were having a mediocre summer....a trip to the Outer Banks was next on the calendar.

Amy and I drove with our four kids (my two, and her two boys, John and Grant) south to North Carolina for fun in the sun with our friend Liz and her three girls, Lila, Alexis and Riley.

Three moms, seven kids: what could go wrong?

Beach days are the best days. The bigger kids love to boogie board.
They were all officially "beach tired" at the end of the day. Mom score.

We took a break from the beach and took the kids to play on the dunes at Jockey's Ridge.

Nags Head Hammocks are always fun.

It was a beautiful day for hunting pirates and treasure in Manteo.

 But then, it was back to business as usual: The beach.

A visit to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was a fun (hot) activity.

Beach pictures....

Beach bonfire...

But above all, it was about the beach. Great week with great friends....

Alaska Adventures....

A game-time decision was made for Kacy to join mom on her work trip to Vancouver and an Alaskan cruise in July. Kacy was excited to go to Canada for the first time.

Kacy was excited for the muster drill aboard the Radiance of the Seas.

Setting sail from beautiful Vancouver.

Land of the midnight sun: no tall tale. Amazing sunsets and short nights.

Formal night.

Great day in Ketchikan.

This Maryland blue crab lover became a fan of dungeness crab. And learned all five types of Alaskan salmon.

Beautiful weather and great day in the fishing village of Hoonah.

Sea plane adventure to Taku Lodge in Juneau. Breathtaking views of the glaciers.

We then hiked to Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau.

Iditerod puppy kisses in Skagway. Kacy was just a little happy.

Train ride in Skagway.

Touching some ice from Hubbard Glacier.

Spying exit glacier in Seward.

And that was a wrap on Alaska.

Florida Adventures

The kids can officially check Magic Kingdom off their list.

They flew down to Orlando with Grandma last week and she took them to see Mickey and friends while mom worked.

She's really working for her "Best Grandma Ever" coffee mug.

The kids were sufficiently tuckered out come Friday night.

Saturday called for some downtime and pool time.

Too much fun on the lazy river.

Sunday we headed east to the beach. The kids loved playing in the waves on Cocoa Beach and visiting with Aunt Carol and Uncle Sam.

We headed over to Legoland for the day Monday. It was hot but a lot of fun. 

Tuesday, it was another pool day. The Gaylord Palms was a ton of fun.

The outdoor water park was amazing.

Along the way, Grandpa made his way down to Florida too. The kids and I celebrated our last night in Orlando with a beautiful sunset dinner at the Reunion Resort.