The Beach- Gigi & Caga

Gigi and Caga came on Tuesday night about 11pm. My dad wasn't able to come because work is so terrible. That was a shame, because very few people love the beach like Grumpa. The girls were on a countdown to when they were coming.

Three generations of toes

On a walk with Gigi

Carly and Gigi

Breakfast on the deck. Andy and Jarett (Caga) were inside making about 5 eggs between them so they are not in this picture that I am sure Gigi is glad I posted.

Caga and Daddy in the water with Carly

Carly and Gigi reading

Caga chillin'

The Beach- Emma & Banana Splits

On our first day at the beach, we discovered that another family was next door and they had two little girls. Well, C&J played together and the neighbors played separately for about two days. Then on Tuesday, they started to play closer together and then they just ran up to each other and decided they will all be friends. Andy and I joked that it was like watching dogs circle each other. The little neighbor's name was Emma and she is 5. She had a little sister Madeline who was 18 months old.

The funniest thing was that our decks were very close to each other, so all 3 girls would stand on their respective deck and wait for the other and then yell across. I would hear them asking when they were going to the beach and what they were having for breakfast. It was very sweet. Even though Carly and Joiner love to play together, it was really nice to have someone else in the mix. Emma's family was very nice as well. It turns out they are from Burlington, only 40 minutes from W-S. They were their with their grandparents as well and were BIG fishers. I mean they were out each morning at 7am and didn't stop until dark or dinner. It was really fun to watch and we learned a lot.

Emerald Isle is a big fishing place all year, but especially in the Fall. There were tons of fish in the surf jumping around. All week long this family and others around us kept catching this huge fish. It would break their line every time. On our last morning, they caught this fish twice, and each time it broke the line. Then, we realize that it was a shark! And not a little shark, but a big 5-6 foot sand shark. It was actually really cool. He/she was right on the shore looking for all these blue fish that were around. You could see his whole body and fin. We obviously stayed out of the water, but it was fun!

Before the shark surfaced, a poor pelican got caught in one of Emma's lines. Her granddad had to pull him to shore and then he and others got him free, but not before we got to get up close to him. We could even see the uneaten fish in his mouth that he spit out indignantly when we was set free. So cool. It was an exciting last day!

Playing soccer with Emma
Carly, Madeline, & Emma while her dad fishes

Playing in Emma's "neck of the woods"


Carly and Emma
Andy and I are training for a 1/2 marathon and he has developed a tape worm with all the extra activity. He needs 4-5 meals a day including a ridiculous amount of ice cream. Of course, the girls are thrilled to be a part. Because it was vacation, Andy thought it was time to introduce them to his favorite treat.

Carly and her banana split treat

Joiner and her banana split treat

The Beach- Shackleford Banks

We took the ferry from Beaufort to the Shackleford Banks on Monday. It was just a short ferry ride, but the girls loved it. The island is unihabited and there are amazing shells and beaches. We found a huge, perfect Conch shell and several little ones. I was hoping to find a sand dollar for my dad, but I only found pieces. We only spent two hours, but it was enough to have a really wonderful time.

We saw two dolphins as we were heading back to shore. I was able to catch this one and you can see one behind him under water. At one point they were very close to our boat. It was very cool!

Holding our shell bags. They were looking for one for each person in their class and they definitely found enough. We gave them out last week and everyone seemed excited.

Staring after the ship as it leaves us behind

This island has 6 couples of wild horses. Right after we got off the ferry we saw this little one. You can see how close you could get. When we got back to the ferry pick-up the mama had joined him and they were eating together. The Captain said that remarkably these horse have a similar lifespan to kept horses even with how hard their lives must be.

Mama

Carly and the horse. Carly rushed over to him and he didn't move, but I didn't let her get any closer. I didn't think we needed to be trampled or kicked by a horse on our vacation.

Sitting down in the sand bar. I didn't think to put them in bathing suits, but I did bring extra clothes. Good thing! Joiner is showing us her "bunnsies" as she calls them.

Shell hunting

We changed our clothes and were eating a granola bar while we waited for the ferry to come get us. This process concerned the girls. The idea that the ferry just left us on the island. Both we very excited that it came back:)

The Beach- part 1

I have so many great pictures of our beach trip that I will put it in multiple posts. I don't want to sit at the computer for hours to wait for all the photos to load at once and I still don't understand what Carla is saying about adding a bunch at once. Anyhoo... We went to Emerald Isle last week and had the most amazing time. We stayed in a house right on the beach and it was wonderful. We could hear the ocean 24/7. The weather was wonderful and the fresh seafood we cooked every night was even better.

Family Self-portrait on Shackleford Banks

The amazing view from our deck. I am not kidding; this was the most wonderful location.

Joiner in front of our house

Bathing beauty Carly

Daddy and Carly in the water...it was a bit chilly, but Carly would have stayed out all day!

Joiner watching the surf

Carly on the dunes

Do they have different personalities?

Um...Yeah!

I love how strangers are always asking me in stores or such this question. They do like many of the same things, but in such different ways. Right now, we are in a big fashion and hygiene phase. They both want a lot of control in what they wear and how their hair looks. However, we are manifesting this very differently. Each morning, I lay out four or five different clothing options. Joiner can always find a choice she likes and quickly puts it on. Carly stares at the floor for at least five minutes with her finger on her cheek pondering. When she does speak it is to barter the choices in some way. She may like a pair of shorts that I have put out, but none of the shirts. Can she pick another? If I let her into the drawer, and I have made this mistake, she will take another hour. This is outfit #1. We have a 1 outfit a day policy. If you get unreasonably wet or dirty for some reason, you can change. They have learned this and I think sometimes strive to get so dirty they can change clothes. Then we start all over.

Now the hair...I have made them wear a choice of a ponytail, piggy tails, or a princess bun all summer because of the heat. Each morning we go over what they want me to do to their hair. Then they choose the clip they want for their "bangs." So Carly likes clips and wants it to be just the way she imagined it. She tells me at length where she wants the clip. Then I put it in her hair and she feels it and looks in the mirror and usually needs an adjustment. Joiner prefers head bands and likes to do it herself. She puts the hairband on all the way back them rakes it forward to pull all the hair onto her forehead. The result is one child has stepford-wife-like hair and one looks like a punk rocker. See, same interests, but a completely different manifestation.

I will say that I totally relate to Carly's need for things to be "just right." Andy calls them my systems and if ever a child had a system, then it is Carly. So Carly is teaching me patience with a small version of myself and Joiner's need for control when it so differs from mine is teaching me patience with others when things are not "just right." I wouldn't change it for the world.

This is Joiner Saturday in her self-styled outfit of a tank top and shorts, Gigi watch, and headband. She didn't understand why I wanted to take a picture.

Carly's back. She is wearing her "whatamaula" dress. I bought it in Asheville from a vendor that has these fairly traded dresses and blouses from Guatemala. It was a dress last year, but more of a tunic this year. She doesn't have to wear shorts while we are home, but she has to put them on when we leave. This is a battle every time.

Here is the front of Carly's hair. She was not happy with me. She wanted to be able to hold her shoe in front of her face and I told her it defeated the purpose. We do have a picture with the shoe in front of her face, but I am not posting it.