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