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Nags Head 2011

Sun, 26 Jun 2011 11:23:49 -0400

Nags Head 2011 started out well, with no accidents on the drive up (at least not as of Sunday morning). Weather has been warm and kids have been hitting the beach. Sunday brought a nice and early 8 am Mass, and Debra and I made chicken and beef tacos and burritos for dinner that night Monday was pretty warm, with most of the kids opting for the pool, especially Abbie, Wilson and Philip. Laura and Christopher made some good gingery stir fry for dinner on Monday night. Tuesday started out kind of gray, but grew quite sunny and windy. Stephen and Denise had dinner that night and delighted us with hamburgers and hot dogs. Afterwards, we went to Jockey’s Ridge State Park so the kids could have fun running downs the dunes. Of course, the annual sand dune event wouldn’t be complete without a trip to Dairy Queen and (of course) showers for everyone afterwards. Wednesday was rainy and overcast almost all day. Abbie and I went out collecting shells. I had to carry the bucket back because she found so many, it made the bucket too heavy. Wednesday evening was our traditional dining out at Tale of the Whale. Everyone had a good time and the food was very good, as usual. We ate dinner early, so there was plenty of time for the kids to play out at the beach when we got back. Patrick somehow scared Abbie with a story about scarecrows. So, she and Haylea and a girl next door made a scarecrow to scare Patrick. They escorted him with his eyes closed onto the beach. He gave a good “scared” impression. Thursday was sunny and warm again. Kathi, Abbie and I went out to Cape Hatteras to see the light house. There are 257 steps up and we climbed each one up and down. The views from the top were great, with visibility clear for 15 miles. We stopped for a nice lunch at a local restaurant in Avon, NC, along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Thursday night, like most, we spent playing board games. This year’s most popular game was Buzzword. Friday was definitely a slow day. Debra and her kids, Denise and her kids, Kathi, Caroline and Abbie had already left. Stephen and I took out the boys (Patrick, Christopher and Daniel) for Dairy Queen, minigolf, and more Dairy Queen. We cleaned up the house and got ready for an early departure in the morning. All in all, a very relaxing vacation. For more photos, click here.

Dad and Caroline's Birthday 2011

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:47:04 -0500

Dad and Caroline share a birthday, February 23, along with George (Linda’s dog). Caroline and I traveled up to Bowie to enjoy an lunch hosted by Linda in honor of the birthdays. Here are some pictures.

Mom’s 74th Birthday

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 08:25:26 -0400

Linda hosted a lunch at her house in honor of mom’s 45th anniversary of her 29th birthday. Looks like plenty of good food and fun.

Wilson certainly looks surprised here!

Lisa and Linda took mom out for breakfast, then manis and pedis.

Looks like a picture I would have taken.

More pictures from Linda and Richard here.

Nags Head 2010

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 22:16:00 -0400

The family vacation started somewhat ominously. I got a call at home from Linda telling me Lisa’s van got into a four-car accident. Thankfully, nobody was hurt, although her van was pretty damaged.

Between Stephen and me, we were able to transfer all their luggage and passengers and bring them down to the beach house.

As always, the kids had tons of energy the first night. Patrick and Michael stayed up until around 11 p.m. playing pool. Sunday morning after church, they all hit the beach. Patrick and Michael skim boarded a bunch before taking the plunge. Here’s a video.

Mom and Dad doing some relaxing.

Of course, LCR was played a few times . . .

Laura won a $33 pot.

Laura bought a cake to celebrate Fathers’ Day.

After dinner on Sunday, as usual, the kids were assigned chores to clean up. Matthew wrote a formal petition of protest. He only got himself and Edward to sign it, though.

Gabriella broke her ankle a couple of weeks ago, so she isn’t able to go into the water.

Caroline vacuuming. She didn’t want her picture taken.

Linda playing beer pong.

After dinner on Tuesday, we took the kids to the dunes at Jockey’s Ridge State Park.

Edward climbing up the big dune.

Patrick, exhausted.

The kids tried to drag Christopher down the hill.

Kathi made it down for Tuesday night through Wednesday. We all went out for the traditional dinner at Tale of the Whale restaurant.

Matthew finished a huge plate of ribs.

Kathi headed back home after dinner because she had to work on Thursday.

More pictures here and video here.

Eighth Grade Graduation

Tue, 8 Jun 2010 05:34:47 -0400

Congratulations to Caroline and Daniel, our Eighth Grade graduates. Caroline graduated Thursday, 4 June, and Daniel graduated Monday, 7 June. Here are some pictures.