OBX 2020 - COVID-19 Style

  The pandemic continues....we continue to plod along.  We had plans to head south to the Outer Banks for a family vacation again this year.  It was touch and go for a while if we would go -- but go we did!  The Governor has put in place suggestions for people to quarantine for 2 weeks upon returning home from several states -- North Carolina being one of them.  The Rocc Flock has gotten pretty good at surviving during quarantine so we felt confident in going and then returning and being safe in Pennsylvania.

 Per tradition, we left at 4:00 AM.

Whose idea was this?

"Not mine" says Allie.  Cameron is buried under the Phillies blankets.

We've decided the ride to North Carolina is not conducive to this game -- you don't see nearly enough cool license plates!

This is always a fun part of the ride.

Mike and I both agreed -- the ride was not bad.  The kiddos did a great job in the back seat..and I don't think Mike had to say, "Don't make me stop this car!" at all!

In we go!

 We caravanned with Gammy and Poppy and the DiFranks.  Due to COVID-19, we weren't able to get into our house until almost 5:00 PM that day.  Thanks to Poppy, we found a super secret parking lot that led us to a nice, shady picnic area....and then we got to sneak up to the Wright Brothers  National Memorial!

Up since 3:00 AM and still going strong!

Happy 4th of July!

Back down we came....Cam being super sweet to his cousin.

 After we got tired of hanging out at the Memorial, we decided to hit the beach for a bit.

 And then we got the call that our house was READY!!!!!!!!!

First time in the elevator!

The kiddos quickly set up camp in the living room.

The girls got a long SO well.  At one point during the week, Aria said, "I love being down here with you all."  Allie-girl was a great playmate to both Aria and Cole.

Cam was pretty fun to hang out with too!

We had a great almost full moon on the 4th.

Not many fireworks this 4th of July because many were canceled due to COVID-19.  We were thankful for a few that people shot them off by the beach.

Sigh....Cameron....Allie and Gammy were admiring the fireworks.

 The next day, we celebrated Auntie E's birthday!!

The twins made her these super fun LEGO purses -- we all know Auntie E loves her purses!

 We then spent the day going back and forth between the pool, the ocean, and the huge house!

Football off the deck is always fun.

Cam tried boogie boarding for the first time!  Mike reminisced with him about how much we used to boogie board.  I told the twins how much Grandma Stanton loved to boogie board.

The girls enjoyed collecting seashells together.

I enjoyed "Mommy's Medicine."  -- Thanks to Michael for this great Christmas present!

Thanks to Mary Therese for letting us borrow this shovel - it was perfect for building sand castles!

I made Auntie E an ice-cream cake for her birthday.  It survived the ride down!

What a handsome devil!

Happy birthday to you!!!

 The next day...more fun in the sun!

We swear this boy went from age 8 to age 15 over the last 2 months.

Thanks to Uncle Stevie for taking this picture!!  We were terrified a wave was going to smash into us!

READY

FLY!

PERFECT LANDING!

Allie was so brave in the ocean this year!

 The girls did some metal detecting!

Super happy because we heard Patrick Mahomes signed a 10 year extension contract for the Chiefs!!!  Here's hoping the NFL can actually have a season!

Sunburned and happy!

Massive sand castle construction began.....

Little bit of kite flying...

This guy was cool -- can you see the "A" for ALLIE and ARIA??

 Now Cameron and I get a little touchy if we stayed cooped up for too long...so you can imagine how hard quarantine was for us.  We took a little afternoon adventure -- just the two of us!

Ha!

I was reminded of this picture when I took the following picture.  The one above is of my mom and me -- she loved the Outer Banks and we made a few trips down together.  The picture above was taken at Jockey's Ridge...

This one is Cam and me along the walkway at the Bodie Lighthouse.

Perfect!

 We then continued south....and I was a bit nervous driving through here.  Poppy later told me that this road can wash out at any moment!!  Always an adventure when you're hanging out with Mommy!

Cam snapped this picture!  Felt like we were driving through snow drifts.

 We made it to the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Cameron named this guy "Big Joe".

The turtles all came swimming over to us as soon as we got there looking for treats!

This reminded us of the Wildlands Conservancy back in PA -- we love it there and we loved it here.

This boy loves nature....

We then headed north...this bridge was amazing!

Stopped for ice cream....he was really wanting to take a lick -- but the mask was in the way!

I think the girls missed Cam!

Down to the beach to enjoy the lovely sunset.

 The next day was Mike and my 12th year wedding anniversary.  We have always loved hiking and the twins have started to enjoy it.  So in true Kelly fashion, I found a cool new place for us to investigate!  This is the Nags Head Woods.

Lots of dragon flies!

This was SO cool. 

Allie brought along her camera.

Happy 12 years!  Always an adventure!

Holy humidity!

We had to check out this bridge!

 Back to the beach!

Check out the rain in the distance -- Tropical Storm Fay came through while we were there.

We were excited to be vacationing next to Mike's aunt and uncle and their family -- we had quite a crew at the beach!

 I randomly found a gift card in my wallet for Duck Donuts.  Thought this would be a fun treat for our anniversary!

Wow -- we were such babies!

 We had a lovely happy hour on the beach together.

Sassy girl!

Sigh....Cameron.  :)

Happy Anniversary to us -- yeah Duck Donuts!

 Out to enjoy another beautiful sunset.

He's a cool dude with those sparklers.

So brave!

GO DADDY!

 The weather was a little rainy the next day due to Tropical Storm Fay.  Cameron worked on and finished his puzzle...

 We had a fun Easter Egg hunt! 

Go Cole!

Go Aria!

The eggs were filled with money!  Perfect for their piggy banks!

Mr. Frederick took a dive down the 3 flights of stairs.  Bombs away!

Cam and Allie looked for their eggs as well - they were each hidden on different floors of the house.

 The day cleared off enough for us to head to Jockey's Ridge!

 The twins quickly discovered this super cool trail -- and the best part was it was shady!

Found a neat caterpillar.

Off to explore more!

We picked a perfect day to go -- look at that sky!

Back to our shady area!

Can you see Cameron??

WHOA!

 We decided to wake up early to see the sunrise the next morning.

Wait for it...

 We saw dolphins!

 Back to the house for yummy pancakes -- thanks Uncle Jay!

 Cameron came up to the kitchen one day and said very calmly, "I want to show you something I found in the elevator."  Now at this point, I had spent a lot of time riding in the elevator so I wasn't sure what he was talking about.  We all loaded in and he pushed the down button....then ripped the door open as the elevator was moving!!  I was to surprised by this secret he had uncovered to be too angry about him opening a door of a moving elevator.  This was in between the floors.  We of course had to add something to it!

 We headed over to the Mackel's house next door to hang out and swim in their pool.

This boy knows how to relax!

 Quick photoshoot on the beach!

 Gammy had prepared these lovely cards for the children along with a bag full of yummy treats and games.  It was a great week.

 And then we traveled home....phew it was a long trip!  But we made it -- and this one was VERY happy we were home!