Topsail Island NC

I went for the first time in 1993, and have been back more than a half-dozen times {I honestly can’t remember how many times} over the past 22 years. I’ve never gone again and again to a vacation spot, but this place I have. There’s something so wonderful about the familiarity of a place. It’s always been my favorite beach spot..quiet, beautiful, and relaxing {other than that 14 hour drive to get there and home}.

The last time we were there I was 17 weeks pregnant with Ave, this time 35 weeks with #5. Of course, being 35 weeks I was rather limited in how much ocean-time I could enjoy {being beaten around by waves, just doesn’t have the same appeal} and with 4 kids the relaxation was a bit limited to, but it was fun!

The kids were entirely different about the ocean from last year. Henry absolutely LOVED the beach {he barely tolerated the sand last year}, James, was ehh about it, Ellie could’ve cared less and claimed she was scared of the ocean, Ave was in her glory! We were a bit concerned that Ana was going to put a damper on our fun, but other than Sunday, the rest of the week was decent.

Saturday we drove the 650+ miles, stopping for breakfast along the way.

Sunday we celebrated all of the April and May Birthdays….My dad had just turned 60, my mom had turned 55, and my brother turned 30!

With the storm passing through I ended up going to the store and buying some legos for the kids, so they had something to do inside.

The sleeping arrangements worked out ok. We had a pyramid bunk, so we alternated who was on the top and the other 3 were sideways in the double below.
One morning. The sunrises weren’t great, because of the weather, but they were still beautiful!My mom and my nephew.

My brother and his big catch.Matt and I got to go on one walk sans kids…

We had to have our traditional southern fish fry at least one night. My aunt came over {she lives nearby} and fried up a wonderful meal!

My aunt managed to get a halfway decent picture of this motley crew…the kids barely tolerate pictures anymore.

The one morning we headed over to a nearby park..they loved it! All 4 of them managed to climb the rock wall…I was impressed.

We thoroughly enjoyed our last few days and made every effort to spend as much time on the beach.The kids were up bright and early on Saturday ready to go home. Two of them were asking to go home to their own beds by Wednesday {they take after their mama}.

All in all it was a great trip! We’re hoping to make a beach trip a family vacation, at least every few years.

If you want to see ALL of the pictures from our trip, check them out here.