OBX - Days 4-5

Day 4: After grabbing a brochure about the NC aquarium, Courtney and I thought it would be a fun place to check out, especially since Caleb has been asking to go to one lately. Tuesday was the only day with rain in the forecast, so we made plans to make the most of day despite the weather, checking out the fishies.

They recently added a dinosaur portion that we went through first. The animatronic dinos were very similar to the ones at Dutch Wonderland we'd seen earlier in the summer.

Reid was a little bit afraid of them this time.

Caleb was Aunt Courtney's best buddy the whole trip. Everything we did, he wanted to be right with her, holding her hand, snuggled in, or just talking her ear off.

When things began to get dreary outdoors, we quickly scurried inside to see what we awaited.

They oohed and aahed not realizing this was just the beginning.

Alligators...yikes!

One of the coolest parts was the sting ray tank - shallow enough that you could reach your hand right in and pet them.

Slippery and slimy! Poor little Hadley and Reid couldn't reach very well with their short arms.

In the same room was a spot to touch crabs and shells.

The sharks were a big deal! Whoa! Caleb has had an increased interest in them lately, so it was great to see these creatures up close.

Reid liked the river otters. 

Hidden away in one corner of the aquarium was a turtle rescue center. The kids each took their plastic turtle to an area to test what was wrong with it, and then they brought it across the room to another lab to treat it. Hadley and Reid's turtle required a laxative and enema. Goodness!

Reid was pretty upset when we had to put the turtle back before we left.

Through another door they had real rescued sea turtles. The ladies in there were explaining what was wrong with each one and how they were treating them. 

That evening we made supper at the beach cottage again and just spent the evening having a little family time.

Dave and I let each of the kids pick a book from the gift shop. I spotted this educational one on turtles that was near Caleb's reading level and thought it would be great but decided to let him choose. As soon as I told him he could pick one though, he immediately asked for one on turtles and I was able to steer him to the perfect choice. He was thrilled! Actually, he became quite the turtle advocate the rest of the week from the presentation at the aquarium and the facts in the book. He even picked up trash off the beach, very concerned about these giant sea creatures.

Knowing how much Reid liked the plastic turtle at the recovery center, NaNa hunted for one in the gift shop for him and found this. He has played and played and played with that thing. He even slept with it the first night!

Courtney had a yummy apple dessert planned for us that the kids got to make. Aunt Courtney knows what kids like!

Day 5: Of all the years to pick to come to the Outer Banks, we picked a scary one. Shark spottings and even several attacks have made visitors wary of entering the water all summer. With that in mind, we were not big on getting out in the ocean too far. Wednesday though, we did venture out a little. Caleb got so tickled watching his mommy and Aunt Courtney trying to ride the waves in on our stomachs since we'd left our boogie boards at home. 

Since it was so hard to eat out with the kids the first night, I asked Mom if maybe we could trade off every other night. She had an even better idea suggesting that Dave and I go to an early dinner and then her and Court later. It worked out great as we felt like we got our money's worth at Captain George's all-you-can-eat seafood buffet that night, Dave and I had a little time to talk just the two of us, and we saved money by not having to buy kids meals that they'd barely eat anyway.

After we got back, we even had enough time to go down to the beach to fly kites. In Walmart one day earlier in the summer, I purchased a few with this in mind and thankfully we remembered to bring them. With the sea breeze beneath them, no expertise was needed. All three kids got theirs up and flying higher and more easily than they'd ever done before at home. Aside from playing with kites, they also splashed in the surf and let the sand slip through their fingers. What a wonderful evening! Of all the things we did on the trip this was one of my favorites - so peaceful...We didn't have to drag a lot of gear nor was it difficult to keep up with everyone. Just an easy going time watching the sunset against the a beautiful backdrop.

And that's not all we did...