Nathan's first trip to the beach

Wow, what a trip it was. We spent the week in Duck, NC with my dads entire family in a beautiful house right on the beach. There were 14 (plus one more on the way) of us for the majority of the week. We ate some amazing seafood, played tons of pool and "sequence", enjoyed the house pool and the beach, and tried to have as much fun as we could! Nathan did great on his first vacation. He had difficulty adjusting the first few nights, but by the middle of the week he was doing well. So many "firsts" happened while we were at the beach and I'll try to share photos of as many as I can. I must admit up front that my brain is fried from vacationing and moving, and another vacation 12 hours away... lots of change around here these days... so if my post is discombobulated, makes little sense, and jumps around more than a rabbit, I apologize... bear with me as the waters around the Wilson's are not quite calm yet!

First, let me introduce you to the family...

Back row: Nathan and I, my cousin Tanya (and Baby Ava Grace on the way) and her daughter Jenna, mom, Aunt Judy, Sabrina, and her son Zakk. Bottom row: Chad (belongs to me), Jon (Tanya's husband), dad, Ginga (my firecracker grandma - I love her to pieces), Uncle Mark, and Kevin (Sabrina's husband).

Don't we all look great in our family photo? Believe it or not, it was a huge success and took about 10 minutes to get hundreds of pictures of the whole family and it's segments... here are the family units...

Ginga and her 3 blue eyed great grand children (Nathan, Jenna, and Zakk)

Ginga and her 3 blue eyed kids - Mark (the baby), Judy (the middle) and Dad (the oldest)

Judy's two kids are Kevin and Tanya. They are both married and have beautiful families...
Kevin, Sabrina, and Zakk

Tanya, Jon, Jenna, and baby Ava Grace (due early September)

4 generations of women

Judy and her grand kids

My cutie patootie parents

Proud grandparents

Lastly, us three - but I think you know us by now!


We spent a great deal of time outside, either at the beach or by the pool. It was so convenient to have a pool in the back yard, especially for the little ones, and Bailey too! She LOVED the pool! We continued to practice Nathan's swimming skills while we were there, and that was a blessing to keep things consistent!

Fun times with dad

Jumping in (always a favorite)

Swimming like a fish!

Floating with Grandpa

Speaking of floating, everyone loves rafts, right...

Mom and Jenna, sharing a squeaky duck!

My dad got the brilliant idea to sit in Jenna's baby float. We all laughed and he struggled a bit to get his balance, and at the sight of a grown man sitting on one of those round yellow floats, but you know, I must admit, by the week's end, several of us had used it to float in - good idea daddy!

Grandpa, are you sure about this?

Not so bad! Practicing their kicking.

Chad got a great idea... you know those swimming "noodles"... well there were several in the pool and one apparently looked a little abandoned. Chad got it and forced one end of it up against the jet in the pool. Well, you know what came out the other end? A powerful stream of water that he could aim anywhere he pleased. Guess who the lovely victim of this powerful soaking was...

ShaSha!!! She was a great sport about it and just laughed, even though Chad thoroughly soaked her cute hairdo!

Riding on Grandpa's shoulders

Hanging out

There was also a hot tub in the back yard, and we all enjoyed that! Ginga, who doesn't swim, impressed us all by sporting a bathing suit (which she NEVER does) and hoping in the hot tub with us. The water wasn't really hot, rather warm, but it was great because the kids could enjoy it too.


Click on this picture below and you'll see my mom about to give her grandpup a kiss!

Oh yeah, and then there was the beach. It was beautiful, sandy, and hot.



We went a couple times, for a few minutes, but that was it. Bailey went often and LOVED it because she didn't have to wear her leash and could freely roam and play - ironically, she laid in the sand, or on our towels anytime we went out there. I guess she was people watching too.

The rest of the family really enjoyed it though! We went for evening walks on the beach and watched Bailey chase the crabs into the surf. I've never seen so many crabs in my life. There were hundreds of them all over the sand and they came in all sizes. Usually, Bailey chased them into the surf, but there were a few that ran back up the beach, and as luck would have it, through the group of us, meaning that as the crab ran, Bailey chased, and we screamed. Oh I'm sure it was a sight to see! Sadly I don't have any pictures since it was dark. Oh well, maybe next year! Here's a picture of Zakk in the freezing cold water!

Chad, enjoying some peace and quiet

The pool table was put to good use! Even Ginga played pool with us... I'm certain that at least 5 games of pool were played daily. I was definitely the least skilled at pool, but managed to win a few games- usually because someone else sunk the 8 ball, but hey, I still won!


Here are a couple of Nathan's firsts

First picture during a sunset

First day on the beach and first time to sit in a bag


First foot washing via water hose

First kiss - okay I must point out that his hand is on the back of Jenna's head. He's apparently been watching his daddy very closely for tips on this all too important skill!


First trip to the aquarium...
He really enjoyed the big tanks (don't worry Kendra, there are no pictures of any fish with teeth)

the stingrays

and the little fish in the big tank. He tapped on the glass, which you're not supposed to do, but I doubt the fish heard his tiny taps.

He and grandpa checked out some freshwater animals too.

These were supposed to be cute pictures in front of this giant frog, but you can't see the frog, and the look on Nathan's face isn't exactly cute... in fact if you look closely, it looks like an expression we'll see him make in a few months just after he adamantly shouts "NO". :)

Family pic beside the Albemarle Sound

There was a giant metal turtle scupture outside, and he and my mom sat on that turtle for at least 10 minutes. He loved all the detail in the turtle's head! Too funny.


Because of the smoke from the forest fires, the sunsets were GORGEOUS every night! Here are a few pics




Uncle Mark and Dad, loving life after a cold beer and some awesome "tuna bites", fried mac and cheese, and hushpuppies!

Aunt Judy and Jenna - Grandma's love their grandbabies!

Speaking of Jenna - oh my goodness, she's just beautiful, and fun to take pictures of. I must share a few of my favorites!



Jenna and Bailey (I must applaud my pup - she did incredible at the beach, with everything, including little Jenna. Jenna followed Bailey around, laid on her, petted her, tempted her with cookies, and exclaimed "puppy" at least 15 times a day. Great fun to watch and imagine Nathan with Bailey as he gets older).

Aren't Ginga and Nathan cute?


Happy to spend so much time with Daddy.

Beautiful baby blue eyes!