Monday started with family kayaking off the pier in Duck Town Park. Apparently, Mary got kayaks for Mother’s Day. The adults (read over 16) took turns while the rest of us chased kids down at the not-so-shady park. Patrick also purchased crabbing lines and bait (chicken necks). They caught about 2 dozen crabs but only 6 were keepers.
As a side note: We talked to a family today who was crabbing off a pier in Corolla near OB Center for Wildlife Education. They were going to boil their crabs and thought the majority of the meat was in the body!!! Don’t worry, I kept them from committing such mortal sins. They seemed thankful for the advice (steam in beer and Old Bay and look for the majority of meat in the body).
After crabbing, we headed north to Corolla. We kinda wished we had a 4WD vehicle so we could go exploring for wild horses on the beach. Apparently off-roading on the beach is a popular NC beach pastime. We did get to explore the Center for Wildlife Education. Then we headed back for a little down time and the boys’ graduation party.
The party was a blast. We all felt like we need name tags that not only identified our names but, also, to which clan we belonged. Andy tried to keep us all straight with a double family tree that covered both sides of the family that were gathered this week.
We had great intentions in our house of board games and wine every night, but the days have been long which leads to early nights. It’s so nice and quiet right now–especially considering there are so many people sleeping under the roof. Apparently, Patrick and I are the night owls of the group since he’s out fishing and I’m the only other one that seems to be up. We’ve seen a tremendous increase in Ty’s receptive language recently. Last night, I was able to explain that I was no longer going to lay down while he fell asleep going to put him to bed just like Daddy did and I walked out with no subsequent crying–SCORE!! It’s so much nicer to enjoy my quiet nights when I’m not groggy from laying down with Ty.
There are more party pictures and kayaking pictures in the 2009OBX album. Enjoy!
Sounds like a wonderful time!
xo -mom