Nags Head Beach Trip - Part II

Back to the beach on a very windy day! 

What a special thing to have a birthday while you're on vacation! Kade turned 7! He wanted to open presents right after breakfast. 

I think he was giving Brock a hug?? 

That little smirky smile when he opened the gift from Papa and Nana Phyllis! His own set of snap circuits!

Brent had been battling a cold the whole week, so when Thursday became cloudy and gloomy, he opted to stay home and rest while we toured the aquarium. 

The boys really enjoyed looking at all the creatures! 

Because of Covid, we really haven't visited a museum in quite awhile. I realized how different this trip was when both Brock and Kade were reading the informational signs to me! 

Watching the otter swim!

This interactive part was cute - kids rescue a sea turtle (plastic toy turtle) and go through the steps to rehabilitate and release it back into the ocean. 

Brock was so proud of himself for knowing several of the fish species before reading their signs!

But the touch tank was probably the most favorite thing for my boys. 

Kade was a little fearful of touching the sting rays so opted for the more shallow pool with hermit crabs and starfish. 

The jellyfish room was mesmerizing!

Sharks!! With a real tiger shark!

Like every museum, the tour ended at the gift shop and oh how the boys were overstimulated with alllll their options. I set a dollar amount, but of course they negotiated on raising it just a bit for TWO stuffed animals, agreeing this was all they were getting for souvenirs from this week's trip. 

Kade picked out a "mommy and baby" dolphin while Brock picked a colorful stingray and axolotl. 

We all got dressed up for our fancy dinner out at Owens' Restaurant - it's become tradition to go there every year! 

We skipped out on dessert because we had CAKE at home! It's not official until he eats his birthday cake! Chocolate cake with white buttercream frosting and sugar candy sea creatures. 

Tonight was Moose's big night too! We had to wait for the sun to go down a bit more..... 

...for some crab hunting!!

Here's a little video of Moose in action. *Be warned, the crab did not make it, so if you are a crab-lover, do not watch.  (Brock got upset at the end of the video too)

Last day, and it was a sunny day - good day to head to the water park! 

On our way back to the beach house from the water park, we discussed the possibility of packing up early that night and heading home - or staying our included night just to wake up and then go. We decided to cut it short (Poor Brent had been sleeping on the couch because of his cold!) - took about 3 hours to pack and load everything before starting the drive home. 

We stopped at Bojangles for dinner and arrived home about 9:30PM. Just as Brent was backing the boat up the driveway, we heard a bad noise and then a hsssssss. He put the truck in drive, then tried reversing again - this time louder. No good. He pulled forward along the road (in front of another house on our narrow street) and surveyed the damage. After so much corrosion from the salt water, the brake broke and had completely severed the tire. The crazy thing was that it happened right at home - not on the side of the road where Brent had been driving for the last 3 1/2 hours!! So very lucky! He did a "quick" fix just to pull it into the driveway. What a crazy long ending to our restful beach trip!