Jim, Michael and Jacob had YM Camp in the Grayson Highlands area where there are wild ponies!
They hiked and biked
Diana and I went to lunch at Longhorn so she could bring home a chocolate stampede and snack off it for a few days.
YM Camp was a lot of fun! They came home Friday night early from camp so we could drive to the family reunion together.
Katy at a swim meet
Nicole at the meet
John diving in for his race
John turned 7! He is so full of light and love.
Jim had his annual race on July 4th this year and had record turnout. Our family band played for the first time in a year and it was so fun. And SO humid!
Josh and his family arrived early for the reunion and we got to spend some time with them, it was super fun!
Nicole driving the Tahoe on the course for Jim's race, which is where she has suffered many times in her XC race as that is her home course.
Katy hanging out with some of our friends
Pretending she ran it and feels like a million bucks
The kids are hilarious. Mike and Jacob will both read books whenever they aren't singing or helping set up. It's so funny because especially during a concert it looks like they could care less about what's happening if they aren't "on."
Johnny boy pretending to race
We drove to the Outer Banks for the Ostler family reunion. The outdoor pool was incredible!
We took family pictures while Caleb was able to be there for a short time.
The photographer will get us the real pics, but in the meantime Brandon took some shots and I just love how the colors turned out!
My hair was quite lovely and straight to begin with. All manner of products did not do anything to prevent the humidity. Oh well!
Each family took one night of dinner and we ate a lot of food!
There was a "sort-of" rain and it made for a beautiful double rainbow!
Digging trenches around our sandcastle!
We went fishing one morning and literally everyone that fished caught one! Lots of sea mullet caught using sand fleas (not the bait we bought lol)
Katy and Ruthie were prettymuch inseparable. Ruthie is just the sweetest friend, same as Katy. They just had sweet and fun adventures of imagination, it was so cute to listen in and see.
There were lots of babies! Three little ones under a year old, and for my kids it was like a whole new experience. It made me feel really old to not have a baby or toddler!
Sunrises and sunsets were just gorgeous!
We went fishing near Oregon Inlet and everyone that put a pole in caught some fish! Sea mullet, using sand fleas for bait (the bait we bought at the store got nothing lol)
Those not interested in fishing were able to get lots of the bait! It was fun finding them!
We went to the Bodie Lighthouse and learned about its history!
We went running a few mornings- it was SO humid that my core temp had a very hard time coming back down after we finished, but it felt so good.
We went a few places trying to find the perfect crabbing spot, and finally found it after enduring much heat and patient crabbing!
Feasting at home on the crabs!
Mike at the beach is always a blast.
After lunch we had a devotional and after dinner several times as well. What a blessing for the kids to learn from their grandparents and their great grandpa!
Night crabbing cousins! They LOVED staying up until dark looking for ghost crabs and squealing with terror and delight at finding them. Good memories!
Sunrises to treasure
We went crabbing another morning and Jacob caught one of the sneakiest fish ever- a pin fish! Those things steal bait like crazy so I was quite proud of his achievement.
John the crab catcher! Some of the best entertainment in the world is watching kids try to catch crabs on the pier. They are terrified of them, but the tongs make them just brave enough. If the crab slips out then its all screams and scattering until they get courage up again.
We got donuts for Evelyn's birthday!
Also got some seafood- Nicole deveining the shrimp for us
Crabs in the pot!
Seafood lunch to remember!
We put up grocery bags to make a volleyball net inside, and it kept the kids entertained for a looong time!
Mike flying his birthday present kite- the winds were strange coming over the dunes and a bit gusty, but he still had fun!
Off to Jockey Ridge for some sunset kite flying
Sunset in the dunes
Nicole played her ukulele while they flew a stunt kite
Michael's sand angel. Like I said, Mike at the beach is sure fun!
We had an evening devotional and Katy passed out on Grandma she was so relaxed. It was the cutest thing ever. She went from sitting, to relaxing, to totally sprawled out!
Nicole loved the evening beach adventures!
Last sunrise
Long exposure shot just gorgeous. We had amazing boogie boarding the last day, I didn't take any pictures, just one video. It was so epic we just played our hearts out. Loved this time with my family and getting to know the nieces and nephews as they have gotten older. They are treasures in my heart, and although we live far away, it was just so special to spend time together this week.
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