Cox Family Beach Vacation 2013

Every other year we take a vacation with Nick's side of the family. The past two vacations have been to Nags Head, NC. It is such a great location for a family. The beach is never too crowded and the area isn't completely overrun by tourists. This year Nick's parents rented an oceanfront house to fit all 13 of us. A full week at the beach was much needed! And we lucked out with wonderful weather. A few storms threatened some plans, but always passed quickly or held off.

On our way down to the beach, we stopped at Bodie Lighthouse. Camille was more impressed than I thought she would be. It was a windy day, so our selfie pictures didn't turn out as well as planned.

I had vowed to stay fit and healthy (as much as one can be on vacation) during the week. Since our mornings started very early (combination of a house on the water with the sun rise beaming in every room and an 11 month old that wakes up early- all of us under one roof so you get the idea), Nick & I were able to get in a few miles of running and biking before officially starting our day on the beach. Renting bikes was the best idea of the week! It was fun biking along the beach road, looking at the beautiful houses, getting some "easy" exercise, and allowing Camille to be with us. Camille noticed the bike cart when we were in the rental store and quickly exclaimed "I want that carriage!" The "carriage" ended up being popular with all of the cousins too. They all asked Nick to take turns pulling them :)

We spent most days at the beach before lunch and then at the pool after lunch. That was enough fun in the sun to keep the kids from getting bored. Camille didn't even fight her naps :)

We had many nice nights on the porch. The moon was supposedly brighter than usual on our second night, so I tried to capture the extra glow in a picture, but without much success.

Camille got her first taste of ghost crab hunting. It was quite amusing to watch everyone scramble to either get out of the way of the crabs, or try to capture them in our buckets. Camille was never scared, but loved screaming each time that cousin Emily did.

We also had our family pictures taken again this year. Though it was humid and the sun was shining bright, I know Megan did a great job is getting all 13 of us smiling and cooperating. I can't wait to see how those turn out!

We enjoyed many meals, both cooking in and eating out, but I think the kids will all agree that ice cream time was their favorite :)

It was so nice to have a change of scenery for the week and to spend time with the family, especially b/c we don't get much time together otherwise. Camille already misses all that cousin time! We are blessed with how well they get along and how cute they are together!

Thank you Maw Maw and Paw Paw for organizing another family vacation.