Days ago, I was wearing a windbreaker with my bare feet in the sun-warmed sand, sitting next to one of my best friends. And now, I'm hiding away inside at my dining room table from the outside's 30-degree temps. What?!
While I'm wholeheartedly opposed to my friends moving away (exhibit A and exhibit B), these dear friends were kind enough to open their homes to our wild family of four so I guess I can't complain toooooo much, can I? Much like this post on our weekend to the Pittsburgh area to visit Courtney + Isaac, we had an amazing weekend of catching up with Heidi, Ryan and their kids and enjoying each others' company in their beach town in North Carolina.
P.S. Though I did share about our 5-hour screen-free roadtrip to see Courtney and Isaac, proving that it's totally possible to do such a thing with two toddlers, this time we opted to drive at night since it was 7 hours! And we absolutely used screens for the first hour til the kids fell asleep! Haha
It's impossible to put into words how full my heart is from a 3-day weekend of quality time with people I love so dearly, so instead, I'll talk about what we did! Haha. Each morning, we sat around their table and enjoyed INCREDIBLE lattes + French pressed coffee from beans they roasted themselves (seriously, they are outta our league!). We ventured out to different beaches, and even climbed sand dunes in Jockey's Ridge State Park (the photos make it look like we're straight up in a desert, as opposed to half a mile from the bay!). The kids played at local playgrounds; babies and adults alike napped in the afternoons while Aiden and his friend occupied themselves with Legos and audio books. Does it sound like the perfect blend of beach time and down time? Because it really was!! One night, we even put a movie on for the kids in their family room and had a "double date" around the dining room table. (In 4 years of friendship, this was our first double date because we had always been each others' babysitters for date nights! Haha.)
Lots of these photos are the big, exciting adventures like the beach outings and the guys surfing. But the unphotographed, in-between times were just as lifegiving. I don't have any photos from baking with Heidi while we talked about our upbringings, God's purpose for authority, parenting and our struggles therein, but that afternoon was such a luxury for me. (Everyone needs a Heidi in their lives: someone who sets an example for them in faith, maturity, and parenting!)
30 weeks! ^^
And now I want to hear from you.
Have you ever visited the Outer Banks in North Carolina? What meaningful conversations have you had recently?
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