OBX - QT with Grandma and Pap

One of my favorite parts of vacation is spending time with my family.  Since we live in Virginia, my parents are in Pittsburgh, Brian's in DC, Kristen spends most of the year in Ohio, and Jeff is all over the place, there are very few times that we can all (or most of us) get together, let alone get together for an entire week.  That's why our family vacation is so important to us.  Not only is it a week at the beach, but it's always full of lots of family fun, from board games to cookouts to beer pong, it's always a good time.

Living away from where I grew up became a little bit harder when we had Addie.  I grew up with lots of family 5 minutes away.  I had my Nana and Pap, lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins that I saw on a weekly basis.  My Nana and Pap had a pool and we spent most of our weekends hanging out there, on top of an occasional weekday night swim. Most of my "out-of-town" family was only a short drive away so we still saw them a few times a year as well.  My Grandma and Grandpa took each one of us kids one by one for a weekend in the summer and would spoil us with letting us do anything we wanted to do.  My trips were usually full of manicures at the nail salon, going to a women's basketball game, and eating at Damon's.

Eric grew up with a lot of the same experiences.  He spent many hours with his grandparents and some of his cousins were more like brothers and sisters.  The men of the family went on an annual deep sea fishing trip, which I have heard many stories about.'

We want our kids to have a lot of the same experiences as we did growing up, especially with my parents and Eric's mom.  Grandparents are so special to children.  They spoil their grand-kids a way no one else can and have a very special bond with them.  Addie had a blast with Grandma and Pap in the Outer Banks.  My mom enjoyed doing any and everything with her, from giving her baths, snuggling with her on the beach, to watching her roll over from back to front for the very first time while she was babysitting.  My dad also had lots of quality time with his favorite grand-daughter (Yes, I can say favorite because right now she's the only one!)  Addie loved swimming in the pool with Pap and going for walks on the beach with him.  Although these aren't things that Addie will remember because she is so young but I can't wait to show her pictures and tell her stories about hanging out with Pap and Grandma when she gets older and I look forward to watching Addie create many more beach memories with them in the years to come.