beach weekend

It's so easy to get caught up in the daily grind.  The early morning wake-ups, cereal spilled on the floor, rushing to get out the door to work on time, to what the heck do I make for dinner, toddler melt downs, bedtime baths, and then tiding the house before you crash on the couch, exhausted from the day.  Once in a while it's nice, and necessary really, to spent some child-free time with your spouse, and soft of hit the reset button on life. 

A couple of weekends ago, Erik and I went away for a little beach vacation, just the two of us.  Neither of us have any relatives that live close by, so the chance for Erik and I to do anything alone together (even something as simple as a trip to the grocery store) is pretty rare.  So, when given the opportunity, we happily take it.  My parents drove over from Tennessee, and my sister Megan even flew down from Chicago, so there were plenty of hands on deck to care for Arlo while Erik and I were away.  Erik has been talking about taking a trip to Myrtle Beach for years now, as this is where he vacationed with his family every summer during his childhood.  We decided to stay there one night, then head north to one of our favorite beaches a little closer to home, Kure beach.

Basically, we left our kiddo at home so we could go off and act like kids ourselves.  We sat lazily on the beach, splashed in the ocean, played putt-putt, visited the arcade more than once, shopped for tchotchkes, rode on a ferry (with our car, sweet!), and walked around the beach and boardwalk in the evenings.  I was the putt-putt game champion, but no match for Erik's ski-ball skills at the arcade.  We came home happy, well-rested, and super excited to see our little guy. 

Reset button, consider yourself pressed.

North Myrtle Beach

putt-putt at Hawaiian Rumble, the #1 rated course in the world (so they say!)

Fort Fisher on the drive to Kure Beach

And the reason we chose that weekend in particular to head away just the two of us?  Well, a few days prior we had celebrated our four year wedding anniversary!  It's crazy to think of all the changes we have been through in just four short years.  Looking forward to so many more with my pretty awesome hubby  :)

Turning 29... again.

Yesterday was the first anniversary of my 29th birthday.  I have decided to stay 29 for a few more years, ha!

Today we are closing on our new house  :D

Such a lovely present for my (second) 29th birthday...

One Year Anniversary

Last week to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary, we took a little trip to the Outer Banks along the beautiful NC coast.  Last year we spent our honeymoon on Hilton Head Island so I guess it's becoming somewhat of a tradition to head to the beach!  Strangely enough, the day of our anniversary (September 10th) is actually the peak of hurricane season (remember, giant weather nerd here)  but fortunately we have been lucky enough to have great weather for both trips.  As well, there was much to celebrate with having survived the first year of marriage and all... ha  ;)

Here are a few photos from our trip:

My favorite picture  ❤

At the end of photo shoots we almost always end with silly pictures!

Sunset from the pier

Jockeys Ridge Sand Dunes

Erik tried (unsuccessfully) to boogie board down the dunes!

I scored this sweet little dress for only $10 at the beach shop next to our hotel.  Apparently everything goes on super clearance at the beach after Labor Day, so needless to say we did a LOT of shopping!

Baywatch style... haha.  Trying out his new boogie board and bathing suit in the cold ocean!

Mimosas on the balcony on the morning of our anniversary

Several weeks before our trip, I had this "great idea" for a photo shoot on the actual day of our anniversary that involved dressing up in our wedding attire and taking a few photos on the beach.  Little did I know the evenings would be much cooler than the days, accompanied by gale force winds.  Ok so I don't exactly know what "gale force winds" even means, but let's just say had it been any worse it would have lifted up my dress and carried me away Mary Poppins style...  Despite the cool weather and blustery conditions, we still managed to have a successful shoot.  Here are a few of my favorites:

The tag was suppose to "dangle" more from our fingers but with the wind and all this was the best we could do!

Yes, in the chilly air and gale force winds (ha) we decided to do the photo I had been looking forward to most of all...  Taking off our clothes and running towards the beach in nothing but our undies!  :D

tiles borrowed from one of our favorite board games...

Along with taking a bunch of photos, we also went to see a band called Perpetual Groove, rode our bikes around Kill Devil Hills, did a lot of shopping, a LOT of eating, lat night hot tubbing, visited the Wright Brothers Memorial, went to the Sand Dunes, and even did a little dancing after our fancy anniversary dinner.  So much fun, we have already discussed which beach we will be heading to next year...

We survived year one, here is to many more to follow...