Surfer Jackson

Surfer Henri

Surfer Ellie

Watching Dad Fish!

Cracking Up

Always nice when a shot like this comes along - it really captured the joy of the day. The whole family was together on a favorite beach, the boarding was lively, Ellie and our new puppy Cocolo were playing "crazy dog" in the sand, and sweet handsome hubby was taking pictures of Surfer Mama and her boys. The boys started making hubba hubba noises and the goofiness continued from there.

Stormy Weather? Maybe

The skies change as frequently as the tides here at the beach. One minute the sun in shining down on us, and the next we are looking at this. It never did amount to any rain, if you can believe it by the sinister looks of things. In the end, it just blew right by - over - us.

Kids off to Surf Camp!

We have hit the mid-summer mark here on the Outer Banks. Everyday is wonderland. Still, we are Surfer Mama and her three "chitlins and bambalams" - which means 4 rather large personalities living in the space of a squirrel nest. (Our cottage is cozy.) And everyday is a beach day, why just today we rode our bikes to our beach - boogie boards on the rear ramps, beach chairs balanced on the handlebars, towels around our necks, and always, a basket crammed with cool drinks and snacks. We limped, dripping with sweat and close to having vapors, to a space to call our own on a relatively crowded beach. Set up, then hit the surf to cool our brains. The water a balmy 78 degrees. The boys caught a few good waves, Ellie drifted off to say hello to her girlfriends, and I took a big deep happy breath, fell back to float and stare up into the clouds. Wait a minute, why are they black? Within minutes, rolling thunder and we were evacuated off the beach!

All a windy way to say perhaps a little structure along with the R & R will be a good thing. Tomorrow, all three kids (11, 9 and 7 years-old) hit surf camp with a bunch of local kids, thanks to our friend and owner of a local bike shop. We are frequent customers. For 3 hours over 3 days, our country horse-riding rubes will try their hands at the sport of Queens! They are going into it with customary gusto - Jack told me today that he's a lot like Spiderman, riding the ocean waves with bike-crashing road burn without it hurting one bit!

Time will tell, as will the photos that I will surely post, but I have a feeling Surfer Mama will soon be having the nicest company, out there in the deep blue ...