This trip is one that I have looked forward to every year since I was born! Before I was even born, my mom’s side of the family has been going to the OBX for a week during the summer. We rent a couple houses (sometimes we need 3- big family!) and everyone spends the week having a blast in the Outer Banks! It used to be my mom, her siblings and all their kids, but now that time has gone by, it’s all those kids bringing their own kids now! I’ve really loved watching this family tradition continue on over the decades and now the next generation gets to carry it on!

This trip also doubled as a great way for Branden to spend his last week of freedom before starting residency on the following Monday. He was soaking it all in without a care in the world! This may be the last beach week he gets to attend for a while, so it was a little bittersweet. But no matter how many times we go to the Outer Banks, we never get sick of it! Over the years of doing this trip, we’ve stayed at all the different parts of the OBX- Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Duck, Nags Head, etc. The past few years we’ve been staying in Nags Head, which I really enjoy because it’s just a little outside of the main drag so it’s really quiet and not crowded at all!

We returned home from this amazing week with full hearts, a little bit of tan (not much though- getting to good at sunscreening!) and whole lot of baby fever thanks to my cousin’s precious daughter, Bennie Day! That girl is a ham! You won’t believe how many time Branden asked to move up our planned ‘baby date’. haha! This trip was a great way to cap off the past several crazy weeks we’ve had- getting a new puppy, quitting my job, Branden graduating medical school, buying a new house and traveling to Europe! But now it’s time for us to go back to the real world, so this trip was the perfect little getaway to ease back into our normal routines! Here’s a little recap of all the fun we had last week!

Another thing I love about staying in Nags Head is that this is the view from the back deck! We had home cooked meals everyday! Big shout out to Uncle Mark who made a lot of those meals! Bennie Day was definitely the star of the week- she’s so precious! Beach time!  Girl loves the sand!  Branden was loving his umbrella hat and float setup. He was in hog heaven! Everyone else wanted to give it a try to! LET IT GO!!! Couldn’t resist ;)  Nothing quite like a pink OBX sunset. Everyone headed down to the beach to watch the full moon rise on the horizon! Pretty cool!  Oh my gosh, that girl! We also did a Ghost tour in Manteo! Pretty cool to learn about all the history of the OBX.  On our last day, we made a sunset trip to the dunes.  Fun for all ages! It’s hard work walking up those dunes!  Still loving all the sand! And a few iPhone shots from the week.