Bald Head Island

 On September 15th, we loaded the car up (again) and headed to Bald Head Island with the Ballenger Family.  From the mountains to the sea, we were covering the entire state of North Carolina.....with a lay over in Mt. P!  We were excited to go away for a long weekend with Matt, Lindsey, Ella and Alex. Last year, we spent a weekend with them on Fripp Island.  We had a great time with them last year and really enjoyed Fripp Island.  This year, we were looking forward to showing the Ballenger family a little of the NC coast - they had never been to an NC beach before.  The pressure was on to find one that could compare to some of the beautiful beaches in the state of SC!  Bald Head takes a little extra effort and pre-planning to get over to the island but it is truly one of the most beautiful of the North Carolina beaches.  (I guess parts of the Outer Banks are my absolute favorite....but the drive from Mt P to any portion of the Outer Banks would be too long, especially for a weekend with kids!).   We arrived on Thursday. Unloaded the car, boarded the ferry, traveled across to Bald Head, were "whisked" away on a golf cart to our home for the weekend (with enough stuff to last a week!!), and were so happy to find that we had picked the perfect house (minus the stairs!) for our two families.  We quickly got settled - Payton and Ella were THRILLED to share a room again - we headed out to the beach to explore and took a ride around the island on our 6 seat golf cart.  Little did we know the next two days would be cold and rainy!  We made the best of it and enjoyed our weekend together on Bald Head Island. 

The view from the walk from our house to the beach

From our porch we were able to watch the ships come into the port.

 Payton and Ella enjoyed "fishing" from the deck - and, even better, they did GREAT taking turns sharing with each other for hours!

Despite the rain, we made the best of our time.  We played games.  We shared old stories.  We laughed at each other....some more than others :).  We watched football.  We ate good meals.  We relaxed!  Most of all, we had fun!! 

We finally bundled everyone up and headed out on Friday morning.  Weather didn't matter to the kids - we took a little walk and let them play in the sand.  The big kids eventually found their way into the water.  The air temp was cool but the water was still nice and warm. 

Big kids and little kids are hoping for a big catch...no such luck!

Owen had a blast digging in the sand.

Our house looked back over to Oak Island - and gave us a good view of the Oak Island lighthouse.  At night, the light beamed into our bedroom too.

On Saturday, we explored the island a little more and spent little more time out on the beach that afternoon.   The kids had a blast again and enjoyed running all around our "private" beach!

And, of course, they eventually made it back into the water!

Still best buds!  Ella and Payton September 2011.

Its hard to believe they've been friends since even before this:

Ella and Payton September 2008

One day these pictures will make a great addition to a slide show for birthday parties, high school graduation, or perhaps a wedding rehearsal slide show.....only kidding...really....but they are too sweet growing up together!  Even through they are very different (you know - sports vs princess) they still love to spend time with each other and always do great around each other.  I was actually amazed at how well they did all weekend.  We had a few minor meltdowns (well, Payton did!) toward the end of the weekend but overall it was great having them together!

The water splashing on Payton may have been a little cold!

Owen enjoying his time on the beach and continuing
to perfect his wobbly walking!

The little kids had the most fun at snack time!  Owen and Alex are both good eaters.

And, no, we did not serve them from the floor - they dumped their food on the floor and continued to eat - we of course discouraged this behavior!

Group shot of the kids before our island departure.

Alex 19 months, Ella 3 1/2, Owen 15 months, Payton 3 1/2

Owen ran away...but the other kids were all looking!

Our luggage by the curb.  I wish I had a "pre" picture - there was even more on Thursday!

When Sunday rolled around, we had to pack up and leave - which involved putting all of our luggage on the curb, waiting on our golf cart shuttle, riding to the ferry terminal, hoping for a spot indoors because it was cold and windy, glaring at younger groups who took all the seats but fitting inside anyway, maintaining a crying baby for the ride, deboarding, finding our luggage, retrieving our car, loading our car, and finally driving away.  It was a really organized process but with four kids in the cold it got a little stressful.  We survived!

After leaving the terminal in Southport we found a cute restaurant on the water to eat lunch.  After lunch, we parted ways and headed back home.  We took a longer route home and drove down through Oak Island.  Chad's family used to vacation on Oak Island so we wanted to check out a few of his favorite spots and the new bridge that comes onto the island. 

Another great weekend with the Ballenger's!  As the last trip of our four weekend trips in a row, this one was just perfect.  Despite the travel and four kids, it was very relaxing to be on island with no plans and no where to go!  A little fun and R&R with good friends is welcome at anytime!  I hope our annual fall vacations will continue....I just hope the weather is a little warmer next year!