Coquina Beach ~ Outer Banks

I love when people share great destination spots. I've never been much of a "crowd" person. Being out enjoying the peaceful nature is much more my thing. It seemed God just knew which direction to point us... yes He knew I needed a nice relaxing break away with my family... and boy did we get just what we hoped for. We had the perfect Inn with so much character and amazing views and the ladies from the Inn told us what beach was best to go to. They were right on! We went to two beaches on the Outer Banks and the one they suggested was by far the best. Not many people, great parking, large bathrooms, changing rooms, showers, lifeguards and a nice boardwalk to the shore. Here is Coquina Beach...

The beach was Kaelyn's favorite part of our vacation. If she had her way we would have never left the sand and water to do any other exploring. :) The boogie board was her absolute favorite which I'll share more pics of soon.

 

If you have a favorite beach location I would love to hear about it!

No more baby

I guess I should have known that when K drew and painted a family picture last week of her as a baby (note the really short hair) holding her parents hands that my baby was no longer a baby. 

This week it was all about showing what a big girl she is. Sigh. I'll miss the baby stage... it went by way too fast. But it is exciting to see her experience new adventures and enjoying it the entire way.

 

She started school! 

She was excited and confident. Her first day was way harder on mom than it was on her!

I am thankful it went so well!

 

Monday, her training wheels came off, so she's been riding every day this week and loves chasing me! :) It sure didn't take her long to get the hang of it.

Her father couldn't be more proud. :)

 

Thursday was our 9th wedding anniversary. 10 years since he asked me to marry him! Wow!

He's my best friend.

 

Kaelyn painted this for us at grandma's house while we had a quiet meal out.

Hubby is on the left and I'm on the right. Her artwork makes me smile.

An amazing husband and daughter... I couldn't ask for anything more. ♥

Peaceful stay near the beach

We needed to get away. When hubby and I both have jobs from home it is hard to come by uninterrupted family time. It took quite awhile to decide on a vacation destination. We knew we wanted to go to the beach. It's been five years since we've last been there and we would be celebrating our 9 year wedding anniversary a bit early. At first I was researching the west coast, but just couldn't find a place that wasn't overcrowded and would be kid friendly... so somehow I came across Roanoke Island Inn on the east coast. It fit us perfectly! Charming, peaceful, close to the beach... a real home away from home. Dee and Sarah were so welcoming and helpful during our stay. (Just one of the many things they did was go out of their way to find goat milk for our daughter who is allergic to dairy products. It is not easy to find around that area!)

The inn had lots of character and the views were beautiful! This is our breezeway/deck area that had open views to the backyard as well as the waterfront:

{backyard of Roanoke Island Inn}

{backyard~view towards the inn}

Kaelyn found her hat early on during the trip. She loved it and wore it almost all the time.

Sadly it got left behind at the last restaurant we ate at before getting to the airport. :(

Hopefully it didn't get thrown and another little girl can enjoy it.

That is our breezeway/deck area above. The right leads you to the rooms and the left takes you to the "reception" area...

Such a cozy space and their is a well stocked pantry/kitchen area where you can help yourself to snacks and drinks any time. And if you happened to forget something, no worries, it is probably there or they will find it for you. Awesome!

We were given a family suite. Kaelyn had her own little room. She had her own tv and dresser on the other side. Sleeping went so much better since we had our own rooms!

Our room was huge with a vintage flare. All the rooms are unique... just the way I like it. :)

The view at night couldn't have been better.
I highly recommend the Roanoke Island Inn if you are looking for a charming, peaceful getaway. It honestly was the best place we have ever stayed!

Back to real life

So hard to say goodbye to the warm weather, soft sand, amazing dunes, charming Inn and so much more. But we are back home and my body is trying to get used to the cooler temps. Never did I think I would come back to 50 degree temps in August! Uggh. Gotta love SD! :)

More photos coming soon.

Expecting!!!

No, not me, but sweet Melissa from The Polka Dot Pickle is!

She contacted me right before her maternity shoot to get one of my First we had each other prints for their session. Melissa was so great to work with and best of all she shared the photo with me! I was so excited with how it turned out I had to post it. (with permission of course) Cean One Photography did a fantastic job. Such a cute family! :)

I cropped this one so you could see the print a little better:

You can just see how much this little one is loved already. :)

Congratulations you two!

If you have an Enduring Arts print I would love to see a photo of the space it is hanging in or how you used it!

Projects and WIP

This past month has been filled with so many get togethers and projects. It has been great and crazy! I'm hoping August is a bit more relaxing, but who knows... little K will start school! My baby is going to school!?! That time has gone by all too quickly!

Anyway, I thought I'd share a couple of the more interesting projects from the month.

A friend asked me to design and paint a sign to go behind her reception table. Her theme was a rustic/elegant wedding. She supplied the awesome barn door. The grooves and old chipping paint definitely made the project more interesting but I think it turned out pretty nice. :)

My very talented hubby and owner of Wisp Woods, requested the logo I previously designed for his business to be put on a cap. I made sure to get it painted on in time for his birthday. So glad I didn't screw up since I had no time to go get another hat.

{work in progress ~ Let Go & Trust}

Then after shop orders have been completed and if I don't have to run somewhere (which has been rare) I work on my newest mixed media piece, "Let Go & Trust". This one is quite a bit darker then my last... maybe because my mood was a bit darker when I started? I guess that is one thing about being an artist... you can show your emotions through your work. I'm excited to see her finished and get working on the next one! :)

Quiet

Wow! This summer seems to be going by at great speed. I haven't been able to keep up with everything and since the blog is at the low end of my priority list... well you can see it has been pretty quiet. Our life lately has been full of good and not so good events but mostly good so for that we are very thankful. This month has been full of family get togethers, Vacation Bible School, and a variety of house and work projects. If we happen to get a little free time we try to do something fun and relaxing as a family. Have to enjoy the warm weather while we can! :)

It looks like the blog will remain pretty quiet until mid August or later.

I hope you are all having a fantastic summer! Happy weekend!

**I'm not sure what I messed up in the HTML code that makes my text run off the side.

I think you'll know what it is supposed to say. :)

Lately

Just a peek into K's world lately.

Loving warm days!

Fun with friends.

Moving day.

A little girl's dream house made by her grandpa. :)

More allergy testing.

Allergic to some of her favorite things. :(

Loves her daddy.

Fresh strawberries from the garden.

They don't last long! :)

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

Time Trial

Time is flying! There are quite a few photos on my computer I would like to blog about, but finding the time to do so has been hard. Here are a few from Saturdays time trial race in Watertown. The bikers rode 14 miles around lake Kampeska. It was a gorgeous day for the race. Seriously, if the weather would be so nice next year, I might have to compete. But I'm not game if there is nasty weather. :)

Anyway, here are a few of the riders just a few minutes before the race begins.

David's waiting for his turn. There is a minute between each rider.

On the start line ready to go.

The race is on! Hubby's friend, Jason was the first to come in. I would totally crash trying to ride this bike.
David is the second one in.

Cruising after the race. K likes to ride with daddy.

Overall David came in third. He did a great job! Thanks to all the family that came to watch and support him! It means a lot and it always makes it more fun to have you there. :)

Sunday was a moving day. K was very excited! Will share more pics on that soon... hopefully soon anyway.