Brody's 14th Birthday

Happy Birthday to the coolest 14 year old I know! He is my go to source for all things gen z, loves chat GPT, poses for cool pictures on our travels, encourages and looks out for his younger siblings, loves doing cool big guy things with his older brother, aces his algebra test on his birthday (did we even do the quadratic formula because I don't remember any of this stuff from 30 years ago?), still loves the beach and any water source, loves traveling, and always does his best. Yes, he can have a teenage attitude, but he keeps us all entertained. We love you, Bro-dude! 

Fun travel companion. 

Chat GPT creator. 

Still a beach lover. 

Still a fantastic big bro.

High School, here he comes!

Proud mama of two teenage boys!

Brody can hang with the adults pretty well now. 

Will sing karaoke with us. 

Adventure seeker. 

Appreciates the special gifts of memories. 

Always tries his best. 

Loves hot cocoa and even coffee now. 

Still silly. 

Proud honor roll achiever. 

He had an epic year as he even became a world traveler! 

Spring Break in NC - 2025

Our first leg of Spring Break involved one more college tour before we make the final decision. While Eddie and Evan toured NC State with NROTC, the kids and I enjoyed walking around my alma mater and loved seeing the new ring. Sadly, my ring hasn't fit since my pregnancy with Maggie so we tried on this one. Maggie got a new future angel shirt before we headed to the Natural Sciences museum since the history museum is closed... sigh. They loved the big globe and the amazing Acrocanthasaurus fossil that is the only one of its kind. It is an old friend from the southern US about 32 billion years before its cousin, the T-Rex. We like dinosaurs! 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

The second half of our Spring Break week was spent exploring the NC Outer Banks.  We stayed in a lovely condo in Duck, NC which has always been a favorite spot of ours since Eddie and I were first married and lived in this region of NC.  It is too difficult to get there in the summer when the only road to this part of the coast becomes heavy with vacation traffic.  Most people that stay here in the summer just use bicycles to get around.  We enjoyed getting to experience the area in a less crowded season when we could visit the northern most lighthouse in Corolla, NC and see these beautiful beaches.  I had hoped we might see some of the wild horses that reside here, but I knew that would not be likely.  We also drove south to explore the Cape Hatteras National Seashore although we discovered the historical Hatteras lighthouse was completely under reconstruction.  What is with our luck lately?  It reminded us of our trip to Italy last year when so much of Rome was under reconstruction.  We did get to see the Bodie Island lighthouse and enjoyed the fragile beaches in Rodanthe.  We did see some of those beach houses that fell into the ocean later this year.  

Manteo, NC

Maggie spied the replica of the British ship that brought the first European colonists to the New World.  While the mystery surrounding what happened to these first colonists at Roanoke is unsolved, the clues left behind seem to indicate they assimilated into the local Native tribes for survival.  

  

 

A beach vacation isn't complete without putt-putt. 

 

Maggie's favorite part of this course was the train we got to ride. 

Many of the days we were on the OBX, the weather was cloudy and rainy, but we did get to see some beautiful sunsets. On the OBX, you get the benefit of seeing sunrises and sunsets over the water.  The sunrises over the ocean and sets over the sound. Our condo complex was located right in the middle of both. 

The sound side was usually more calm and sheltered from the wind. 

While I didn't get to see the horses of the OBX, I did get to spot some beautiful wildlife on the marshes and waterways.

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Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was a sad sight stripped of its beautiful stripes and covered all over in scaffolding.  This historic lighthouse has seen some major changes over the years and has weathered many storms.  It would have been lost in the 1990s to the sea if not for the marvelous engineering feat of moving it inland.  

While this coastline is very thin and fragile, the appeal lies in some of the clearest and warmest waters on the east coast due to its jutting out so much into the ocean and the warm Transatlantic current.  It is also one of the most dangerous coastlines in the world dubbed "The Graveyard of the Atlantic" for all of sunken ships that run aground on its many hidden sandbars.  Its many lighthouses have saved many ships from that fate.  It is also why there is no major port on this part of the coastline between the southern part of Virginia and the port at Wilmington, NC so it has remained a fairly peaceful and tranquil retreat through the years. 

While it was still early in the season for ocean swimming, the kids couldn't resist running into the waves.  

Brody in Rodanthe with the Rodanthe Inn which was used in the Nicholas Sparks movie adaptation of Nights in Rodanthe.  This house too would have already been claimed by the sea if not for the popularity of the movie making it financially feasible to move it and restore it.  

I think these houses lost their battle with the sea this summer. 

  

  

 

 

 

  

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

The original Duck Donuts. 

Our Condo in Duck was just the right spot for an OBX getaway with an indoor and outdoor pool area and both beach and sound side views.  Our spacious condo had plenty of room for the kids to spread out.  It is also in the middle of the northern OBX area so it made getting around easier...at least when traffic isn't a problem.