Last week we met up with Mike's family for their family reunion at the beach in Duck, NC. It was wonderful!! Obviously right - it was at the beach!!
The kids were so excited to fly on an airplane and pull their little bags through the airport.
While we were waiting to board the plane, Mike recognized this guy and sent Miles over to met him. It's Cleanthony Early who played for Wichita State and is now working out for the Jazz. Miles had his Ohio State shirt on and told him he was bummed when Wichita beat Ohio State in the NCAA tournament in 2013. He was super nice to Miles and made his day!
Proof that it's him :)
The kids were amazing on the airplane! I was so worried about it being a disaster that I may have gone a little overboard packing the carry-on bag with treats and activities. I was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly it went.
On the airport shuttle tired and enjoying the extra room :)
It was late when we landed so we slept in a hotel before heading to the beach house. We turned the kids sideways so all 4 could fit in a double bed… Morgan and Miles' feet hung off the side, but amazingly enough, they slept well and nobody fell out of bed :)
Meg slipped over to our bed at some point during the night… I don't mind sharing a pillow with this…
In the morning we drove the 3 1/2 hours to the beach house… The kids were so excited to see the cousins that it felt like an eternity!
Finally we got there and the cousins were waiting!
The girls!
The boys!
Then we stopped by Grandma's nail studio for some bright neon pink nail polish. That's the must have color when at the beach!
We spent some of each day hanging at the beach. That's the best part about staying right on the beach, you just walk out the door and you're there.
This little crab was our buddy for the day. He tried getting away a few times, but Mike was too fast for him to escape.
When we weren't at the beach, we were at the pool in the backyard.
Chad's muscles were the topic of most of Miles' conversations during the week :) All he wants is muscles like Uncle Chad someday. Chad's muscles sure came in handy for kid launching in the pool. Look at Chad's follow-through and Morgan's pointed toes… Good form you two!
One of the best parts of the week was getting to see The Laurence Family. Joy and I became really close friends in Columbus and our kids were best little friends too. We both moved away from Columbus about the same time and it was heartbreaking to think we may not see them again. When they heard we were coming to the East Coast they drove the couple hours from Virginia to hang with us for a couple days. It was amazing to see them! She's one of the few people I get teary over just by hearing her name. We absolutely love them!
The kids picked up right where they left off and had so much fun together.
Us and the Laurence Family...
The week was filled with tons of food and yummy treats…
Kate and Chad knew where all the good treats were. Shaved ice with soft serve was our favorite.
(See Kate's tiny little baby bump… Can't wait to have another nephew and new cousin for the kids in a few months!!)
For breakfast one day we went and got Duck Donuts. You place your order and they make your donut right in front of you. It's fresh and hot and oh so yummy!
I think the lemon with coconut was my favorite, but the maple with bacon was a close second!
The entire Dehner group after stuffing ourselves with Donuts. The sun was a little bright for the little ones :)
One last picture with the Laurence kids before saying good-bye.
Funny Meggie…
Will loves the water but has been scared of learning to swim. He mostly likes to splash around and keep his head above water… Until this trip.
On our first day there Will decided he was ready to swim, so he jumped in the water and started swimming! We were shocked. It only took a few minutes of testing out different arm stokes and kicks until he could swim across the entire pool.
Celebrating the June birthdays... Cousin Tyler turned 8, Will turned 5, and Morgan turned 10. Kate and Chad made some yummy cakes.
Grandma came with fun little activities for the kids… Here they are playing BINGO.
Kate and Chad sure know how to throw a party :)
Uncle Chad entertaining the kids on all the car rides…
Feeding the fish while waiting for be seated for dinner.
Aunt Kate and Miles giving Chad bunny ears :)
Another highlight of the week was seeing the Mangums. The Dehners and the Mangums have been close family friends over the years and Mike and Steve were best friends growing up. It just happened to be our luck that they were vacationing in the Outer Banks at the same time we were. We hooked up one day and had a blast. In the morning the dads took the kids swimming in the warm rain. What cute dads!
Kid flipping and launching never gets old…
When I was pregnant with Morgan we didn't know if she was going to be a boy or a girl, but we knew we were due around Steve's birthday. Mike made Steve a promise that if I delivered on his birthday and it was a boy, we'd name him Steve. I did in fact deliver our baby on Steve's birthday, but was relieved when it was a girl and got to choose our own name for our baby :)
Dehner Clan and Mangum (minus the Seymours and Troba & Steve).
With Troba & Steve…
More pool time… Water fights!
Realizing how hard it is to get a picture without someone trying to photo bomb…
Mike the photo bomber...
Miles the photo bomber...
Chad the photo bomber...
A few family pictures...
Kurt, Shawn and their kids… What a good looking group.
The reunion came to an end way too fast. We loaded 11 people into the Denali and drove that way to the hotel by the airport. We appreciate Mike's family for letting us cram into their car to save us a few hundred bucks on a rental car. It was tight, but after putting a couple beach chairs in the back, it was pretty comfy.
This was the sight we saw when we pulled into our house… I think the neighbors liked having us gone so much that they wanted to make it permanent. We tried not to take it too personally. Besides, they know they aren't getting rid of us that easily. We're kind of attached to them.
