toil...

I was emotionally and physically exhausted on the drive home alone late last night.

After a long day of strenuous manual labor on our 1820 house that amounted to us completing absolutely NOTHING except causing more future work for ourselves, I quickly had to jump into musician mode with a 4 1/2 hour rehearsal for an outdoor production I'm playing this weekend.

And after factoring in a sinus infection that just won't go away and the backyard Bible club I helped lead this week, I was just struck with such an overwhelming sense of how toilsome and chaotic life feels right now.

I couldn't help but ask God out loud, "Why does nothing ever seem EASY, God?  Why must life always be full of toil and tension?"  (I love that we have a God who invites His children to come and complain to him.  [see the Psalms])

In the "befores" and "afters," I guess I'm just ready to skip right along to the "after" part.

 When you're in the middle of a home renovation and trying to be a mom to two young, spirited kids who are both home and needing from you constantly, life feels unusually unbalanced and overwhelming.   

Frustrations run high.  

Lots of opportunities to apologize and forgive are created.

But amid all the current toil, I'm looking back at the simplicity and peace we had just a few short weeks ago at the beach, when the only thing we had to do was enjoy ourselves and make memories together.  

Ahhh, how I'm longing for that again!

I'm remembering how sweet it was to watch Jameson gain the courage to take the first step in wave riding: throwing down his board into the water and hopping on just like daddy does when he rides onto the shore.

Caroline's now an old pro

wave riders

I'm remembering the joy of playfulness.

 I'm remembering how magical it was to capture the unbelievable moment we saw dolphins jumping FROM THE SHORE, as if they were giving us our own show.

During all the struggle and toil and sawdust and fleas it helps to look back and know it won't always feel this way.  Happier, more peaceful days are truly ahead...

the cycle of siblings..

Brother and sister playing happily together.

Brother gets a mischievous idea. 

A mud fight quickly follows.

Sooner or later, laughter turns into tears...

...which either ends in someone getting hurt or the need to go your own way.

This time, separation was the key.

Until it's time to get back together and do it all over again.

a place like no other...

I know, I know.  I promised to spare you from a million horse pictures.

But I can't help it.  This place is HOPPING with wild horses, it's crazy!

We are having so much fun spotting the horses every time we go to the beach.

 They're in people's yards, 

they're along the roads 

and on the beach.  

Rockstars of the beach

 This afternoon we were enjoying some family time on the beach, and look who suddenly walked right in front of us?

Horse Crossing

Yep.  Just on their way.

Oblivious to everyone pulling out their cameras.

This horse kinda creeped me out when it appeared to start following us.

After a certain point, we just let him pass and continue his evening stroll along the ocean.

 This place is so, so beautiful and surreal.

Perfect for horsing around....

7 year old blogger at OBX...

Hi! My family is at the beach for seven days. There are wild horses on the beach.

I love to see the wild horses. You cannot be closer than 50 feet from them.

I decided to write a blog post about our time at the beach yesterday. Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere...

Well, the water was FREEZING and my teeth were chattering, but, I wanted to ride my boogie-board. So, I did. I wanted to have fun, so I did.

We looked in the car and saw a super-hero boogie-board and I thought Jameson (my little brother) would like it. He does whatever I do, so, I got my boogie-board, he got his, I got in the water, he didn't dare to go in the water. He does whatever I do!!! I guess maybe not this time. (Haha!)

There were HUGE jumping fish in the waves, splashing and playing. A fisher-bird swooped down, grabbed a fish, and flew off. The picture is the fisher-bird grabbing a fish. I thought, Wow! This is amazing!

At first I thought I saw a shark fin and then, we screamed. "It's a...DOLPHIN!!!!!" Sorry, but it is NOT a shark. I know you all like sharks. (Haha!)

 That is me. Scanning the water for dolphins. As soon as I saw one swimming away from me, I raced down the beach where it was. Mom was running down the beach behind me with her camera.

"Eek, Eek, Eek!" Here is a picture of two dolphins playing. "ADORABLE!" I shrieked. They were playing wildly. Their fins were up out of the water.

Me and Jameson LOVE building sandcastles. "Ah we building nec, Caline?" Jameson said. Do you need the translation? Ok. Here it is: "What are we building next, Caroline?"

I'm telling dad which wave to ride. He chose....that one!

Finally, the end. Time to say good-bye to all your friends. But before you go, my mom wants to say something. "My 7 year old blogger loves to write to you."   See you all very soon! Bye!

wild horses can't drag me away...

I know of very few places on earth like this place, where wild horses roam freely along the beach.  It's unbelievable, and every time I spot one, I can't help but reach for my camera.  (I promise to sift through my pictures and spare you from 1,000 endless horse pictures...)  It's the law to stay 50+ feet away from them, but it just looks and feels so surreal that about 100 of these endangered wild horses, descended straight from Spanish conquistadors, are right here with us.

the jeep tour companies are rolling in the dough

It's popular for visitors to the Outer Banks to take Jeep tours to see the horses.  At around $150 a pop, folks load up into commercial 4x4 vehicles that will give them an hour's ride on the 4x4 beach and a guaranteed horse sighting.   

 But if you go that route, you don't get the advantage of spotting the wild horses around "town."

 And you may not be lucky enough to see the horses on full display.  

To be able to drive onto the beach morning, noon, and night with your own 4x4 is so much better, not to mention tons more convenient with kids, since there's nothing you have to lug to the beach with you-- it's already in your car and you simply pull out what you need!

Here's a few horse shots from yesterday...

Insert "why did the horse cross the road" joke here

 Oh, you know,

just another day seeing wild horses walk the beach.

Loving this place! 

I'll keep putting up with the smelly water and creepy pirate guy for this any day. 

a birthday to remember

glorified camping...

 Day 2 of our vacation in the 4x4 area of the Outer Banks and we're having a grand time.

Maaaybe I'm slowly getting used to the stinky sulphur water?

But I'm DEFINITELY not okay with this guy yet.

So why did we choose the creepy pirate guy house, then?   (I had NO idea he came with this house, fyi.)

Here's a big reason.  Our house sits on a canal where we can walk out our back door and go fishing, crabbing, and kayaking galore! 

It was the kids' first fishing of the week and Jameson's first ever.

Marc saw his line moving within a few minutes, so I grabbed his pole.

 And reeled in this little guy!

Jameson, who had been so confident and excited about catching a fish, saw the ACTUAL fish and took off running scared, ha ha!

 So I've decided this place is really more like glorified camping.  (I suppose that could be good or bad depending on what you think about camping.)

We're far away from civilization.  There's not even true roads here!  We're dealing with all the elements of nature including biting flies and now....

SNAKES!

Yes, I encountered a long, black snake in the backyard twice yesterday, just when I was really starting to like this place.  Screamed so loud I probably traumatized my children.  Marc had to convince me the snake is terrified of me and not out to attack me, but that isn't keeping me from stomping, clapping, and making a fool of myself with noise every time I walk by the place where Mr. Snake and I met.

 At least with this kind of camping, I have a bathroom. (though it has smelly water...)

And a dishwasher.

And an air-conditioned home.

Jameson crashed on the kayak ride

But snakes??  Really?  (shudder)

And then this is in the backyard, too.  Maybe a little grass snake isn't quite so bad...