Birthday Surprise

I did not expect my 29th birthday to be anything special. I figured enjoying the well-wishes from friends and family would be plenty more than I needed to celebrate my special day. Turns out, Devin had something more in mind. He told me to pack up the kids, all my pumped breastmilk, and be ready to go before dawn on Saturday morning. So, off we went! I noticed the navigation system said we had a 6 hour ride ahead of us, so I assumed we were going to his mom's for the weekend at the beach. I was half right!

We took both kids to his Mom's house in Newport, NC where she had made us a fantastic lunch and a yummy birthday cake. We unloaded all the kid's gear and the kids themselves, smooched everyone goodbye and headed for historic Beaufort! The weather was PERFECT and Devin had gotten us a room at the Inlet Inn, a gorgeous B&B right on the water. You could look out of our balcony right over to the harbor and beyond that, had a great view of Carrot Island. We saw quite a few wild horses right from our hotel room!

After checking in, we took a walk around the town to explore and get some fresh ocean air

After that, we took a boat called the Water Bug, which took us up and down the harbor. The captain gave us some history and pointed out the landmarks. The best part was the late day sun started to set and the boat driver put on James Taylor (who i'm not a huge fan of, but damn, talk about relaxing mood!), and we settled back to watch the scenery

View of the wild horses from the boat

Our hotel

So, that night, I got my first night of REAL sleep in a LONG time. I woke up once to pump, and then passed back out immediately thereafter. We had breakfast in the room and I got to actually read a book in peace while Devin took a morning jog. I can't remember the last time I'd read a book in the sunshine of a Sunday morning. That is pretty darn near Heaven!

We left before checkout time and headed back to Devin's Mom to pick up the kiddos and to relieve Debbie from her long night. Lily had a blast and doubt she even missed us. Gramma put her to work blowing dandelions in the backyard, which is a great job for a three year old:

On our way home, we stopped at Emerald Isle, which is like 5 miles from Devin's Mom's house. It was a gorgeous day and Lily was itching to play on the beach. Devin is clearly the fun parent, because by the time I strapped Colin into the carrier and made it down to the beach, both of them were waist deep in the ocean, splashing around.

Lily has a tiny butt and her pants have trouble staying up anyway, but add a little water and its a full moon!

Colin's first trip to the beach -- which he slept the whole time!