Back in June, our new family of 6 made the trip to Tennessee. We celebrated a dear friend's wedding reception and my dad's birthday, and got to show off Beckham to dozens of friends and family. Besides much of our family being in middle Tennessee, the golden light, the lush landscape, the open fields... there's no place quite like it. Tennessee hasn't been our home for 6 years now (hard to believe!), but it will always be a place of rest and respite for us.

Weekend at Washington

For weeks, we'd planned to spend a sunny Labor Day weekend with our dear friends in their hometown of Washington, NC. And then Hurricane Hermine decided to blow through. So instead of taking the boat out onto the river or spending the day in the hammock, we resorted to other things. Simpler joys. Walking out onto the pier as it drizzled rain. Slow lunches on the screened-in porch. Chocolate ice cream in downtown Washington. 

Our friends, the Watsons, have been true friends since the moment we landed in Raleigh. They have loved us lavishly with their time, their incredible cooking, their wisdom. So to be in their hometown, staying with their family, was a privilege in and of itself. We certainly hope to be back one day soon, maybe when the sun decides to shine.

Our mini-vacay to Wilmington.

On the porch of our little cottage for the week

Strolling through dreamy Southport, NC

On the beach at Oak Island

I probably set my hopes a little too high for our first ever family vacation. Because of our crazy schedules these days, it's rare that Shawn and I have one day a week that neither of us has to work, much less 5 days in a row. So we booked a lovely little bungalow in downtown Wilmington on Airbnb. It's only supposed to be a 2.5-hour driving trip, but 15 miles from our destination, our car overheated (the first time it's ever done that, of course), so our 2.5 hours became 6. That really doesn't sound so bad in hindsight, but with two nap-less kids and melting breastmilk in the back of your car, it feels pretty terrible. When we finally made it, we were sweaty, bedraggled, and exhausted. (Thanks to the mini-fridge in the mechanic's garage, the breastmilk survived.) I was begging for us to just turn around and go home. 

Thankfully, my much more level-headed other half said that no, we'd be staying and making the most of it. I'm so glad we did. The days were long and tiring - as all days are with a two-year-old and a 7-month-old - but we got some much needed time together that wouldn't have happened had we stayed at home and stuck to our normal routine. By the end, Shawn told me, "I think their love tanks are full." I totally agreed. 

Our last day there was by far our best: a trip to Southport, NC and then to Oak Island to meet up with some friends. We'd heard about Southport from friends but knew nothing about it until we rode the ferry just before sunset (so beautiful!) and drove into town. We immediately recognized it from seeing Safe Haven a few years ago... the movie was filmed there. And it's every bit as charming as it was in the movie. Liam learned to love the ocean at Oak Island, which we'll never forget. He had been so timid around the waves until he saw his little buddies from Raleigh jumping right in, and he finally got in and loved it. I've rarely seen him so delighted. 

We also loved Betsy's Crepes in downtown Wilmington enough to eat there twice in two days. (Hello, gluten-free crepes!)

The aquarium at Fort Fisher was also wonderful... Liam even got to touch a starfish and feed a horseshoe crab. 

Now we can't wait to explore it more. Being just two hours from the ocean is a pretty big perk of living in Raleigh.