Family Time at Oak Island beach

Following the wedding - despite losing the newlyweds, P.O. Hawkins and two husbands (Jim and Craig) - the rest of us loaded up and headed down to Oak Island, NC for 6 days together at the beach. The 'beach house' (condo) was just the right size for the 10 of us, and the best part was that it was located on a quiet stretch of Caswell Beach in a small development that had 2 swimming pools and beautiful live oak trees lining the streets. A few days were very hot & humid, but we also had 2 or 3 days of clouds and thunderstorms. This section of beach is also a sea turtle sanctuary, and we were hoping to see some of the eggs hatching but had to content ourselves with gazing at the marked-off nests and hearing stories from the locals.

As you can gather...the kids feature most prominently in the photo-taking! But we also had a good time chowing down on all the great food that Mom brought (plus good melon and blueberries from a local farm stand); jumping & swimming in the waves (particularly on the windy days when the waves were bigger); besting each other in bocce games along the golf course in the fading evening light (once the kids were in bed); watching Lillian and Jack gain confidence in the water (not that Jack needed much help, he was a daredevil!) and seeing Lillian swim with her head underwater; and having afternoon naps. Well, that last one was a highlight for me anyway.

Even 4 month-old Asher liked his first time at the beach! Below: Lillian specifically asked to be buried in the sand, so of course Jack had to join in too.


We saw many brown pelicans, including when they flew over and dived into the waves to catch fish. Gulp.

An afternoon walk around historic Southport, along the Cape Fear River.

Lillian and Wes having some cuddle time.

Another favorite activity was to stick these two cousins next to each other and 'see' what they would do (i.e. whose hand or foot would make it first into the other's mouth). Wow, in this photo, Wes looks like he's actually trying to hold Asher's hand.

Storytime before bed with Grandpa.

Back from the beach...and a Sunday supper of chicken, biscuits, cajun fries and sweet tea at Bojangle's!! Since it was Lillian and Jack's first experience, I had to photo-document it. The Bo-berry biscuit was the most popular menu item with them.