Oak Island and Michigan 2017

“I never want to leave this sunset town, but one day the time may come.  And I’ll take you at your word, and carry on.  I’ll hate the goodbye, but I won’t forget the good times.”

-All Time Low, Good Times

This summer is the last summer that it will just be the two of us!  Will and I are so incredibly excited for August, and getting to start our family of three!  However, since this is the last little bit of time we have with the two of us- we wanted to really try to make a trip with each of our families work this summer.  We wanted to have time to share our pregnancy with both families, stay up late, go out, and really enjoy the trips that each of us grew up loving.  Next year will be so much fun when Annabelle Grace is ranging from 9-12 months when we hopefully have these same vacations with our families.  We will be playing differently, following nap and sleep schedules, and loving every minute of it- but it will be different.  We are so glad we could make these trips work this summer.  Here are a few recaps!

At the end of May we went to Oak Island, North Carolina with my family.  I was just starting my third trimester of pregnancy.  Yes- we did drive!  We did stop a good bit for bathroom breaks, but the traveling itself wasn’t all that bad!  Our first stop Saturday was to Provision Company in Southport while waiting on the rest of my family to arrive!  We had shrimp, crab cakes, and corn on the cob, and it was delicious!

 Once everyone showed up, we found our house, and of course had to see the beach!!  We did, obviously, document my belly as well!!!

My sister, Kristin and her family- Brad, Ava and Kylie showed up late Saturday evening- so of course we stayed up to see them!  Of course Ava and Kylie LOVE Will! (Which is a good sign, since he is so close to becoming a “girl dad!”)

We took Ava to Carolina Beach with us to ride the Ferry and get donuts at Britt’s!  This particular time of the year they are only open on the weekends, so Sunday was the only day we would have a chance to get them!  Britt’s Donuts, by the way, is very well known, even outside of North Carolina.  The only type of donuts they serve are glazed donuts, and the lines are always insane to wait in to get them!  For anyone living in Arkansas, I would describe them as similar to Shipley’s Donuts.

Ava passed out on the way home waiting for the Ferry, though she would tell your differently- and that she was just pretending!.

Of course, when we finally made it back- it was time to go back to the beach!!!

From there on out, we had plenty of great meals with lots of seafood!  Of course we ate at Provision several more times, walked around Southport, and visited the Farmer’s Market on Oak Island. (and I bought a hair bow of course!)

One of the last days we were in Oak Island, there was a pretty big storm! The ocean was very rough, lots of hail, wind, and the road even flooded up a little bit!  I always enjoy a good storm at the beach- so long as it isn’t like that all week!!

All in all we had a great trip to the coast of North Carolina.  We’re looking forward to when we get to take Annabelle Grace one day!

Our next family trip of the summer would be with Will’s family to Michigan.  Once we got home from the beach with my family we had an appointment, and unfortunately found out I would be dealing with Gestational Diabetes for the rest of my pregnancy.  We kept our fingers crossed and hoped this wouldn’t interfere with our potential trip near the end of July.  I would be almost 35 weeks along when we would leave for Michigan, so you never know what could happen by that point.  Fortunately we were cleared once again for this trip!  We had to drive again, and stopping to move around and drinking plenty of water were even more crucial.  Because of this, we did turn the trip there and back into two day trips.

We made it a few days before Will’s parents arrived, but had a little time with his Aunt Kelly and his grandparents.  Kelly and Will decided they needed to get in the water.  It was incredibly cold and the water was even colder!  They did it though- and actually swam around a good bit!

While in Michigan, we ended up having amazing weather.  Every day there was supposed to be a pretty good chance of rain/storms- but every day, it ended up being wonderful weather!  It only really rained on Saturday when Will and I had to leave anyhow.  The water was still super cold this year- but I did get in.  The first day it was a little too cold for me still, but as the week went on, and the weather got warmer, I could bear it a little more!  I even sat on a paddle board while Will paddled me around!  His arms and core definitely got a good workout!

We also made to get a belly shot on this trip too, since we did one in NC at the beginning of my third trimester!

We did tons of walking while in Epworth, to try to keep my numbers for my glucose low- and apparently it worked wonders!  The whole we we were in Michigan I only had a few “bad” readings.  Because we were able to keep my numbers so low, we did FINALLY cheat one day and get REAL ice cream.  I got that small scoop in a cup so that I could really take my time eating it!  I even got a little whip cream on top- and I enjoyed every bite!

We also splurged a little on the diet and had Bortell’s with Will’s parents one day.  We got fried whitefish, french fries, and coleslaw- and it was wonderful!

As the week went on, by the end of the day- my walking realllllllly slowed down!  (We seriously walked several miles a day!) Will thought it was funny to use SnapChat to document just how fast we were truly going.  He of course waited until our last walk of the day, after being in the sun all day, and going up a hill!!  It really is kind of funny though!  However- at least I was still moving! At almost 36 weeks!!

Our trip to Michigan was also wonderful, and I’m so glad it also worked out for us!  (and we came back with baby still intact!)

Now that our last two family trips as a family of two have happened- we wait for little Ms. Annabelle Grace to decide to grace us with her presence!  We did have an appointment once we got home from Michigan, and much to our surprise- she has flipped head down!  Now, here’s to hoping she stays that way!

Soon- I’ll post a completed Nursery Blog Reveal!  Stay tuned!