This month my mom’s side of the family met in the Outer Banks (North Carolina) for a family reunion!
On the way to the East Coast, we checked off a bucket list item by flying on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner! (AND in Premium Economy - lots of room for an Anchorage to Dallas flight!) After we flew into D.C., we drove down to Yorktown, Virginia to stay with my sister’s family for the night. It was a Friday afternoon, so we naturally we got stuck in traffic and decided to take some side roads for a more scenic (and less crowded) drive.
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| Andrew and “Uncle” Ted Stevens at the Anchorage airport |
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| Digitally-adusted window screens! |
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| Premium Economy! |
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| Giant windows! |
Saturday morning we drove down to North Carolina and hung out on the beach while we waited for the house my immediate family stayed in for the week. That night my parents and twin sister’s family drove in as well.
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| Almost there! |
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| Patriots Place: our home for the week |
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| That view! |
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| Ethan and Andrew enjoying the house's pool table |
Sunday morning, all of the aunts, uncles, cousins (and their kids) gathered for a family brunch. My cousins even remembered Grandpa Gobbo’s favorite coffee crumb cake (Entemann’s!) for the brunch! It was so great seeing everyone again. Later that morning my brother and his family arrived as well. It was the first time our entire (immediate) family has been together in five years.
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| Toasting Grandpa and Grandma Gobbo |
Sunday night we all experienced a true Outer Banks tradition - ghost crabbing!
Monday was another great beach day, followed by an evening bottle share.
Tuesday involved, you guessed it, the beach! A shorter day though as our soccer-loving family gathered in the afternoon to watch the U.S. Women play in the World Cup semifinals.
Then after the game, we headed down to the beach for LOTS of family photos!
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| The Gobbos invade! |
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| The Gobbo clan |
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| The Andersons |
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| My awesome older brother and sister... |
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| Anderson siblings |
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| Nana, Pop Pop, and their Anderson grandkids |
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| Anderson twins |
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| Gichards |
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| Gobbo cousins |
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| My nephew, Ty |
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| My nephew, Wes |
After photos, we headed back to the house and hung out and played some cornhole... Jayhawk cornhole!
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| Wes and Nana looking at pictures |
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| The "greenbelt" behind the house |
Wednesday a handful of us went out on a horse Jeep tour to experience the famous wild horses of Corolla!
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| Our ride! |
Thursday was the Fourth of July. After more time at the beach, we gathered at our house for a barbecue BBQ, followed by a water fight (kids versus the adults), dessert and fireworks!
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| Deer! |
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| Making bubble waffle ice cream cones |
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| The cone chefs |
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| My waffle cone! |
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| My brother was worn out! |
Friday was the last day at the beach, and some of the family started departing.
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| My favorite spot in the beach house - the hammock deck |
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| The view from my hammock of choice |
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| My nephew's Jayhawk pillow pet - he wouldn't let me take it home... |
Saturday, we cleaned up, loaded up, and
headed back to Virginia.
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| The last sunrise of Beach Week |
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| Hanging with Pop Pop |
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| Wes helping load up |
**All photography on this blog are property of the user.**
