House of Swick: OBX Vacation 2013

Another trip to the Outer Banks has come and gone. This is our 4th year going to the OBX, and yet we haven't grown tired of it at all. In fact, this was probably our best year thus far. No family drama, no trip catastrophes, no injuries. Just pure fun, sun, and relaxation.

Enjoying a nice margarita after driving 14 hours.

I submitted this photo for the Mom of the Year contest.
It actually wasn't as bad as it looks, think God. I used a "vibrant" color filter on this photo, so the burn is intensified.
I mean, she was still pink, but after some aloe, she was fine by the end of the night.

Emma & Drew enjoying our pool.

What a difference a year makes:
Drew wouldn't dare jump into the water last year; he stood by the rail the entire time.
This year, you couldn't keep the kid out of the water! Nor from jumping every 5 seconds!

Cousins!

Poor Drewbie.....he wanted NOTHING to do with these bumper cars.
Good thing we wasted $10 for FIVE FREAKING MINUTES on this car.
What a joke!

My OBX beach babes.

SHE. IS. AWESOME.

Just chillin in the hot tub with a cold ~~beer~~ Diet Coke.
It's a rough life.

Emma's soul purpose right now is to either be a gymnast OR a surfer chick.
I think it's safe to say she at least looks the part, eh?
And Drewbie?
Well his soul purpose is to just A) get dirty, B) wreck trucks into things, or C) destroy any and every thing he sees.
Clearly, he's achieving just that.

Pure joy

I conquered two 500-piece puzzles during the evenings.
I ended up becoming obsessed with getting them done!

Our Grill Master for the week!

My 'lil hot tubbers.

The fabulous Uncle ~~Poodle~~ Matt, rockin' the hot pink OBX sweatshirt.
In 90-degree heat.

Putt-Putt

Perfect shot of how our game of miniature golf went:
Emma (in the background) concentrating hard on getting the ball in the hole, competitive as ever.
And Drewbie just climbing on top of a rock, probably looking for rolly-pollies.
Classic.

Emma made a hole-in-one on her very first hole.

I kid you not.
In fact, she made two hole-in-ones on the first 3 holes.

Drewbie fell asleep in Uncle Matt's lap.

So we had a little fun by placing some props in his hand..........

Getting ready to board the Pirate Adventures ship!

"Elegant Emma" showing off her mermaid arm tattoo.

"Dangerous Drew" showing off his sword arm tattoo.

Sneaking up to the pirate ship............

..........don't let those pirates hear you coming!

Walking the "plank" out to the dock.

Aboard the Sea Gypsy,

I thought this was interesting.
LEFT: the different weather flags that they put up, warning people of any incoming storms.
CENTER: The red line shows how high the water came up from Hurricane Irene in 2011.
RIGHT: a story of the water tower (boring)