We all know the feeling when you pull into your driveway after a long drive home from vacation...it's a nice mixture of it's good to be home and an awful dread of "back to reality". Even the best vacations always come to an end!

1. Driving over 9 hours 9 months pregnant wasn't great but it was worth the destination! We loved where we got to stay in Emerald Isle, NC.

2. The house we stayed in was actually for sale, only $2.8 million - anyone want to spot me a loan? You can visit of course :) It was beach front, 6 bed/6bath, with a pool on a deck overlooking the ocean.

3. I only used my hairdryer once on vacation..I embrace my natural hair texture in that kind of humidity :)

4.My kids were up every day at 6:30am ready to start the fun! It definitely is a different kind of vacation with toddlers.

5. I pretty much ate a dilly bar from Dairy Queen every day at 3pm....and sometimes repeated at 9pm! I think the dilly bars by the pool had an extra yumminess to them!

6. I read two books, Beachcombers by Nancy Thayer and Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks. (Yes you can read a couple books during naptime hours sitting by the pool). They were definitely both good beach/summer reads. Beachcombers was set in Nantucket and had some great poignant family dynamics. Safe Haven was much more of an intense -don't-want-to-put-down book with some twists and turns. As many of Nicholas Sparks books are, it was set in his native state of North Carolina. I always feel like I need to read one of his books when I am visiting an NC beach, just feels right!

7. I decided it was time to see what all the fuss was about Glee, so I borrowed season one from the library and asked my sis Ashley to get into watching it with me. Needless to say, we were sucked in right away and need to get our hands on season two! Lets hope the library has that one too...

8. We got to NC on the night before Easter, knowing we wouldn't be joining our church families to celebrate Easter we decided to do it a little differently this year. We watched the Passion of the Christ which I must say is extremely powerful. I haven't been able to bring myself to watch it since I saw it in the theater years ago. I think it was the perfect way to remind me of Christ's sacrifice and truly contemplate Easter.

9. My kids absolutely loved every minute of being at the beach with the whole family. Our week was full of precious memories togeteher. I did take a good amount of pics and will post some soon. There were many moments when I found myself just watching and getting a little emotional because I know these memories are already fleeting. M & D are growing so fast. Sometimes when I take a snapshot I know that years down the road I will look at it with longing for these sweet days. (I remind myself of that when the terrible twos rear it's ugly head!). It was also precious to see them experiencing such great love from family - they have great relationships with their grandparents and aunts and uncles. It's wonderful to grow up in such a web of love and support!

10. Last but not least..I am having a baby in 26 days (if all goes according to plan)! holy cow! Coming home to that reality is even more of a wake up call than most post-vacation depressions. It's more like a post-vacation freak out to get ready for number three :) Just taking it one day at a time!

Dean LOVED the ocean, no fear at all (which of course made Mommy nervous!). Daddy loved having a mini-playmate at the beach. Matt even has a small surfboard he is saving to teach the kids on when they're ready :)

Macy loved walking on the sand but it took her some getting used to. I couldn't get enough of her cuteness and pretty much think she was the Coppertone baby come to life :)

For those who have wanted to see some belly pics, Matt offered to take a few our last night at the beach.
It's funny, I love to take maternity photos but sort of shudder at the idea of getting them taken! Thanks Matt for making me feel pretty despite the triple chin :)

Emily Troutman Photography