The Maryland Wisks: Vacation 2010...Part 1

For my money, the Outer Banks of North Carolina is hands down the best vacation that money can buy. I believe it to be the true definition of vacation...you do only what you want to do. No rushing to get to the theme park when it opens, no hustling to make certain that you visit as many family and friends as possible and no wasting gobs of money on eating out and entertainment...that is, unless you want to.

Don't get me wrong. We love that we can take time off to get out and visit family and friends. We wish we could do that more; but those trips are often time far from relaxing. This is a true vacation in that it does recharge you. I'm heading back to work tomorrow and I'm honestly excited about it. I feel refreshed.

We are so fortunate to have a great group of friends to share this now second annual trip with. It's essentially five "couples", although we're prepared to grow once Uncle Louie and Uncle Ben find women to bring along. This group of friends is great in that we're cool if we do stuff together and just as cool if everyone goes separate ways.

This year was especially fun for me. Julia is really just coming into her own and it is so fun to watch. Even though the terrible twos are clearly on their way (we'll have to do a future post on this one), she is generally a good kid that everyone seems to enjoy to be around. It makes me proud to see how much people just love being around her. It tells me that Courtney and I are doing something right in raising her.

Here's a look at our "cottage" for the week. Gotta love the rooftop hot tub. I know we did! Julia was especially fond of the pool. She was getting bolder in the water as the week went on, but Courtney and I clearly need to get her more time in the water.

Jules made a new friend in baby Ashton on vacation this year. Ashton is a year younger than Julia, but they got along great. Ashton was another good kid. Hopefully Dawn and Richie join us for future getaways because Julia and Ashton seemed to have fun together...especially when Aunt Christy was reading to them!

Jules also spent quality time with Aunt Heather and even had her share of time with the boys! I didn't mind her hanging with the boys this time because I was there to keep an eye on her (and the keg)!