By: Anna
We finally got to Beaufort after the longest drive in all of history. I know the drive isn't really that long but HONESTLY! Even Mom and Dad were feeling the pain.
Today is Evan's 12th birthday (hard to believe right?) so we decided to take the whole family down to Beaufort. Mom is here for the weekend but Dad is staying the whole week. Evan and I are here while he is in sail camp.
Anyway, we FINALLY got out of that car and ate lunch with Mimi and Papa. It wasn't too long before we heard Maddie playing at her house so we had to go say hi. Evan, Maddie and I ended up spending the rest of the afternoon downtown going in all the shops and walking back home.
This morning once everyone got up we dressed in our most patriotic clothes to head downtown for the Fourth of July parade. My friend Allie from Illinois was in town with her grandma so I called her over for the parade and she joined the crew for the rest of the day.
We walked home from the parade with a purse-ful of candy, ready for a sandwich.
After lunch we piled on the boat to get some tubing in on the new tube. It was crazy windy so we had HUGE waves in the sound. We ended up fitting all 3 kids on the tube by the end of the day.
 |
| Allie and me, and the tube makes three!! |
When we got home we were completely covered in salt so we showered up and walked downtown before supper. After supper we played a little football and volleyball until it was time to go back out on the boat. This time it was too cold to get wet so we took the boat to the end of carrot island to watch the fireworks over Beaufort, Morehead AND Atlantic Beach.
Sunday July, 5th
This morning we ended up making the breakfast of kings! We filled the table up with pancakes and bacon to start of Mom's last day with us. We chilled most of the morning and headed over to Atlantic Beach after lunch so Mom could look for some swimsuits at Sandi's. This bored Evan and I so we went to all the super touristy beach stores that sell all the cheap stuff.
When we got home we fixed supper and brownies to feed the troops before our kayak trip. Evan and Dad ended up backing out so they could watch the beginning of the women's world cup.
 |
| Just take a minute to appreciate the artsy-ness of this perfect picture. 1. You have blue and this super cool yellow color complementing each other on either side of me. 2. It's kayaking in front of a sunset... I mean dude. Try to begin to top that. 3. It has chacos. For those of you that don't know, they're the best shoe in this whole wide world. |
 |
| I GOT A PICTURE OF PAPA!!!! Isn't his doo-rag the coolest thing in the world?!?!? |
Monday July, 6th
This morning I got up as Evan was leaving for his first day of Sail Camp! Mimi and I spent the morning hanging out, we organized a drawer in the kitchen and read a few magazines.
Papa came back home around 10 and told us there was a shortage of sailors for the FJs and if I wanted a spot in the program I could have it! I got all ready and we drove back to the sailing center and where I joined the class.
We didn't do anything in the water besides capsize recovery... not even the swim test! We focused more on rigging, derigging, points of sail, and maneuvering the boat.
When we got home we invited Allie and Autumn out on the boat for the afternoon. Autumn introduced us to a new way of tubing where we lay down over the doughnut that ended up helping a ton. Papa took Allie and I all the way out to the inlet, we know for sure we'll be sore tomorrow.
When we anchored we took out the football and played with it in the shallow area until I convinced Autumn to tube home with me.
After supper Allie and I walked downtown where she introduced me to razzles! I'd only heard of them in '13 Going on 30' so those were a treat!
Tuesday July, 7th
Today at sail camp we got to get out on the FJs, Issac and I were partners and Evin, Evan and Sean were on the other boat. Yes, there are 2 Evans! One is a girl going into 10th grade and the other is my brother. We did the oval course today and had a good time singing a bunch of random songs.
 |
| Evan and Shawn |
 |
| Evin, Issac and me |
After lunch I napped. It was really nice because I was flat out exhausted. Papa woke me up so we could go on a hunt for sailing shoes for me. We ended up getting hot pink crocs which are totally GORGEOUS! Evan got black crocs and a doo-rag to act as his hat at sail camp.
Ada and her grand kids came to visit for a minute before we took the boat out to Finz for supper with Autumn... we were on the boat as the sun was setting so it was gorgeous!
Wednesday July, 8th
Today I was on an FJ with Evin and Issac where we perfected the controlled jibe which is kinda a big deal.
When we got back home we went downtown with Autumn because she hadn't been to the general store yet. Evan picked up his friend from sail camp, Sean. While we were down there we stopped at the maritime museum and took a minute to do the scavenger hunt.
When we got back home Allie picked me up to go shopping with her aunt and grandma. She drove for a while and was actually really good at it! At Belks we had pretty much no luck, I ended up buying a pair of shorts for $10.08 with a savings of 22 dollars!
We got back home just in time for Wednesday night free sail where Evan and I got some one on one sailing with Dad.
 |
| Dad started off on the sunfish all by himself, he made a very very very fast docking after about 5 minutes to pick me up to sail with him. |
 |
| We had a great time sailing together |
 |
| Evan decided it would be funny to take Dad out on an opti... they nearly sunk!!! |
 |
| Dad decided to skipper after some serious bow plowing. |
 |
| Dad just realized that he had to somehow dock. |
 |
| Evan was glad to be alive after sailing with Dad |
This morning I was on a boat with Evin and Issac, there were strong winds and about 3/4 of the way through we capsized! We didn't feel too bad about it because the boys had capsized too.
 |
| Evan's capsize |
After lunch I set up my eno hammock and napped there for the afternoon. Evan, Sean, Dad and Papa went kayaking this evening while Mimi and I stayed home... It's day 7 and I'm exhausted!
Friday July, 10th
At sail camp this morning I was on a boat with Issac and Sean while the 2 Evans were together. We sailed a windward/ leeward course and got more practice with our controlled jibes. Next week we are looking forward to sailing in the sound and learning how to roll tack!
For the afternoon we chilled, Mimi and I worked on cleaning up the pantry while Evan and Sean went to the movies.
Mom got here around 5, we fixed supper and caught up for pretty much the rest of the night. This has been the first night I've stayed up past 9:30 because I DON"T HAVE TO WAKE UP AT 7 TOMORROW!!!
Saturday July, 11th
This morning we got to sleep in til 8! That's the latest I've slept in ALL SUMMER LONG!
We took Mom and Dad out on the boat and got in a whole lot of tubing... Evan and I tubed all the way to the Cape, then Mom and Evan tubed to the back of Shack, then Mom and I finished the ride all the way home.
 |
| A beautiful family |
 |
| Sorry Dad, Papa added this one. |
 |
| The sandcastle masters! |
 |
| Papa, the anti-sun monster!!!!! |
At the Cape we played in the water for a solid 1/2 hour just experimenting with the current, it was RIPPING up by the beach!
Mom and I took some time to build our first traditional sand castle. (Cause we've always done the drip kinda ones.)
While Mom and Evan were tubing I learned how to drive the boat and towed them the whole time!
When we got home and clean we watched 'The Imitation Game' which was super good, it took place back in WW2. Anyways, go watch it. Totally recommend it.
Sunday July, 12th
We got up at 7:30 this morning to get all fancy for church this morning, it's the new pastor's second week and he had a really great sermon!!! We all wore our super fancy dresses!
 |
| Three beautiful ladies! By now I'm hoping you can tell when Papa edits stuff. Like this caption :) |
We went on an evening cruise with Mimi (Mom and Dad left after lunch) and guess what? Papa didn't REALLY check the Weatherbug so we ended up getting poured on. Seriously. I was sitting up front holding down the tube and I don't think I could've been more soaked if I jumped in Taylors Creek.
 |
| There's a storm comin!! |
 |
| Evan navigates the boat safely through the storm |
 |
| Sometime even teenagers like to play in the mud puddle |
Monday July, 13th
This morning at sail camp Evan and I got to sail together! The only downer is our brother-sister team was split up by a nasty thunderstorm around 10:30.
After lunch I napped and napped and napped. It was great til Papa woke me up to run some errands. Have to say, they weren't bad because I got a new shirt and ice cream out of them!
 |
| One of the great things about living in Beaufort is that we can bike to Sail Camp. |
Mimi observed a lady across the street from the house on the ground and went to check on her. She found that the lady was painting a picture of one of Mimi's gardens. She insisted that she give it to Mimi. It is quite good.
\
Tuesday July, 14th
Evin and I were sailing today and we got to start experimenting with roll tacks. I have to say, I think we are most definitely experts.
When we got home we picked up Allie to go for her last boat trip before she went back home. It was SUPER windy today so the waves were huge! We did a bunch of tubing and some serious wave jumping.
While we were on the tube dolphins came up literally 6 ft away. It was totally insane!!
When we got home I got all dressed up cause I felt like it. I'm not kidding when I say DRESSed up! We ended up eating out at the mexican restaurant downtown.
That awkward moment when you try to teach Papa how to take a selfie...
Wednesday July, 15th
Evin and I got to be partners again today! There was some more good wind, enough to break our block holding in the jib sheets. We were able to reattach it using some of the line tying down our hiking straps and Phil's pocket knife.
 |
| "Hiking out looking awesome" |
At the cookout I played tag with all the little kids for a while but stopped to watch Evan sail. You will never believe who sat next to me. Mary Wesley, who I met 3 years ago at a different cookout was talking to me for a solid hour and I didn't realize it was her til she said bye. We really hit it off so I invited her out on the boat for tomorrow afternoon.
Thursday July, 16th
This morning we rigged up Scrubway (Subway - the name of the FJ) to take out, FULLY RIGGED! When we went to set sail we realized "Shoot. The main sheet is missing." We were all so pumped to be going on one boat all together so Phil threatened to take it away unless we de-rigged this boat and rigged another in less than 10 minutes. We finished in 7.
We were all sailing pretty good until Phil came and got Evin and I on the chase boat. There was a maritime museum rep there so they didn't want to break any rules so Evin and I rigged our third boat of the day.
There was absolutely no wind today so we all beached our boats and explored carrot island for a while. When that got too hot we all just floated in Taylors Creek for the rest of the morning.
When we got back from sailing we ate lunch and headed out to the boat with Mary Wesley and Sean.
We got in a ton of tubing and jumping. We tubed with every combination of people and when we got sick of that we went to jump waves. When that got boring we did more tubing. We ended the evening jumping off the bow of the boat in Taylors Creek.
 |
| We tried to be tough... |
We all got home and showered up to go to supper. During dinner we sat in the back room doing dubsmash stuff and just goofing off because we're kids and that's accepted here.
Today is Mimi and Papa's 49th Wedding Anniversary!!! We didn't really have a big celebration but we took some cute pictures of them!
 |
| Aren't they just the cutest with their cute matching outfits?!?!?! |
This morning I was sail partners with Sean for our very last day of sail camp! We ended the morning with "graduation" where we got our little red books and tests back.
 |
| The FJ squad!!! Caroline, Me, Sean, Evan, Issac, and Phil And Phil has his arm around an imaginary Evin because she left early. |
 |
| The dream team.... |
 |
| Our instructors for sail camp Rebecca, Ashley, Mills, Will, Katy, Caroline, Phil, James, and John |
 |
| Lunch at El's under the trees. |
Sean and Mary Wesley came home with us so we could all go out on the boat. Today we decided to try boating with 2 tubes! We blew up the doughnut AND the double-decker!
 |
| Everyone - "Speed UP" Mary Wesley- "I'm gonna cry" |
After tubing ourselves silly we played on sand dollar/ pop-up island for about an hour. We dug a super deep hole and buried Evan in it!
 |
| Float chains so the current doesn't take us away |
 |
| Evan, Sean Wiley, me and Mary Wesley Craft |
Evan played at Sean's house the rest of the evening while Mimi and I checked out the fishing tournament tent downtown.
Saturday July, 18th
This morning I tried really hard to sleep in but that didn't work out. DISAPPOINTING! We spent pretty much the whole day shopping for furniture for the our new house in Cary.
We kinda just relaxed the rest of the day.
Sunday July, 19th
This morning Mimi and I got all fancy to go to church. When we got home Papa had a photo shoot ready for us!
For the afternoon Evan and I went over to Atlantic Beach with Mary Wesley to jump waves and hang out in the pool. We had a great time teaching her younger sister how to jump waves without falling!
Monday July, 20th
This morning we had to wake up super early so we could meet Papa Joe and some of his friends out on the sailboat. In total we had 8 people on the boat with 2 coolers heading 13 miles to the Cape.
 |
| He's finally learning this whole selfie thing... |
 |
| Hanging on in rough seas! |
 |
| "I think I'm gonna jump!" |
Evan was skipper for a while on the way back and let me tell you, he is great! He managed to hold a heading better than any of the other adults on the boat (except Papa)!
 |
| Julie jumping off the bow |
 |
| That's captain to you |
Tuesday July, 21st
Today we relaxed for most of the morning, but by the afternoon we were bored! We decided to go to the aquarium for a while to get out of the house and look and the purdy fish.
Evan and I now have a new favorite animal... we spent a solid 15 minutes staring at the sea otters. The sea turtles now have some competition for favorite!
 |
| He's trying to see who's nose is longer |
 |
| WE TOUCHED THE SHARK!!! |
Wednesday July, 22nd
This morning Mimi and Evan worked on a blanket for Evan while I worked on my boaters license. They finished the blanket early in the afternoon and we got to play outside the rest of the day.
There was some major rain while Evan and I were playing voccaball (volleyball + soccer) so we put up the volleyball and did some puddle jumping and rain angels.
 |
| When you try to catch rain.... |
Once we docked and derigged we headed to the boathouse to pick up the boat and take it to Finz for the evening. On the water we could see a huge storm on the horizon but luckily, it never hit us.
After supper we got back on the boat and got to witness the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen in my life. I can't begin to describe it. I probably took 100 pictures so I'll just put a few up here. PS there was a rainbow in it!!!
 |
| Evan's a great captain |
This morning we went to the Boardwalk Cafe to start off our last full day in Beaufort right. Today we were planning on a huge afternoon full of Shackleford and kayaking BUT we have this storm to deal with:
Today we rotated between watching TV, reading, watching movies and working on my blanket.
With no break of rain coming soon we decided to go out to supper just to get out of the house.
We spent the rest of the evening packing up our stuff, Evan and I to go home, Mimi and Papa for Spruce Pine.
Guess I gotta say bye to the blog now, this is the last of the 21 days. BYE BLOG! MISS YA BUNCHES!!!!
