I should mention, for the record, that Emma Kate has officially gotten her first tattoo... when we were at the aquarium, they had a little station set up for kids to get temporary shark tattoos and there were about 5 or 6 designs to choose from. Gregory got one on his arm, and Emma Kate was adamant that she just wanted to hold hers. Of course she picked out the big huge shark face with it's mouth open and it's teeth all over the place. She watched Daddy put one on his forearm, but she wasn't convinced she wanted to wear hers. She played with the thing for a long time until she finally let Mommy put it on her! She wanted it on her knee, and as soon as it was transferred, she got very upset because she wanted it back on the paper again! It was pretty funny. She got over it fast and quickly decided it was a lot more fun to have it on her knee where she could show it off to other people and especially because she could see the teeth and point to them. I swear, there's something about a big mouth of sharp teeth that really gets her attention!!! I soooo wanted to get a picture of Emma Kate and Daddy wearing their shark tattoos, but unfortunately they dissolved the next time sunscreen was applied, before we got to take a picture. It was quite hilarious.

Ok, so here are the remaining beach pictures- Emma got all touchy-feely with Gregory this day- she was playing with his hat, putting it on his head and giggling...

And oh, man, all the hugs she was giving out!!! They were so cute!!
More hugs!!
And more hugs!! Glad they were well-received by Gregory- he even sometimes hugged her back, he's quite the affectionate little man too!
Our last attempt at the beach- unfortunately the last 2 of the 3 trips to the ocean beach didn't go near as lovely as the first- the waves were waaaay too rough to get in the water- they even had the "no swimming" signs up. Man, what I would have given to have another nice calm ocean day with that wonderful tidal pool!!! It was just so perfect! Here's our new flag for the cabana, Rachel and Matt found it for us- a great improvement over the little blue triangle that came with the cabana! :)
Emma did a great job staying occupied on the beach... she decided to slowly but surely burry Daddy in the sand... she didn't get too far before getting sidetracked fortunately... :)
On our last day in OBX, Mimi and PopPop came down. We went out with Auntie Kimberly and Uncle Chris to the Avalon pier- they have a huge open-air game room with a bazillion old-school games, and Emma was fascinated by this dinosaur grabber. It had a lever to push/pull to make the red dino's mouth open and close to grab the rewards, and it would work even without paying money, it just didn't bend over into the rewards. She's got some fascination with big sharp teeth all of a sudden.
Emma Kate being silly
On the Avalon pier
This pier is one of few that have survived some significant weather, and when you walk down it, you can tell... it's totally wonky! It's a little unsettling to be on it so high up and so far out in the water, and there are huge spaces between the boards as you walk down it... I know it's an unreasonable fear, but I was constantly worried one of Emma Kate's feet would slip through...

Auntie Kimberly won a few tickets at the arcade and we picked out this little green army man for Emma Kate- we named him "Arnold" and she was immediately in love- it was hilarious! She not only loved the little green man, but she apparently thought the name Arnold was a riot! Here she is in the car just after getting him, and she was giving him lots of hugs!
Here you can see Arnold... unfortunately somewhere along the line of packing to come home Arnold must have gotten misplaced... or he may be in stealth mode in the car somewhere... luckily Emma Kate has not asked for him yet... Auntie Kimberly will just have to win her another little green man sometime soon! It was so fun having him- he was an awesome distraction!!! :)