Ignore Irene

That's been our motto thus far. And so far, it's served us well. This morning we awoke around 7 a.m. to another sad Tito in search of comfort. He snuggled in with us for all of 15 minutes before the other two boys were haranguing us to get on with Karron's plan, which we embarked upon just a short while later.

We mounted our rental bikes (*which have been a colossal hit for all of us) and pedaled the three miles or so into Duck for brake-fast at Duck Donuts, where they make your donuts to order. Seriously. Never had such fresh or delish donuts in all my life. The five of us polished off an even dozen and were back on the bikes bound for home and ultimately the beach. Another gorgeous day here with temps in the low 80s, sun and a gentle breeze.

The massive sandcastle we erected yesterday withstood the tides overnight and any late-night beach hooligans, so the boys were content to pick up where they left off working on their masterpiece. Aidan and Jack were bona fide surfer dudes on their boogie boards and were in the water more than they were out of it. Soren stood (relatively) patiently on the sidelines splashing in the surf up to his waist and outrunning the occasional rogue wave like a total pro. He is perhaps a bit too brave for a child his age, yet he has a healthy appreciation for the power of the ocean. Never too young for that.

Karron treated us all to lunch on the beach -- PBJs all around and a leftover pork sammich for Skog. We didn't leave until around 4:30. Came home, hosed off (literally) and Jason took the boys out for another pre-dinner spin on our usual loop. The boys' dinner was hot dogs, fries and a Popsicle for dessert (this is vacation after all). Skog made a run to Duck for some last-minute supplies while Karron supervised another Jacuzzi dip. Early bedtime after a long day outside. It was idyllic.

Now the kids are in bed, the laundry is in the dryer and we are on the deck listening to the surf and debating whether or not to resume our Spotify song game. Again, wish you all were here but given Irene's impending arrival, perhaps this just wasn't the year. We're watching the forecast as closely as anybody and will make the right call when the time comes. For now, we're inclined to celebrate Aidan's birthday properly with a round of golf in the morning (he's psyched) a store-bought cake, some proper gifts, a dinner of his choice and most likely more beach and boogie-boarding. Phew! It will be one to remember.

All our love,

The Skogs