roanoke island

i am in love. roanoke island is the cutest, quaintest little place! 

on friday afternoon we decided to drive south and check out the cute little island that sits between the outer banks and the mainland.

they have rocking chairs and porch swings for tourists to enjoy placed all over town.

love the southern charm.

we meandered a little, when, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a lighthouse sitting alone out on a pier.

(i just came up with that)

cute little lighthouse. 

they were supposed to be waving at me, but only matt was being obedient.

he knows what's good for him. ;)

as we left the lighthouse, there was a wedding rehearsal going on. 

what a cute little scene for a wedding.

we walked the docks and admired the boats.

and bubba does love Jesus.

check out the cute kids and the pirate ship behind them.

we crossed a little walking bridge and saw this cross out in the middle of the water.

we were wondering if it was the sight of a boat wreck?

i love these girls!

 we finally got out to the pirate ship, only to learn that it was already closed. 

it was hot and we were tired, so we stopped for a picnic lunch at some more cute rocking chairs. 

at least he's not protesting pictures anymore.

even if he sometimes doesn't actually look at the camera.

so glad lexi got all dressed up for our excursion.

it was so hot! check out the red cheeks on the franks!

and my addie, who has a mind of her own and always poses in weird ways that she comes up with.

that girl.

and then there's lanes and daddy.

with the cool hats.

after walking and walking, we decided stay on the island for the evening and go on a dolphin watching cruise around the sound.

it was so fun!

and we spotted dolphins within 5 minutes of takeoff.

it. was. awesome.

we must have seen dozens of dolphins, they were everywhere and we followed them up and down the sound.

even laney loved it!

yaaay, addie's doing the silly face again.

bonus - beautiful sunset

while we were sailing we saw another pirate ship and the captain let addie borrow his sword, which she loved.

splashed on the choppy waters.

we've got our hands full of kids. 

matt was spotting dophins and letting the captain know where the were and the captain was teasing that  "this guy has 6 kids and he's the only one spotting dolphins" and couldn't anyone else help?

it was funny. :)

the moral of the story.

i love spending time with my family. roanoke island is amazing. dophins are awesome.