Our Trip to OBX

Our vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina was terrific! It was really wonderful to see all of Rich's family again. But the highlight of the whole trip was seeing Christina get married!!! (See the post below for all the great wedding pics.) We had so much fun! Here are some random shots from our vacation...

Our little family of three!
Rachel took a seat on the nag's back, in the city of Nags Head.

Swimming with Daddy!




Walking on the beach.



Playing in the sand - what fun she had!

Rachel with Grandpa and Grandma in front of Fat Boyz icecream shop!

Yum... here comes ice cream!

We made friends with the Sipos family - Ted, Tammy and Kiersten. They stayed with us while in town for the wedding. They live in Alaska and are really sweet people. Ted was Alan's bestman and we can see why - he is a wonderful guy! Here, Rachel and Kiersten are playing before bedtime. They quickly became buddies - just like their parents!

Aunt Cathy holds Rachel at dinner.

Grandma and Grandpa smile for the camera with Rachel.

All of us say cheese before eating dinner at the restraunt, Tale of the Whale!

The Provost/Thompson Wedding

It was a perfect day for a wedding on September 15th! Rich's little sister Christina got married to a wonderful man, Alan, who the entire family adores. And we were honored to be standing up in the wedding for them as they became man and wife. I think we all cried - the ceremony was beautiful and the bride was breathtaking!!! We don't have any ceremony shots because we were both in the wedding, but below are some beautiful photos that captured the day. Congratulations to Christina and Alan as they begin a long, happy marriage!!!

Here's Christina getting ready for the wedding! About to go down the isle...

Christina and I pose for a pre-wedding shot

Rich and I on the beach - after the wedding.

Christina and our niece Ashley, who was a perfect little flower girl!

Dick and Alina - the proud parents of the bride!

Christina on the beach - her gown was fabulous and looked like it was made just for her!

Introducing... Mr. and Mrs. Alan Thompson!!!



The perfect pair give eachother a smooch! Aah- true love!!!

The happy bride and groom!

Here are all the "little" cousins on the couch at the reception. Aren't they too cute? From left to right - Nicholas, Aidan, Quinn, Rachel and Ashley! They all seemed to enjoy the festivities, too!

At the Beach

We learned that Rachel loves the ocean! She had so much fun in the water and the waves. Here are some pictures on the beach...

Spending Time with our Dutch Family

It was so nice for Rachel to spend time with her Great Grand Parents! We weren't sure if it was Great Opa and Great Oma (?) or what, but either way, Rachel had a wonderful time getting to know them and showing off her new walking skills!

Opa and Great Oma take Rachel for a walk...

Silly Great Opa! He made Rachel laugh constantly!!!

Rachel and her Aunt Ellis. They had a good time together, especially when she babysat Rachel one night at the cottage while the rest of the family went to a soccer match and mommy went out with her friends.

Rachel being passed to her Great Opa at the table...

Great Opa and Oma cutting a pretty cake in the honor of their 60th wedding anniversary and the fact that both the Dutch and American family members were there! The two flags symbolized that and it was a truly delicious cake!

Baarle-Nassau & Baarle-Hertog

After leaving Leiden, we arrived in Baarle-Nassau. It is a town that is on the border of Belgium and has its own town named Baarle-Hertog. Below is a picture of the sign as you enter the town showing the respective flag next to each city name.

We stayed in a cottage while in Baarle-Nassau and this is the drive to get to it. It was in the woods and absolutely beautiful!

When we arrived, some of our family was waiting there to greet us and to meet Rachel. Aunt Ellis made Rachel this adorable, very dutch Build-A-Bear. She loves it!!!
Below are some pictures of the cottage. It was so nice inside with a large kitchen and table, three bedrooms and lots of space for Rachel to play in the living room. Outside was a beautiful garden, a storage hut for bikes, a pond and gorgeous landscaping.


This is a view of the downtown area.
Here we are with my Dad (Rachel's Opa) where the two countries border. You can see the line signifying the separation. Here, they are in the Netherlands... Crossing into Belgium...

Now they are in Belgium!
Rachel seemed extremely excited to have visited two countries in such a short time!