Family Vacation

I love vacation. I used to have this need to productive, on which I've pretty much given up. Vacation epitomizes the let go of such a need. This year, we rented a house from friends who own a fabulous home Topsail Island, North Caroline.

The back deck overlooked the dock on the sound and was a perfect spot.

We were a short walk to the beach, across a street and onto a boardwalk.

Both the girls love the water, and deal with the sand. As Molly said, "I'm an ocean person, but I hate the sand."

Like so many other things I experience with my girls, I'm flooded with memories of my own childhood. I remember moving own past the crashing waves to to the "upsy-downsies" as Douglas and I called them. We would just enjoy the gentle rise and fall of the waves. I feel a little bit like I'm at that stage of life. We've passed the crashing waves of babyhood and can enjoy the rhythm of my daughters whose personality I can enjoy.

We savored time together, enjoying both the beach and the dock (as well as too much tv time for the kids). A couple nights BJ caught dinner appetizers of shrimp and crabs. Molly enjoyed helping out.

A King family tradition is ice cream every single night.

I enjoyed working out....Here is me doing a burpee. One of the things I love so much about crossfit and running is that it is versatile in its utility in my life wherever I may be.

I had a lot of fun using the kids as weights from a great WOD (workout of the day).

A blessed bonus to this year's vacation was that Becki and Kitty came.

And, Topsai is near Wilmington, NC the home of Mary Helen Smith. Mary Helen is like a sister, aunt and second mother all wrapped into one. I just love this woman. We sat on this dock and reflected on life and our relationship. In many ways, she knows me as well as any soul on the planet, so to have love from someone that close is a beautiful thing. I love this woman so much.

Her son and my brother were roomates in college, so it is by chance that we met and by divine providence that we became kindred spirits.