I might sound like a broken record, in fact, I’m certain that I do. But, I really do love the way that the Outer Banks community takes care of each other. For such a little beach town, fundraising season really kicks off in January around here and the amount of money that gets poured into great local organizations is incredible! On Saturday night, Jason and I dressed up and headed out to the black tie event for the 2020 Outer Banks Hospital Gala. The theme was a "Black and Wh

First things first, I love birth stories. I think they are so important and need to be written. For me, it's free therapy but I hope that my kids look back someday and love reading about the day they came into the world. I’ll just say right here that if you don’t find childbirth to be totally awesome— stop reading now. :) Let’s face it. With the first name of Audra, I can’t name my own daughters something super common. They require a little bit of uniqueness to be a part of t

A few years ago in a conversation with my husband I exclaimed, “traveling is my favorite!” I was trying to convince him that we needed to take a major family trip and he wasn’t fully on board with the expense of a big vacation. He laughed and called me Buddy the Elf because of the famous line, “smiling is my favorite!” There is just something about planning a vacation and letting the excitement build as the days pass by that I just absolutely love. I really love picking a new

Most of you already know that we are BIG on crafting around here. Penny is constantly looking for a new project and she's desperate for her own YouTube channel but for now, she settles for blog features from time to time. She has been a collector of tiny random objects since she was old enough to understand that her pockets could hold things and she loves to find new ways to repurpose just about anything. Oftentimes this means she has an abundance of homemade crafts and she l

After all of the Black Friday shopping and Small Business Saturday, I know some of us are all shopped out! This year, I found some great deals on the stuff that all little girls want this year like LOL Dolls and Barbies but I really try to limit the amount of the same old toys that only bring them joy for a short period of time. Our kids love to be outside in the playhouse, finding a new adventure or playing pretend. They love to create art projects and they are practically p

Thanksgiving is tomorrow! This Fall has flown by and I am so excited to get into the kitchen with my family and put together our favorite meal. We love Thanksgiving and honestly, we don’t reserve this meal for once a year! We often make more than one turkey feast in November. Weird, right? But we love to cook and try new recipes so it’s always changing! But as much as we love to cook... Is there anything more daunting than cooking the night before Thanksgiving? With all the p

When it comes to teenagers holiday lists they either want everything or they are really difficult to shop for. Some years, Joey comes to us with a list of dozens of things. But the last few years he really hasn’t asked for much and I'll tell you one thing, I really don't like gift cards and cash as gifts! I know sometimes they are just trying to save for a larger item but cash and teenagers don't always mix. I always like to have meaningful gift ideas for grandparents and ext

I've put the skeletons back into the closet where they belong and the rest of our Halloween decorations have been put back into their storage bins, too. As I closed the door behind me I jokingly said, “its time to decorate for Christmas now!” My husband turned and gave me the same look the he has given me at this suggestion for the last 16 years. Truth is, I love Christmas and the beautiful season and if I prepare far ahead of the holiday rush, I find that I have more time to

There’s something about the Black Pelican Seafood Co. in Kitty Hawk that calls us through the heavy old door for our special occasions and as a meeting place for our family dinners. We’re quick to invite out of town family and friends to Black Pelican when we have Summertime visitors because it feels like a part of our family. But during the Summer we are so incredibly busy with work that even something as enjoyable as going out to dinner can feel stressful. During the Summer

It’s been a while since I shared a Spanish Immersion update. Some of you may know that our (almost 7 year old) daughter, Penny attends school in Spanish. Every time I blog about her school I get the same questions, so I’m going to clarify a few things here. Her school day is the same as a traditional 1st graders. She arrives to school and learns all of the traditional subjects, but her teachers are speaking Spanish. She started Kindergarten in this way and she absolutely love

If you’ve been following along since this time last year then you know that I am not much for New Years Resolutions. I resolve to make life changes in the Fall when I really feel like new routines are born. With the start of a fresh school year, new activities for our kids and getting back into the swing of routines after the Summer, I find it easier to create new goals and routines for myself. I still make New Years intentions but the true resolutions for me happen in the Fa

When it comes to giving back to our local community there are a few local restaurants that really lead the pack to help with fundraisers and community engagement. On the top of that list is the Outer Banks Brewing Station. When you take a look at their events calendar, you’re sure to see special events that benefit any number of community projects mixed in with their epic concert scene. This weekend you won't want to miss the Backyard Benefit at the Brewing Station. This bran

With over 20 direct messages on social media a week pertaining to seaglass, I figured it was time to work smarter and not harder! I try so hard to get to all of the direct messages with a real response and not just a generic reply but I get so excited about sharing my seaglass finding tips that I end up spending so much time replying to messages. Why? There is something so therapeutic to me about searching and finding seaglass. Sometimes it's a spiritual place for me. I st

When you think of a brewery, you might not automatically think of a child friendly atmosphere. While brewery tours and innovative brewing may not interest your little ones, the wind turbine that powers the Outer Banks Brewing Station is going to fascinate them. We’re huge fans of the Outer Banks Brewing Station and time after time, we have had incredible dining experiences at the Brewing Station with our entire family. The Outer Banks Brewing Station is the first wind-powered

It’s been kind of quiet around the Outer Banks Mom blog lately. The quietness is partially because it’s “busy season” around here. As a business owner, I hit the ground running on Memorial Day and I haven’t taken a break since. Add in 3 kids who are all off of school for the summer and you’re basically looking at two full time jobs. One thing that my husband and I always promise each other at the beginning of each summer is that no matter how hectic the workload gets, we will

THE JUNE REPORT Check out our insider scoop on what's going on here on The Outer Banks in JUNE! You won't want to miss any of these hot NEW events, businesses and experiences! Go ahead and add them all to your OBX Bucket List! HEALTH The OBX Fitness Collective This new, innovative studio offers something for everyone. Finally an OBX gym that provides childcare while locals and vacationers break a sweat. This has been a long time need in our community. Located conveniently in

One of our family’s favorite breakfast spots is Barrier Island Bagels in the Southern Shores Marketplace. They were easily added to our Outer Banks Mom Approved list because of the way that they pay special attention to children, offer healthy and delicious options and because they are locally owned! Our kids always look forward to a special weekend trip to B.I.B! I could go on and on about their amazing bagels and smoothies. I could tell you that our kids crave the açaí bowl

Open for business! It’s that time of year on the Outer Banks and the doors are open, the homes are filling up and the memories are being made. It’s officially my busy season and I’ll be honest, the hardest part about being an Outer Banks mom is that as the school year dwindles down, my work ramps up. While our kids are excited to start making summertime memories, I know that peak season on the Outer Banks is my only time to make a living so our schedules always experience som

My kids are probably going to look back someday and know that they were raised by a true worry-wart. I am always offering up unsolicited safety advice to my kiddos, but being at the beach requires a little extra information. I always remind them what color their beach umbrella is and make sure that I have a unique and bright beach blanket for them to run back to. But hopefully, aside from being a worrier, they will also look back someday and remember that I was always willing

I’m sure that I’m starting to sound like a broken record here, but there is a reason for that! Raising children here on this little sliver of sand is truly an amazing gift, much in part to the Children & Youth Partnership for Dare County and all that they do to educate and empower our youth. On Friday, my tiny Lulu and I headed down to Roanoke Island Festival Park for the 12th Annual KidsFest hosted by Children & Youth Partnership, or CYP. She continuously called it “Kid Part