We Did It!!!!!! (OBX 2013)

If you have young children, chances are you know the ending song from Dora the Explorer...We Did It.  We sang that song alot this week.  Why?  Because it is true!!  We Did It!!!  Something, quite frankly, that I never thought was going to happen.  We went on a family vacation, and yes, Bobby went too!!  Let me tell you with no uncertainty, he had THE TIME OF HIS LIFE!!

Many times over this past week Bob commented to me, "you look like a kid."  What did he mean by this?  I had the happiness on my face that you generally only see on children.  I was happy.  I was truly happy.  I tried to savor every minute of this vacation and relish in Bobby's happiness as he was experiencing all of these new things.  I reflected back over the past few years quite a few times this week, and the fact that we were able to spend a week away from home is just mind blowing.  I don't want to bring any of our negative behavioral issues to this posting or the amount of preparations that were made to make this all possible, I just want to celebrate the fabulous week that we had.  Just a warning, this is going to be a long posting with lots of pictures!

After I booked the rental home for this vacation I contacted my nieces, Ashley and Kait, to see if they would be able to come out and visit us for the weekend since they live in North Carolina.  Absolutely was their answer.  My mom, Bobby's favorite Grandma Carolyn, also planned to join us later in the week.  At the last minute, my brother Tom also decided that he would fly in and join us on our vacation, especially since we hadn't seen him in person in over 2 years.  Tom flew in to Pittsburgh on Saturday.  The car was already packed and waiting for us to leave early Sunday morning so the Smith family accompanied Grandma Carolyn to the airport to pick up Tommy B.  Oh my goodness, the new adventures for Bobby are starting early.  Thankfully, somehow, by the grace of God, the airport was like a ghost town.  It was bare.  Traveling was at an absolute minimal on this Saturday afternoon....perfect for Bobby!!!

He got to run around the luggage carousel because there were zero people around.  He did that for a while and we still had 10 minutes or so before Tom's plane landed so we went off in search of a snack.

 Chips, banana and a drink is just what the waiting doctor ordered.  Bobby sat like a big boy and had his snack.  He could see security from this area and the lines were 1-2 people long.  Talk about awesome!  We went up and down the escalator and back to the luggage area to wait for Uncle Tom. He showed up, we walked across the roadway into the parking garage, got in the car and came home. No big deal at all.  Bobby had his first trip to the airport.  Only bad thing is that we couldn't see planes taking off and landing from our area of the airport.

Day 1 (Sunday):
Finally we got up Sunday morning, got dressed and loaded into the car that was already packed and waiting.  We pulled out of the garage at 7 am sharp and were on our way to the Outer Banks of North Carolina!!  Yay Smith Family!!

Bobby is such a great car rider.  You never hear from him "are we there yet???" or "how much longer???"  Don't think that we will be adding these phrases into his therapy for him to learn.  He had his pillows, iPad, slinky and various other Bobby preferred toys to keep him happy.

He got super excited during the car ride when we went across a large bridge in Norfolk.  The bridge turns into a tunnel and you go under the water and turns back into a bridge again.  As we were crossing this bridge, Bobby started bouncing in his seat saying "at the beach" repeatedly.  Unfortunately for Bobby we still had a way to go before we arrived.  Our check in time to pick up our key was from 4-5:30 and we did so well with time and no traffic that we arrived at 3:15.  They gave us the key and had Bob sign something saying that we wouldn't go into the house until they called and gave us the OK.  We used this time to run into a grocery store and pick up some necessities.  They called us while we were there, we checked out and were off to our house.  Bobby could NOT wait to go to the beach.  He could hear the waves and smell the ocean, even though he had never heard this sound or smelled this smell.  He KNEW that it was there.

Talk about a HAPPY kid!!  He ran right to the ocean and went in.

The water was cold when you first felt it, but once you were in for just a minute it was fine, perfect for Bobby.

He ran back and forth out of the ocean, into the ocean...splashing and playing and enjoying himself.

Then he decided to sit down in the water...

A couple of hours later it was time to come in and have some dinner.

We were all exhausted by this point.  Bob and I got things put away and started getting the place Bobbyproofed.  We went to bed early and Bobby was asleep before 9.  However, yes there is a however, he woke up at 1:30 full of excitement with all that was going on.  He finally went back to sleep at 5:30 and woke up at 9:30.  Oh what a night!!

Day 2 (Monday):
"At the beach" where the first words out of Bobby's mouth when we got up for the day.  Yes, Bobby, we will go to the beach but first you have to eat breakfast!!  I tried to keep his routine the same, toast and bacon for breakfast along with his iPad just like a school day.  All in all on Monday we went to the beach four separate times and stayed about 1 1/2 hours each time.  To get to the beach we had to walk out our door and up a small road about 50 yards, then walk out the wooden walkway and down a few steps to this....

 This is what South Nags Head Beach looks like on the off-season when most people are in school.  Let me tell you, it didn't get much more crowded than this!!

More pictures of Bobby playing in the water.  I know that there are too many, but trust me this is just a small portion of the ones that I took.

 I have no idea who this is on this fishing boat, but when something new appeared in my vision when I was looking at the beach, I just had to take a picture.

Then, for some unknown reason, Bobby decided to lay down in the water...

Daddy was always right there by Bobby's side.

A bird....again, just because it was in my sight line...

 One of my favorite Bobby pictures of all time....

 Bobby and the birds....

It was a perfect lazy day at the beach for the Smith family.  We took a drive in the evening and got some North Carolina Barbecue to take home for dinner.  Bobby finally slept well.  A GREAT DAY!

Day 3 (Tuesday...aka.my birthday):
The winds arrived.  Thankfully they were only around for the day.  No swimming signs were posted all up and down the beach.  This is when autism is difficult.  Bobby didn't understand the weather issues, all he cared about was "at the beach."  We finally took him down so that he could feel and see for himself.  We were there for about 5 minutes before none of us could take much more.  I only took a couple of pictures even though I wanted to take more of the waves.  The wind was just too strong and I didn't want to ruin by camera.

We had to find something else to do to occupy Bobby's day, so we got in the car and took a ride.
Our first stop was the Wright Bros. Memorial.  We took Bobby to the outdoor parts to look around.

 You can tell how windy it is by Bobby's hair.

Next stop, the Bodie Island Lighthouse....

 This is the BEST stay off of the grass sign that I have ever seen!!  I was much more careful to stay off of the grass than ever!

We finally went back home and Bobby got in the swimming pool for the evening while Bob and I got into the hot tub.  We got take out again, this time steak and salad and a slice of cheesecake for my birthday.  Bobby started asking to watch Jeopardy.  It was around 7 pm, so I looked to see if it was on tv for him.  Now something really mind blowing happened in Bobby's World!!!  I found Wheel of Fortune instead.  At the beach Wheel of Fortune is on BEFORE Jeopardy!!!  Can you even believe it?????  Of all of the mixed up things in the world!!!  Actually Bobby seemed fine with it and he sat and watched both.

Day 4 (Wednesday):
Bobby spent most of his time in the pool today.  Somehow there was a shift in beach/pool time.  We would go to the beach and he would play for 10 minutes or so and then want to go back to the pool. I am guessing that it had a lot to do with the amount of sand that was getting in his trunks from sitting and laying in the water.  He would walk back to the house bow legged until we got all of the sand washed out.  He stood very well while we de-sanded his bottom with a water hose (which worked better than the outdoor shower).

 Here are just a group of pictures that I took throughout the day....

Bobby loved the balconies.  It is the perfect spot to watch Elmo's World Happy Holidays, perfect for getting into that Christmas spirit.

 Could not get him to look up and notice the kite in the air.

 Beautiful sunset.

Grandma Carolyn, Uncle Tom and Kaitlin arrived during the night.  They wanted to wake up here in the morning instead of wasting part of their day driving.

Day 5 (Thursday):
Bobby was very surprised when he was out on the kitchen balcony after breakfast and looked over to see Grandma watching him!  After everyone else was up and had breakfast, I noticed something and had to capture it in picture.  It's a modern day family vacation....

All right everyone!!  We are at the beach.  Put the technology down and lets get this vacation moving!

Believe it or not but I hardly got any pictures on this day.  Bob and Bobby took a little break and hung out at the house while I took an evening walk with my mom, brother and niece.  Good thing that Grandma Carolyn had her cell phone to get some pictures, especially of the Harvest Moon.

Me, Tom and Mom

Me, Tom and Kaitlin 

Mom, Tom and Kait

I wanted to get some pictures of the Harvest Moon so I brought Bobby back to the beach with me to take a walk.  However, when we reached the sand, he sat down and parked himself to play.  We stayed for played for a while.  It was wonderful!!

 He did stop for a few minutes to run over to where some kids were digging holes and making a sandcastle with their parents earlier in the day.  Bobby wanted to knock it over SO BADLY!!  I let him since the tide would take care of it anyway.

 The Harvest Moon over the ocean.

 We played in the sand until dark.

Ashley arrived Thursday evening, she left after she got off of work.

Day 6 (Friday):

I made up for not taking many pictures on Thursday.  Sorry, but just too much family fun happened today so it will be FULL of pictures!!!!

First, Bobby desperately wanted to "ride in car" more specifically go for a ride in Grandma Carolyn's car.  Grandma wanted to see the sights so Bobby, Grandma, Ashley and I all loaded in Grandma's car and went for a ride.  By this time Kaitlin wasn't feeling well so she stayed home, Tom had to get some work done and Bob was just happy to have a break and took a nap on the couch.  

I took Grandma to see the lighthouse that we saw earlier in the week since it was only a couple of miles away.  Bodie Island Lighthouse it is!!!

Next stop on this highway, Pea Island....

 The other side of the Bodie Island lighthouse with the help of my zoom lens.

 Ashley, Grandma and Bobby walking back to the car.

Next stop, the Inn at Rodanthe, which was used in the movie "Nights at Rodanthe."  I looked it up and they used this house because it was on the end and sitting off by itself, but in the past couple of years they had to move it.  Crazy that they can move a house.  Google it if it interests you because there are many pictures of the house being moved.

 There are NO PARKING signs all over the place.  However, someone else was already there taking pictures so we followed along and got out to take pictures too.  Ashley went up to the house to get one on Grandma's phone, I just used my zoom.

We stopped at the grocery store to pick up a birthday cake and went home to make dinner.  The boys were in charge of the grill.  Tonight was hamburgers and keilbasa, last night was steak and hot dogs. Why does grilling on charcoal taste so good???!!!  Grandma Carolyn and I stayed inside and worked on all of the sides.

 Let's talk about this table for a second.  It is PERFECT for a large group of people.  You can all have a conversation without yelling down a long table and whoever thought to put a lazy susan in the middle of a table is a genius.  No more passing, just spin to what you want.

After dinner, we grabbed a football, put our jackets on and all headed out to the beach with Bobby leading the way.

 This was one of those memorable nights of family fun.  Where we were just spending time together. Tons of pictures were taken!!

 Poor Kait didn't feel well and really didn't want her picture taken because she had been napping all day.

Time to go inside and have a birthday party.  Bobby finally gets to "blow the candles out!!"

Happy September Birthday Ashley, Bob and Cheri.  We will have to plan another party in late April or early May to get Kaitlin, Grandma and Bobby.  Poor Tom will still have to settle for Christmas birthday parties.

Day 7 (Saturday):

NOOOO!!  This can't be the last full day of our vacation so fast!!  However, for blogging sake....thank goodness.  This crazy posting has taken me hours!!!

 Bobby is going to miss hanging out on these balconies.  He was very interested in this hot tub, but never got in which didn't surprise me, he only likes luke warm baths.

The girls took Bobby for a long ride and watched him for a few hours while Bob and I got out by ourselves.  We went back to the Wright Brothers Museum since we didn't get to look around in the buildings.

After we were all back together, we went back to the beach to take some family group pictures.  Yes, there are some of Bob, Bobby and me too, but I might use one for my Christmas card.  So, no sneak peek here!!  Here are a bunch of the pictures that we took. 

After the family photo session ended, we headed back to the house for our last night family seafood feast.  This time we all took a break from cooking and ordered out (next time we are gonna keep doing the cooking ourselves since it wasn't really worth the money).

I just have to say that this was the best vacation ever and I honestly had an incredible time.  Even if we do this vacation again and again I am guessing that it won't compare with this one.  Mostly because I had resolved myself  to the fact that we wouldn't be able to take a vacation unless we excluded Bobby from the event.  He has worked so hard and come so far and I, well I'm just so happy that we decided to give it a try.  The fact that my family joined us for some of the week was just icing on the cake.  As you saw, we didn't do anything exciting, just spent time together.  Bobby rose to the occasion higher than I had ever anticipated.  

WE DID IT!!!!!!! 

Update:  We received a coupon for a free photo book from Shutterfly when we bought a gift in the gift shop at the Wright Brothers Memorial.  I made a book with pictures from our trip for Bobby to have and look at whenever he chooses.  Feel free to take a look!!
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1BZOGrRmybuzg