{ Visiting the Virginia Beach KOA }

Hiya!  My name is Harper and this is my friend Hope's brother, Trey.  We recently went camping at the K.O.A. (Kampgrounds of America) in Virginia Beach, VA.  We'd never been there before and were so excited to go.  They had this really cool bear statue outside of the camp store! Can you believe it was carved by a man using a chainsaw???  Whoa, that would be cool to watch!

There was also this adorably cute carved wood sea turtle!

And look at this waaaaay tall pelican!  Trey and I had to really climb up high to reach the top of the first pylon.   

We were excited to take a spin in the KOA golf cart...Trey begged the nice man to drive but fortunately the man had enough sense to just say NO!  I would NOT have gone for a ride with Trey driving...no way!

This KOA is located very close to the Oceana Naval Air Station so we got to hear fighter jets roaring overhead several times a day...boy were they LOUD!!!  But I love what the KOA staff called the jet "noise"...can you guess?  They called it "The Sound of Freedom"... and you know what?  They're right!  :)

So, imagine how excited we were to pose as real pilots in this coolio painted fighter jet??  Of course, Trey insisted on sitting in the front seat...that is soooo typical!  Boys!

It was a terrific trip! I really hope we can go back sometime!

18 Inch Doll Outfits & 18 Inch Doll Accessories by:

Harper's top by American Girl® from Lanie's Garden Outfit.

Harper's shorts by American Girl® from Julie's Hoops Outfit.

Trey's shark graphic tee is by SewFunDollClothes ~ Etsy

{ Until Next Summer }

Normally, on the last day of our trip, we bring a loaf of bread out to the beach to feed the seagulls.  We love to feed the seagulls (aka sky rats!) but they sort of scare us because they are SO BIG...like, two times our size!

Christina spent a while boogie boarding in the waves. She's really good at it, even though she's younger than me!

I, on the other hand, couldn't wait to get started looking for a sand dollar. I dreamed I found one... and I cant wait to have my dream come true! Before leaving on our trip, I researched where the best place to look for sand dollars would be. I found out its best to hunt at low tide but we always get out to the beach late because it takes us SO LONG to get ready. Today, though... we got up super early so we could have as much time as possible to enjoy our last day.

After lunch, I continued my search and there it was! Oh my goodness! It can NOT be true!! 

It IS! It's a sand dollar! Whoo-hoo! Yippee! I rushed back to show Christina... being careful not to drop it! She was very happy for me and said that I must have a VERY good eye!

Towards the end of our day, we decided to do some cool things in the sand. Christina wrote "SISTERS" in big letters! What a special memory!

When my mom was little, her and her best friend went to this very same beach! Her friend thought it would be cool to draw a big heart in the sand and stand in it together. We thought we would do the same thing to carry on the tradition!

  

Well, at the end of the day, we didn't want to leave. I can't believe this trip has flown by so fast! It feels like our first day out on the beach was just yesterday. ♥  Good-bye beautiful beach...until next summer!

  

18 Inch Doll Outfits & 18 Inch Doll Accessories by:

Cindy's swimsuit by American Girl® from the 2-in-1 Surf set.

Christina's swimsuit by American Girl® from GOTY Kailey's Wet Suit & Bikini set.

{ The Old Gray House ~ aka The Shell Shop }

About halfway through our 2 week long beach trip, I decided to go to The Old Gray House in Buxton, NC- aka the Shell Shop. Every year there's different things to look at. I love going to look at all of the pretty shells. The Old Gray House has a lot of really cool natural things, too! This trip, I decided to explore more. I found these really cool looking buoys... we didn't see any last year! There's a lot of them around for decoration.

 Yay... I'm on a big pile of them! Weee! This is fun!

I was walking around exploring when I came across this really big piece of driftwood. Isn't it cool looking? I decided to climb it even though I did get a little scared half way up!

I made it to the top...yikes, I hope I can get back down!

Before we left, I saw these awesome shell things that you hang from your door! I wanted to get one, but I held back because I had already spent too much money. For me, its really hard to save but soooo easy to spend!

Overall, I had a really fun time! It is so pretty there... and I didn't want to leave. There is so much to look at and explore! I'm looking forward to visiting again next summer... if you're ever in the area, you should visit there too! :)

18 Inch Doll Outfits & 18 Inch Doll Accessories by:

Shorts from the Easy Breezy outfit by American Girl®

Shirt and Shoes from various sellers on eBay. 

{ A Special Beach Treasure }

I'm Christina! I'm at the Outer Banks in North Carolina on my family's annual beach trip we take every summer! We get to stay for 2 whole weeks to enjoy the surf and sand. Today, I was walking down the beach looking for my older sister, Cindy, who had already gone further down the beach to hunt for sea shells.  

As I was walking, I just happened to glace down to see a lightning whelk plopped right in the sand in front of me!

 Wow! It's a whole one, too... and those are very hard to find in this area! Isn't it beautiful?

 I can't wait to find Cindy and show her!

"Wow, Christina! That is so cool! Can I listen?"

She really likes it! She says she hopes to find a sand dollar this trip... I hope she does too! She's never found one in her whole life, and this year is determined to find a whole one- not just bits and pieces. Have you ever found a sand dollar? Or maybe even a lightning whelk?  

 

18 Inch Doll Outfits & 18 Inch Doll Accessories by:

Cindy's swimsuit by American Girl® from the 2-in-1 Surf set.

Christina's swimsuit by American Girl® from GOTY Kailey's Wet Suit & Bikini set.