The End Is (Nearly) Here

And just like that, it is Friday night and we are getting ready to leave in the am. Yesterday the water was slightly warmer than the two days prior. It started raining in the afternoon and most of the clan went in at that point. We stayed out and road a few more waves before heading back to the house. The parents went out to dinner while us kids went to Sonic and did some serious damage to their menu.

Coming back to the house, Kirtis went out with Joe (neighbors from Allentown) and hit up some Dunkin Donuts. Afterwards, they ganged up on some Halo, while I started my Hulu quest to catch up on Psych. I finished around 3:30am and then hit the hay.

This morning woke up around 10:30am and ate some breakfast and eventually made it to the beach for our last day around 12:30. The water was at least 10 degrees warmer than prior days and it was incredible. The waves were not the best we have had, but they were decent nonetheless. It was an awesome last day, a great way to wrap up an incredible week. After leaving the beach we went back to the house, changed and headed back to the beach for pictures with Rich Coleman (www.colemanshots.com). I am excited to be able to show them off, I think they turned out really well. We then drove north 25 minutes to Cosmos where we ate our fill of incredible pizza. Fell asleep on the way home, and upon arrival finished packing. Bish and I are leaving around 5am tomorrow, so it is time for bed.

A week like this goes a long way in refreshing one for the weeks and months ahead. It will not soon leave our memory. So long Outer Banks, it has been real. Until next year...

Catch up (OBX2010)

In true blogging form, I have not posted when I said I was going to. My deepest apologies to my 4 readers.

Yesterday was a great day at the beach. The water was frigid for the second day in a row and the jellyfish were stinging often. After several trips into the water and catching some sick waves we took to the shore to play mini sand volleyball. We played a few games of 3v3 followed by a game of pairs after which we went back into the water to rinse off, ride some waves and call it a day. We were all freezing and itchy.

We had breakfast for dinner. Pops whipped up some pancakes and we had eggs and sausage as well. Mr Haley and Will left shortly after. (Mrs Haley and Georgia had left the day before in the morning).

We had planned on having a big game of whiffle ball after dinner with our friends and neighbors, Patrick, Joe, Devin, and Victoria, but a thunderstorm of grand propositions cancelled that. We hung around the neighborhood for awhile before calling it a night. I fell asleep listening to News From Veronas new ep "All I Know Is I Know Nothing" for the second night in a row. It is a great ep, you should go to itunes and pick it up.

I awoke this morning with the remembrance of the weirdest dreams which included, Jason Bateman being an indestructible killer (seriously, I threw like 3 knives in his chest) which then turned into my brother Bish and I hunting down an unnamed killer with our full arsenal of guns for crimes committed against our family. It was terrifying to say the least. I would also like to go on record to say "Jason, I love your work and I hope last night does not effect our relationship we established through Arrested Development. Thanks."

Today is cloudy and foggy but I believe it is supposed to clear up by later this afternoon. I will not promise "more tomorrow" so as not to let everyone down. Until next time...

Vacation

Here we are again. All ten of us Yurchaks in one house at the Outer Banks. After a year of anticipation and a day of driving in three separate cars from two different locations we have arrived. This year we are staying in south Nags Head, a new spot for us. Our house is is located very close to the beach with only one row of houses and a street separating us from the water. As I am typing this, I am sitting on the top deck and can hear the waves crashing on the sand. It is quite therapeutic.

We are joined, for the first three days, by our friends from Raleigh the Haleys. We both attended TCBC when we first moved to Cincy and the moved to NC in 2001. They have two kids, Will and Georgia that are the same age as Kaleb and Kyrie.

Even though the vacation technically started Saturday, today was the official start. This morning, we attended Nags Head Church as we do every year that we vacation here. It is always a refreshing way to start our week. I was able to connect with an old friend from my Liberty days, Rich Coleman. It was great to see him (and his lovely wife Lauren) and he will actually be taking some beach portraits of the whole gang on Wednesday evening. After a rousing message on the law and grace, we departed back to the house to eat a quick lunch and then hit the beach.

The red "no swimming" flags were up as the current was strong and the waves were intense. Naturally we all saw this as a challenge and immediately entered the water. Yeah, they were there for a reason. Nonetheless we spent the rest of the day in an out of the water, and towards the end of the afternoon we were body surfing some pretty decent waves in, but not after getting tossed by a few giant ones.

Dinner was our favorite pizza joint on the Island "Cosmos". It was out of this world. Dinner was followed by exquisite coffee from Cincinnati's own Tazza Mia (check out on Facebook and Twitter), and a wonderful time of talking and laughing with Bill and Deidre Haley. Bill is possibly one of the funniest people I know.

After a day in the sun (without sunscreen, dumb), I finish the night with thoughts racing through my head about life, God, the future, and what He has in store for me. So much is on the brink in my life and I am impressed with the need to seek Him in everything. A verse that has come into my head several times yesterday and today is from Pslam 19:1 The Heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. The sky here is incredible with every star illuminating the night perfectly. The milky way sweeps across the black canvas and my thoughts cannot help but be directed to the Creator who set everything in its perfect place. I sit in awe and realize that I am a wretch and completely undeserving of everything that He has given me.

Even when we are far from the stars and light pollution distracts our view of the heavens, lets remember the one who gave us life, and that everything we are is His. As I type these words, I am ashamed at how often I neglect this. Thank you Lord for brining me to a point of remembrance. Keep me close to You. More tomorrow...