Our Zoo Trip

Last Friday we went to the NC Zoo and had a great time. There was just enough shade and breeze, so it wasn't too hot.


We had a great view of the elephants. Every other time I have been the elephants were very far away, but this year was perfect.



In the Kids Zone they had a Mud Cafe. It was basically huge tubs of slightly damp mud and tons of kitchen utensils for the kids to play with. I think my children would have played here for two hours. Your never too old to play in the mud.



Megan also loved the mud cafe!



The sea lions are always entertaining. It seems they love to put on a show.

2009 Beach Vacation

After spending two nights in Shelby we went to Ocean Isle Beach for the week. We were gone for nine nights total. A record for us, since having kids.


We loved our condo! It was nice having everyone on one floor. Jack and Megan loved the laundry basket. Really they make the best toys!


Al took the boys to the battleship in Wilmington. Will and Ben have been several times, but this was a first for Jack. Jack did great on the ladders, a true big boy now.



We also went to Broadway at the Beach and the kids had a chance to play in the park there. This was the first year we have been that it was actually cool enough to play at this park. We saw the dinosaur movie at the IMAX theater. It was ok, but probably not worth the money for the 45 minutes we saw. Last year we saw one about sea monsters, which was much more exciting. We ate lunch at "Johnny Rockets." They had great food and the servers danced. It kept us happy and entertained. We love a loud restaurant!




Of course we spent lots of time at the beach and in the pool. The boys made this "Jaba the Hut" on the beach. We took lots of walks and the boys rode the waves.



Megan had a great time this year at the beach. She had no fear of the ocean, which gave me a workout. Thankfully in the mornings there were small pools on the beach. We loved these. It did not take her long to say "beach." A lot changes in a year. Last year I toted her up and down the beach in a front carrier.

We had a great week, but it was nice to get home! Only one week till school starts back. I love my kids, but I confess I do count the weeks of summer. Like most other moms I have missed the routine. Hopefully we will have another good school year.

Family Fun in July

The last week of July was busy for us, first we went to Shelby to visit Al's family. Megan loved the flowers.


Will, Ben, and Jack enjoyed playing with their cousins. They are all close in age. It was a sleep over for two nights in a row. Here they are with all of their cousins from Al's family.

Our Backyard Campout

Summer has been busy here, trying to keep the kids entertained. At times I feel like I run my own summer camp. We even do field trips. The start of summer stresses me a bit, but by the end I enjoy our new lack of routine.



Thursday night of the July 4th weekend we did a family campout in the backyard. I will have to admit Megan and I actually slept in the house. It was really just a boys campout, but we all had fun just being outside. We loved sitting around the fire making smores. Megan understood not to get close to the fire thank goodness. A good time and some great memories.


For the 4th of July our church did a cookout, talent show, and parade. For the parade the kids decorated their riding toys and did a few loops in the parking lot. Here is Jack with his scooter full of curling ribbon.

Just Testing

I am testing to see if I can load up a clip from my digital camera to this blog. I am glad I recorded a good bit on my camera. This infant stage doesn't last for long.

Some Indoor Fun in the Summer

Here are a few more things we have been doing with all our free time this summer. The boys had been asking about making edible play-doh, so we tried it out. We did the recipe with powdered sugar and corn syrup. I think there is also one with peanut butter. The play-doh tasted pretty good, like icing.



Even Will and our neighbor had fun making snails and walls.



Megan enjoyed poking the play-doh. She was not brave enough to eat this green stuff.



Will and Ben decided to have fun with my glue gun. They took some of the school supplies from the end of the year and made many creations.



Ben made some type of ship here.



This is Will's "Cowboy Joe." I think he is very cute. He even has a snicker's wrapper for his cowboy hat.

Yeah for Field Day!

The boys are having a great summer vacation so far. I am finally getting caught up on what we have been up to. Here are a few pictures from field day. Will and Ben had their field day scheduled on the same day and it was a 90 degree day. Hot for me, so I didn't get tons of pictures. I don't blog very often, but having this motivates me to take pictures.



Will did great with jump the river.




Ben had fun with the sack races. Jack wanted to get involved too. Only one more school year Jack.