Wednesday, July 18, 2012

North Carolina Zoo

The North Carolina Zoo is only a 40 minute drive from our hotel in High Point.  Since our hotel is only about 4 hours from the beach, and we can't get into the house until 4...we have made our own little tradition of taking the boys to the zoo before driving the rest of the way.  The boys were super excited that Uncle Kyler and Aunt Kara joined us this year!  We all met at the zoo as soon as it opened, before it got too hot, and hoped to wear the boys out so the would nap on the drive.  We didn't beat the heat, but we definitely wore the boys out and they slept most of the 4 hour drive = success!! 

The zoo was awesome and we had the African exhibits to ourselves for the first hour or so.  Kristoffer had the camera, and here are some of the animals we saw...




Ostriches for Gramaw!



The lioness couldn't let her man keep his comfy spot, she had to come steal it!



He left his comfy spot to take his place on "pride rock"!








Yes, the children were at the zoo with us too!!

It was a great pit stop on our way to the beach and all the fun that awaited us there!


Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Road Trip!

We just returned from another relaxing, food filled, vacation with the Gray family in North Carolina!  As we are getting back into the swing of things, and I am slowly getting unpacked, I thought I would share a bit of our adventure....

The four of us loaded up the van and headed out for the beach around 3:30am.  Our boys don't actually sleep much in the van, but when it is dark they are at least quiet and ride nicely!  We stopped in Rio Grande, OH at the original Bob Evans restaurant for breakfast. 

The boys were super excited to 1) be out of the van and 2) that daddy was going to be with us for 9 whole days!!

Silly Babe!


Gramaw had sent some surprises with us for the trip....one for after breakfast, one for after nap and another one for Sunday morning after breakfast.  They were a big hit!

The boys were super excited to get some new toys and a snack, and we enjoyed using it as a bargaining tool!  We will definitely remember this trick for next year!!

We borrowed a few new movies from Uncle Zach and Aunt Emmy, and Karter couldn't wait until after breakfast to watch one!


Kado only watched maybe 10 minutes!

We made a stop on the Virginia "Welcome Center" for a picnic lunch.  We were all ready to stretch our legs....and stomachs!

The boys quickly discovered that feeding the birds was more fun...

Sorry Kado, the birds will not let you pet them!
We successfully made it to our hotel in High Point, NC, and were excited to meet up with the rest of our gang.  Check back last this week for our trip to the zoo, before our beach adventure!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Monday, July 9, 2012

June Recap: Part 2

Here is what we were up to the second half of June....

For Karter's birthday, we got him a bike.  Before the temperatures got too outrageous, we took him across the road almost every night to practice.  As I have said before, Kristoffer is an awesome, patient Daddy and has helped Karter really learn how to pedal!

Cutie Pie!

Would you know that this ornery little boy had just been to the doctor a few hours earlier for an ear infection?  What a difference a long nap and 2 doses of antibiotics will make!

Karterman has mastered the length of the basketball court...but check out Kristoffer's air!!

Silly Daddy!

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After riding for a bit, the boys were ready to move on to activity #2 that night, but first we had to wave at the neighbors riding by on their tandem bike!

Then it was time to race under the old grapevines.  There is something about running under there that really fascinates the boys!

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The weekend after Karter's birthday, we packed up the van and headed to Cincinnati for a night to visit the 2011 Grays!  Kyler and Kristoffer took the boys to a Reds game, while Kara and I enjoyed a pedicure and a little shopping!  Here are a few pictures Kristoffer took at the game...




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Down the road from our house are 2 horses, and a few nights a week we enjoy walking down to visit them.  The boys have named them Butterscotch and Cocoa.

We have started bringing them a treat each visit, and Butterscotch has caught on and now charges to the fence when she sees the wagon pull up.

Cocoa is much to shy (and Butterscotch is much to greedy) so he doesn't get any treats.

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Papaw just happened to be out putting the chickens away...and doesn't he always need his 2 partners to help him?!

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An old theatre in New Castle does free family movies on Wednesday mornings during the summer.  I didn't catch wind of this awesome treasure until last week.  The boys were super excited to be able to watch Smurfs in the theatre....and eat popcorn!


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My cookie business is officially on break!  I was pretty much booked up from March until June, and it was getting to be too much for me to handle...I was just getting too tired!  Plus, I felt like the boys and I were stuck inside working on such beautiful days.  We only have a few months until our lives change (for the better!), and I want to enjoy those few months with the boys as much as possible!!

This order was split beach and 4th of July...what a fun way to end!!






Hopefully this month I will be better about posting...but I'm not holding my breath!! :)