Ziggy Piggy

So we found a really cool local restaurant tonight....it is appropriately named "A Time to Eat." They've got really good greasy hamburgers, french fries and onion rings. Then for desert there is the homemade ice cream. After our dinner tonight we went for the banana split....just look at the approval from the bosses.

There were a couple of times during our disposal of the banana split that I was reminded of Napoleon from this scene in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Big Smiles

Pictures from snack time in the play room today :)

Yellow Jackets

I have come around to the realization that we have a few too many yellow jackets hanging around our house. Pictured below is a type of yellow jacket - the bald-faced hornet - that was just chilling on one of our windows.

While I would certainly refer to the presence of my friend above as situation "NG", its not as NG as the yellow jacket nest I found in the front yard. I emptied a can of yellow jacket death into the hole that led to their underground nest on Wednesday....and tonight, I saw one climbing out of the hole. He stopped, smiled at me, and flew off! That is why the exterminator is coming Monday....that nest is about to become Ground-Beero!!

NC Zoo

So it was a relatively cool day today (high only in the mid-80's), and since we are now members of the Children's Museum and get discount passes to the NC Zoo, we decided it would be a great place to go visit today. It turns out that it is a little bit out of the way, and walking through the park definitely benefits from some knowledge of the layout, but it was definitely a fun place to visit. There were play areas for the kids. And most impressive, they work many of the exhibits into very natural habitats for the animals. All it took was notice of the merry-go-round to get full buy-in from Lily this morning. Have you ever known her to pose and look at the camera twice?!?! Gotta be a merry-go-round! CJ, for whatever reason, was totally into riding on the gorilla. Nope, we have no idea what that was all about. Lily and Caroline clowning around in the life size hive at the bee gardens.

Backyard Debate

There is a great debate raging in our household over the identification of objects pictured below. Thatcher believes that they are squirrels, while Gator insists that they are furry tennis balls with 4 legs. Despite the controversy, the boys agree on two points: 1 - whatever they are, they're a whole lot of fun to chase 2 - if they actually caught one, they'd have no idea what to do with it

Everything old is new again....sort of

So anytime you're moving, you always end up going through the nooks, crannies and junk holes of your house. We did some healthy reexamination of our stuff as we made our big move this month. Some things were donated, others just rediscovered after years of neglect. Ironically, the same thing can be said for our house in Winston. Walking into it the first time was like time-warping back to the 1950's. Fortunately our parents, as usual, lent a hand and some elbow grease to bring the house closer to the 21st century (you all are fantastic beyond words). After losing the curtains, hanging some pictures and letting the boys get settled in, the house has turned into a cozy home that will suit us well for the next year. The girls rediscovered some treasures in the storage room. The problem for Gator is that the only thing he's ever been interested in are tennis balls....but since he destroys them, he can't go back and find forgotten stuff! Gran paint time while the move was happening....good decision to have it outside :) The dynamic dancing duo helping Daddy and Uncle Jonathan load the truck in JC. Snack at the new house...yes, we believe the wallpaper is actually from the 1950's. CJ helping me put together some shelves for the girls playroom. Some pictures from different rooms in the house. There are still a few boxes to empty and pictures to hang, but for the most part we are settled in. The girls playroom The study Master bedroom Living room And yes....my solution to the lawn issue was to buy an old-school reel lawnmower (maybe the 50's vibe inspired me). After breaking it in today, I can say that I am very pleased. It is definitely not the manicured cut that is so valued in suburbia these days, but it is much cheaper, quieter and healthier than the motorized versions. For the purposes of this year, it will work out great (though I can say this knowing I will be returning to my John Deere this time next year....'cause nothing runs like a Deere, not even me ;)

Some Family Pictures

This is a very exciting time for us with all of the transitions we are currently undertaking. To honor the girls birthdays while they could spend the time with their friends, we threw a big bash last weekend and had a lot of family and friends in town to visit. We actually hired a professional photographer to snap pictures at the party (which was a really good decision Emily made). We'll wait on those pictures to do some posting from the party, but in the mean time here are some of the pictures from family hangin' with family. Nana and Papa + 4 Why is it that the best toys are always cardboard boxes and couch pillows? The girls were having a big time some of our moving supplies... Hanging with these crazy cousins can be such an interesting experience! Getting ready to leave for the last day of preschool...and even more sad, the last day at Ms. Mattie's :(

Ghost of Christmas Past

So we got a new document scanner for a number of reasons....primarily because it makes it easier for me to communicate graphical concepts to my MBA students, but also because we are filing more paperwork than ever right now. Before using it for any of that though, I thought I'd take a test run on a picture Chip found in my desk in the garage.....wonder who these crazy kids are?

Beach Week: The Family

The last morning at the beach.....some great pictures thanks to the timer function on Nana's camera! And a goofy picture :)

Welcome to the Jungle

I'm a little late getting the garden going this year....too much craziness combined with my tiller hook up being in Haiti. All that to say, I finally got the garden tilled today and will plant seeds in the coming days. It was really remarkable how much of a garden was already there. There was a squash plant, pumpkin plant, many onions that had gone to seed and an incredibly large carrot that had actually grown a bush on top of it (the purple flower pictured below was a bloom on the carrot bush). Did a more traditional row layout this year, but still went with the raised bed approach to provide more soil and irrigation for the plants. And speaking of the plants, we'll be doing a three sisters scheme this year...corn (actually, its popcorn), sunflowers, pumpkins and gourds (gremlin mix and wooly bears), and pole beans (rattlesnake and purple speckled lima beans - otherwise known as Duke Dog beans!!!) The one plant that survived below was a rosemary plant that was doing really well, so I just tilled around it. In the short stretch of bed in front of it I have already laid seed for a "beneficial insect attractant mix" - a mix of seeds designed to attract bugs to the garden that eat the pesky bugs.

Beach Week: The Beach

We had a bunch of fun on the beach at Isle of Palms....there was plenty of room to spread out and tons of shells on the beach. Fortunately, we had good weather and got to go to the beach every day! There were many sand castles built and bacci balls thrown. Caroline was working Papa out on water patrol for the sand castle!

Beach Week: The Yorktown

While staying at the Isle of Palms, we took an afternoon trip to Charleston to visit the naval museum located on the Yorktown. I've always been a big fan of the movie Midway, it was truly remarkable to actually walk around on that ship. Of course, the historical value was largely lost on the girls, who nevertheless found ways to entertain themselves.....drumming on helicopter landing gear....firing anti-aircraft guns....you know, fun kid stuff :)