Love their expressions in this last picture!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
My Funny Valentines
Here are some cute pictures of my kiddos from the Sunday before Valentine's Day. I know, I know, I'm way too matchy-matchy. But when your kids are this stinkin' cute, you just can't resist! :)
Love their expressions in this last picture!
Love their expressions in this last picture!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
The Last Five Months
We've been a little MIA these last five months. Okay, maybe a lot MIA. Here's a quick recap since September to get you caught up with our crazy lives!
-We've had all four of our birthdays. Abby and Todd celebrated on November 16th. She remains his greatest birthday present to date :). Abby turned four this year. It blows my mind how quickly time flies!! My birthday was December 16, and Tyler's was on December 17. Our baby turned 2!
-We've had multiple Christmas celebrations with all of our wonderful family in all the corners of the state. We've celebrated in Sanford, Sims, Elizabethtown, Aurora, and New Bern!
-Abby is taking dance now at a small local studio. It's called Happy Feet, which is perfect since she loves that movie so much! She's in a preschool age class, and I have been super impressed with the experience. I was really worried that she wouldn't be a good listener, but she does a fabulous job listening to her teacher Mrs. Kristen.
-We've had several decent snows for New Bern this year. We've missed some school, which will be sad when it's time to make it all up!
I think the biggest news of all is that we are going to put our home on the market soon. It's bittersweet for us, but we feel it is the right thing to do. Even though this is our first home, we are quickly outgrowing it! We were not planning on selling our house right now, but I think God is leading us in this decision. It all started with me browsing the internet for homes in our area. Not seriously, just to see what was out there. I found a foreclosure in our area and it was a good deal for a lot of house and not in horrible shape. That house ended up going under contract before we could do anything about it. However, that got the ball rolling. We are actively working to put our house on the market and hope to do so very soon. And now, we have another house prospect that will most likely work out. God knew what he was doing when he had me searching the internet that night!
-We've had all four of our birthdays. Abby and Todd celebrated on November 16th. She remains his greatest birthday present to date :). Abby turned four this year. It blows my mind how quickly time flies!! My birthday was December 16, and Tyler's was on December 17. Our baby turned 2!
-We've had multiple Christmas celebrations with all of our wonderful family in all the corners of the state. We've celebrated in Sanford, Sims, Elizabethtown, Aurora, and New Bern!
-Abby is taking dance now at a small local studio. It's called Happy Feet, which is perfect since she loves that movie so much! She's in a preschool age class, and I have been super impressed with the experience. I was really worried that she wouldn't be a good listener, but she does a fabulous job listening to her teacher Mrs. Kristen.
-We've had several decent snows for New Bern this year. We've missed some school, which will be sad when it's time to make it all up!
I think the biggest news of all is that we are going to put our home on the market soon. It's bittersweet for us, but we feel it is the right thing to do. Even though this is our first home, we are quickly outgrowing it! We were not planning on selling our house right now, but I think God is leading us in this decision. It all started with me browsing the internet for homes in our area. Not seriously, just to see what was out there. I found a foreclosure in our area and it was a good deal for a lot of house and not in horrible shape. That house ended up going under contract before we could do anything about it. However, that got the ball rolling. We are actively working to put our house on the market and hope to do so very soon. And now, we have another house prospect that will most likely work out. God knew what he was doing when he had me searching the internet that night!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Bear Hunt
On Labor Day, Amy and I decided to take the kids on a Bear Hunt through downtown New Bern. For those who haven't seen them, there are 27 bear statues that have been placed in spots around the downtown area, with another 23 in the Greater New Bern Area. The bears have been painted to represent either the location or the ideals of the organization that sponsored placement of each bear.
More information about each of the Bear Town Bears can be found here.
Here are the bears we found today (20 of the 27 downtown bears)
And some photos from our journey:
More information about each of the Bear Town Bears can be found here.
Here are the bears we found today (20 of the 27 downtown bears)
And some photos from our journey:
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Vacation!
A couple of weeks ago we took a long weekend trip up to Virginia. We were gone 4 jam-packed days! We left on a Thursday afternoon and drove up to Virginia Beach, taking a quick dinner break in Elizabeth City. Waterfront Park is downtown and gave the kids the opportunity to stretch their legs.
Friday morning we woke up bright and early and drove from Jodi's house in Virginia Beach to Busch Gardens Williamsburg. We spent a long, hot, but fun day there. Abby and Tyler enjoyed the Forest of Fun which is a Sesame Street themed area. Everything is very kid friendly. Here are the kids waiting to get on a ride:
Here we are riding!
And that was the last image ever taken by my camera. Following that picture, Todd proceeded to balance the camera on a fence post to get out his cell phone. The camera tipped, and then fell onto the rocks around the ride, and into the water. Luckily (I thought) I was able to fish the camera out as Tyler and I rode by. Not necessarily so lucky because the camera was a goner. So about 30 minutes into our vacation we were short a camera. I was sad, but we stayed positive and had a great day! Todd and I were able to leave Abby and Tyler with my parents on a few occasions to ride some grown-up rides. We LOVE rollercoasters!
On Saturday we went to the Virginia Aquarium near the Oceanfront. We were able to see a 3D IMAX movie about dolphins and whales. Abby normally loves watching "animal shows" as she calls them, but something about huge whales coming right at her head didn't do much for her. Everyone else seemed to enjoy the movie just fine. It is a large aquarium and there were plenty of cool things to see. One of Tyler's favorite parts was the massive stingray touch tank. He loved to watch them swim around and around and we even got to watch a feeding.
Sunday morning we ventured towards Newport News and visited the Virginia Living Museum. We would highly recommend it for families with kids. Or if you are dorky teachers like Todd and I, even adults like it! It is kinda pricey to get in, but since we are members of the NC Aquarium we were able to get in for free because it is part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. There are lots of hands-on things for kids, as well as animal exhibits both indoors and out. It is like a combination of a zoo, aquarium, and museum.
When we left the Living Museum we had originally planned to drive home. But, we decided to be adventurous and drive down the Outer Banks. It took us about 2 hours, but we made it to Kitty Hawk just in time to have a fantastic seafood dinner. Dinner was good, but of course we didn't have any kind of hotel reservation. We drove towards Manteo because we knew it would be a little cheaper. We ended up at the Dare Haven Inn. Too put it mildly, it was an interesting experience. It was very dated, the mattress was horrible, and there were mismatched towels in the bathroom. Despite all of this, we had a great evening. Todd and I put the kids to bed, and then sat outside on the breezeway in some comfy chairs. It was the first time during the whole vacation we were able to sit and talk and enjoy each other! As Todd called it, here are some images of "The Hotel Time Forgot":
The next morning we got up and went to the NC Aquarium in Manteo. It is smaller than the one in Pine Knoll Shores, but it was nice to see something a little different. We were able to watch a live dive and listen to the diver answer audience questions. Abby also enjoyed looking for sharks' teeth in their sharks' tooth pile.
That afternoon we headed home. We were glad to get home and sleep in our own beds!
Friday morning we woke up bright and early and drove from Jodi's house in Virginia Beach to Busch Gardens Williamsburg. We spent a long, hot, but fun day there. Abby and Tyler enjoyed the Forest of Fun which is a Sesame Street themed area. Everything is very kid friendly. Here are the kids waiting to get on a ride:
Here we are riding!
And that was the last image ever taken by my camera. Following that picture, Todd proceeded to balance the camera on a fence post to get out his cell phone. The camera tipped, and then fell onto the rocks around the ride, and into the water. Luckily (I thought) I was able to fish the camera out as Tyler and I rode by. Not necessarily so lucky because the camera was a goner. So about 30 minutes into our vacation we were short a camera. I was sad, but we stayed positive and had a great day! Todd and I were able to leave Abby and Tyler with my parents on a few occasions to ride some grown-up rides. We LOVE rollercoasters!
On Saturday we went to the Virginia Aquarium near the Oceanfront. We were able to see a 3D IMAX movie about dolphins and whales. Abby normally loves watching "animal shows" as she calls them, but something about huge whales coming right at her head didn't do much for her. Everyone else seemed to enjoy the movie just fine. It is a large aquarium and there were plenty of cool things to see. One of Tyler's favorite parts was the massive stingray touch tank. He loved to watch them swim around and around and we even got to watch a feeding.
Sunday morning we ventured towards Newport News and visited the Virginia Living Museum. We would highly recommend it for families with kids. Or if you are dorky teachers like Todd and I, even adults like it! It is kinda pricey to get in, but since we are members of the NC Aquarium we were able to get in for free because it is part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. There are lots of hands-on things for kids, as well as animal exhibits both indoors and out. It is like a combination of a zoo, aquarium, and museum.
When we left the Living Museum we had originally planned to drive home. But, we decided to be adventurous and drive down the Outer Banks. It took us about 2 hours, but we made it to Kitty Hawk just in time to have a fantastic seafood dinner. Dinner was good, but of course we didn't have any kind of hotel reservation. We drove towards Manteo because we knew it would be a little cheaper. We ended up at the Dare Haven Inn. Too put it mildly, it was an interesting experience. It was very dated, the mattress was horrible, and there were mismatched towels in the bathroom. Despite all of this, we had a great evening. Todd and I put the kids to bed, and then sat outside on the breezeway in some comfy chairs. It was the first time during the whole vacation we were able to sit and talk and enjoy each other! As Todd called it, here are some images of "The Hotel Time Forgot":
The next morning we got up and went to the NC Aquarium in Manteo. It is smaller than the one in Pine Knoll Shores, but it was nice to see something a little different. We were able to watch a live dive and listen to the diver answer audience questions. Abby also enjoyed looking for sharks' teeth in their sharks' tooth pile.
That afternoon we headed home. We were glad to get home and sleep in our own beds!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Visiting Granny & Papa
The last weekend in June we took a long weekend trip to Sanford to visit with Granny and Papa. It ended up being an action packed weekend! Abby and Tyler especially enjoyed the wading pool they had for them! Friday morning we had a playdate with Granny's neighbor Meredith. On Friday evening, Todd and I went to the Rascal Flatts concert with Kara and Christopher at Walnut Creek. We had a great time. We hadn't been to a concert in years! Saturday morning we took a trip to SanLee Park where they have a really cute little nature center. They have birds, turtles, snakes, crayfish, and even a squirrel! The kids loved looking at the turtles especially and that is now Abby's favorite animal. Sunday was busy too. We went to church in the morning, and in the afternoon some of Todd's friends from high school came to Sanford to catch up and meet the kids. We enjoyed visiting with Carolyn, Kristen, and Chris!
Sweet Summertime!
Recently we took an evening trip to Dairy Queen for some yummy ice cream. Tyler was able to have his first ice cream cone! He made a huge mess, but he loved it!
Uncle Justin and Hannah came too! Here we are snugglin' with Uncle Jus!
He's got some big shoes to fill!
Uncle Justin and Hannah came too! Here we are snugglin' with Uncle Jus!
He's got some big shoes to fill!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Because of Winn-Dixie
I recently had the opportunity to read the novel Because of Winn-Dixie to my students. It is a children's novel and if you haven't read it, you need to. In the book, the father blesses a meal at a party for his little girl. It really touched me, and I wanted to share!
Dear God, thank you for warm summer nights and candlelight and good food. But thank you most of all for friends. We appreciate the complicated and wonderful gifts you give us in each other. And we appreciate the task you put down before us, of loving each other the best we can, even as you love us. We pray in Christ's name. Amen.
Dear God, thank you for warm summer nights and candlelight and good food. But thank you most of all for friends. We appreciate the complicated and wonderful gifts you give us in each other. And we appreciate the task you put down before us, of loving each other the best we can, even as you love us. We pray in Christ's name. Amen.
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