Staycation Day 2

I guess you might as well say that we're doing a staycation this weekend. We're doing tons of stuff and not staying at home much, but we're staying close to home.

Today we went to Jellybeans to rollerskate in the 10AM-Noon matinee. Parents get to skate free then, and it's the right time to take new skaters. I have not been to a real rink since I was 15 probably, and the boys have never been. I mean, we've been out in the street, but not in a real rink. Boy did this bring back great memories. They were playing the right music, the lights were right, I can still skate (and in my 1980s era skates); it was just great. I used to take lessons, and I'd spend most Saturdays at the rink as a middle schooler in Monroe, NC. The kids had a good time, but I'm afraid this was really more for me then for them. The kids started out barely able to skate but were up on their feet for extended times after getting some practice. Johnny was particularly doing well even trying to "Shake, Shake, Shake" with the music and skate at the same time. He was just too cute.

Afterward, we headed to Lake Crabtree County Park. I remembered that they had a nice playground area there. The boys were excited and played on the playground for quite a while. Johnny went down the fireman's pole for the first time that I've seen. Joey tried to do the horizontal ladder swinging his arms left then right but wasn't able to keep going. Still, he did better today than other days. After wearing them out at the playground, I suggested that we take out a canoe. Both boys were excited, so off we went. I am pleased to say that we all stayed dry. That's a success! Johnny sat on the floor of the canoe in the middle because there are only two seats, and he did a great job at sitting still. He was so motivated not to fall into the water that he didn't move a muscle...poor guy. We stayed out about 45 minutes and called it a day. We were ready to get out of the sun and humid air.

We tried to go to the ClubWorx pool to cool off, but the afternoon storms rolled in, and they closed the pool.

The rest of the pics are here.

The fireworks at the NC Fairgrounds were rained out last night. They are supposed to go off tonight, but there's rain in the area again. Here are a few pics last night at our usual spot before we had to pack up and leave.

Raven Rock State Park

I took the boys to Raven Rock State Park midday today. Joey was there once before as a toddler with Rick, but he didn't make it to THE rock that day. I hiked it once before with some friends, but it was pre Joey. Today, it was hot and buggy and we went down the wrong trail to start, but I'm proud to say that we did make it to Raven Rock. I told Joey and Johnny that some things in life that are worth doing turn out being hard to do. But, it should feel good to stick with it (giggles).

After Raven Rock, I promised the ClubWorx pool. This was our first trip this year. It seems that July 4th is usually the first weekend we go. Johnny really enjoyed being able to hang out at the steps and walk around the 2 foot section. It was a refreshing end to our sweaty hike.

Tonight at bedtime, Joey thanked me for taking him to THE rock even though he was walking slow:-)

All the pics are here.

The Great Canoe Trip

Joey and I had a successful canoe trip at Lake Wheeler this morning. It's the first time I have been out in a canoe since I was 10. Joey has been out in pedal boats, but I don't think in a canoe. We got there around 7ish and were on the water by 7:15. A very nice park ranger gave us the basics, and a push off, and we were on our way. We were instructed to head west against the wind to start. We went about half way to the Penny Road construction area when I turned us around. We needed to get back so Rick could go to work or I might have gone farther. We saw several fisherman/boats and rode a few boat wakes. The first boat wake was the only time we nearly capsized. Joey and I were not prepared for how it would feel. It rocked us back and forth pretty good. We turned around and manuevered our way back and were gone right at an hour. What fun for only $4. On the way out of the park, I stopped and took a few Great Blue Heron shots near the dam.

The rest of the pics are here.

Getting Ready for the 4th of July

It's an annual tradition to have a Patriotic Party for the kids at our house the weekend before the 4th of July. We do crafts, eat good food, and play games...all the things a good party should have, right? Crafts consisted of popsicle stick flags, firework painting, windsocks, and star wands. We had Chick-fil-A nuggets, chips, and yummy kid decorated chocolate cupcakes. For games, we gave the kids their first try at sack races, a flag relay race, and an egg race. It's always hard to tell whose having more fun...me or the kids. Until next year...

Here are all the party pics.

Dragonfly

I took this neat dragonfly picture in my yard today. Thankfully, they don't bite AND they eat mosquitos. I have 3 ornamental ponds in my yard, so I see a lot of dragonflies.

Fun at the Museum

The boys and I made it to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham today like we planned. I have to share, though, that we got as far as the Durham Bulls stadium before I realized that the kids didn't have on any shoes. They forgot to grab their Crocs, and Mom forgot to remind them. Oops! Thankfully, there was a drugstore nearby with inexpensive crocalikes (red), and our little dilemna was easily fixed. No way were we turning around after driving 30 miles!

It wasn't sweltering here today. No 100 degree temps. Still, it was pretty hot. The boys and I look hot and sticky from suntan lotion in the pics. We spent about 3 1/2 hours of our 4-hour trip to the museum outside:-) There's just so much to do, and they keep adding more.

We did all the usual favorite stuff like the playground, sandbox, musical instruments, train, and butterfly house. We were lucky to go to the butterfly house at 3PM when they released the 'new' butterflies. Both the boys and I got to hold several butterflies. All the kids were so delighted to participate in this special event; it was just great.

What we also did was go way out back past the train depot to where the new Explore the Wind exhibit is. Hugh, the train conductor, was telling us how much his grandson loved sailing the sailboats and that we really should walk back there. Mom was super impressed to see a great blue heron and get cools pics, and the boys were way happy sailing the remote-controlled sailboats. Wow! Joey said we just have to go back there every time we go from now on:-)

We never didn't see the bears, wolves, or lemurs...maybe next time.

We did finally go back to the 'big' building long enough to quickly walk through the NASA stuff. But, by then, the late afternoon thunderstorms were rolling in, and it was time to head out.

Here is the link to all the pics I took yesterday. Here is a link to just the pics in the collage.

Beach!

The boys and I headed out around 8:30AM yesterday morning to Wrightsville Beach. It's the closest beach to us at about 2 hours away. The forecast was for partly cloudy, 85, with strong afternoon storms. Well, by 9:30AM we were driving in the rain:-( After getting a radar check and learning that storms were all up and down the coast, we headed to the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher. My hope was that we'd enjoy the aquarium for a couple of hours and then come out to find a sunny day so we could still go swimming. NC Zoo members get in free, so that was sweet. Everyone thought the aquarium would be a good idea on a rainy day, so it was crowded, but not too crowded to enjoy. We ended up spending about 2 hours at the aquarium. We'd had fun there before, and the boys had a really good time this trip too. Joey made a magnet for the fridge, and we saw sharks and an ugly eel in the big tank. We also had fun at the 'touch' area.

It looked clearning but iffy when we came out. Thankfully, as we drove back through Kure beach, it got pretty sunny, and we found some free and close to the beach public access parking. The boys were so excited to get on the beach and go swimming. Both of them just could not wait to get in the water. I was trying to spread the blanket and put more lotion on us and get us ready, and they were READY. Both boys had tons of fun in the surf. Joey was quite the fish wanting to be in up to his shoulders. I had to keep reminding him not to go out too far. We watched the miniature clams (?) redigging themselves back into the sand after each wave passed. We buildt a fun style sand castle with the buckets we'd brought with us. Some other kids showed up later on and played nicely with the boys. I even got to get wet with Joey up to my waste and 'swim'. The water was pretty warm...75 maybe? I felt comfortable. 3 hours later, we said goodbye to the ocean and headed home. Thankfully, no one got burnt. I kept respraying.

The only bummer for me ended up being a dirty camera lense when I was taking the bird pictures. Oh well. In the bubble shot above, you can see me sitting with my straw hat and Joey standing beside me:-) That was my fun pic of the day.

I posted a few of the best pics, but the rest are here.

We're off to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham today. Pics later!