Addicted...

to cucumbers and RANCH dip!

So Proud!

Remember this POST...

Well, Mike got the job!! It was pretty much a shoe-in, but everyone knows the "politics" of getting promoted or getting a new job and that wasn't the case, thank goodness. Mike got the job despite the politics because not only was he the most qualified, but he was the BEST man for the job.

Today, was his first day in his new position as being an almost supervisor and he also received his plaque for being "Civilian of the Quarter"!!!

We are so very proud of you Daddy!!

On The Road Again

How lucky we were not only to be able to get out of Irene's path but to escape major storm damage as well.

This is what we saw lots of when we finally got to Rt. 58.

Utility trucks and generators!

And, gotta love Mike for finding food in an almost sold out convenience store that only accepted cash and where the McDonald's was only open for lunch.

And, the 2.5 hr trip up Rt. 58 went relatively quickly since we were on the lookout for down power lines and trees! And, boy were there a lot! Huge trees that were uprooted, some were just laying on power lines and cars were crushed. It was difficult to take pictures while we were moving but happened to catch some ones that I could post.

Can you believe these caravans?!? There were two separate motorcades and we believe they were transporting prisoners that were evacuated due to the storm. ick.

And, when we got home we got right to work.

We are thinking that we could contract these girls out :).

Our small pile will become pretty large once the week goes on.

Again, thanks Mom and Dad for taking all five of us in this weekend! We were definitely on high alert for most of the time we were with you and we thank you for looking after us and making us feel like we made the best decision for our family. Hopefully we won't feel the need to do this again anytime soon, but we are so glad that if we do, we have you!

Last Day

A trip this morning to watch the boats on Lake Norman and a little playground time too.

What did Emma want to do? She wanted to make her way down the rocky slope down to the lake. :)

We also took a lot of walks this evening, rode bikes and worked in the garden.

Lily even found a very cool bird's nest.

And, a picture of the new friends Maci and Molly!

Keeping Busy

Today our mission was to keep busy and stay busy. Today Hurricane Irene made landfall in NC and made her way up the coast and pretty much stalled directly over Virginia Beach. Yep, stayed over us forever!

So, instead of staying in front of the tv and watching the news online, we went to the Discovery Kids Science Center...again. Mike, Nana and I took the girls and it was great that we took turns doing things. It was busy but definitely manageable.

The girls also went and picked veggies in the garden and had fun running around the house after Molly and Maci.

We were in contact with our neighbors throughout Irene's visit and had updates from Trish too! Thankfully, our house only lost power for a few hours on Saturday which is unbelievable! Our house looses power in thunderstorms and stays out for hours upon hours!

Mike and I kept saying all day how happy we were that we left. We couldn't imagine being at home with the girls watching and listening to the strong winds and the never ending rain. Thanks Nana and Pa for putting up with us for a few more days!



Clean-Up and Drive

Yesterday afternoon, around 3pm, we made a family decision to leave town and head south to Charlotte. All week we have been preparing for "Irene" by going shopping to stock up on essential items (batteries, canned goods and brownie mix) and were fully prepared to ride her out at home. BUT, you know whenever you get that feeling, you really should listen to it. I'm not sure if it was my 'mommy gut', my 'uh-oh gut' or just that everyone was calling us asking us if we were going to get out of the beach. But, we ultimately decided that two little girls did not need to stick it out and listen to the 90+ mph winds, the constant rain and watching Mike and I worry that a tree could fall on our house at any point.

So, we spent the evening in the backyard putting away everything that could become hazerdous or missle-like and our yard has never looked cleaner :).

The girls got to play in their sandbox, dresses, skirts and all.

And, today...

We headed out of town.

Mike had to go to work for half a day and mostly for a mandatory 10am meeting, he does work for the Coast Gaurd after all. If it gets really bad, he may be called in to help with search and rescue efforts!

At, 1pm, we were on the road and headed to my parents in Charlotte...again.

We had just gotten back a week ago tomorrow, I had just finished laundry from our trip and we were getting back into our daily routine but back in the car we went, Maci too!

I packed light, made sure to empty the fridge taking all food that we could eat, hooked up the dvd player, turned Miss Emma around in her seat (yes, we turned her...not sure if I could have made another 6+ hr trip if we didn't), made a nice place for Maci in the back and off we went. We hit major traffic on Rt. 58, not the place you want that to happen! We saw lots of utility trucks heading north and huge medial state assistant trucks too! Very stressful to say the least but very grateful we were able to get out of town.

...to be contined...



This morning, for probably 15 minutes, Lily taught Emma how to sort the shapes using the shape sorter :) Love these sissy moments :)

Having lunch at the blue table. This made their day!

Oh, my very Sassy Lily

And, can I say, "Holy Teeth Emma" haha....

Love you sweet girl.

We're Gettin' Ready

for Hurricane Irene

with plenty of batteries

and organic milk drink boxes.

And, the girls had a lot of fun "playing store" with our "hurricane kit" :).

Park Day

for these girls means:

1. fresh air makes for some tired girls

2. our boo-boo bag was put to good use

3. decent afternoon naps

4. a great time with friends :)

Evening Fun

Our little bike rider is now loving her evening rides!

And, since the playset is almost complete...we had some fun going down the slide too!

We all are pretty tired...and I wish I could sleep anytime like Miss Lady here...

Back to VA

Thanks Mom and Dad for an absolutely wonderful two weeks! We love you lots!

Her practice is paying off ! :) Way to go Lily!!!

Some Extras

After dinner, most nights, Pa would take Lily out to the garden. Lily loved every single second of it and mostly because it was just her and Pa. He would take her in and show her all of the veggies and as Lily would run inside yelling, "Mom, Pa let me pick green peppers tonight!!" Oh, how these memories will stay with this little girl forever. :) Makes my heart smile.

Park Day with Daddy. Daddy took the girls for the morning so that Nana and I could do a little shopping together sans the L-E tornado :). They had a great time and they were the only ones there! Thanks Daddy!

Bike and car riding always requires a cold drink on the deck with a little R&R.

One afternoon Pa bravely took afternoon duty to let Nana and I go to the most amazing fabric store ever!!!! This is where we found them when we got home...outside waiting for us :). Too bad I forgot to inform Pa that these girls perk right up after nap when you offer them a snack...any snack. :) Thanks Pa!

Mike and I actually had time to go to Ikea together while Nana and Pa took afternoon duty! We didn't take any pics of ourselves browsing the aisles, finding very little that impressed us, but we did take a picture of this very odd truck while going home. Not sure what it is or what it would do....

This picture makes me laugh out loud! My parents have become "those people" with their phones! Even Mike and I are still in the "dark age" of being non- iphone owners and our parents play Angry Birds and Dad has his own app. scanny thingy on his business cards! HA.

 

And, I just love this pic :)

Visit #3

Yes, the third visit. And, this time Daddy and Pa came with us while Nana opted out of our last trip...lucky lady :). Daddy and Pa definitely got a great glimpse of why these two little girls L-O-V-E this place and luckily it was the least crowded day.

Today the girls chose the Underwater Room, with a very cool submarine, The Restaurant, and a few other random places.

This place is so much fun that the girls can not wait to go back when we visit Nana and Pa again.

YAY!

Daddy's Here!

Mike drove down last night so that he would be here when the girls woke up this morning. And, what a surprise it was! They loved being able to have breakfast with Daddy and showing him around the house and all of their toys. We had a mini-family morning at the pool which they loved showing Daddy as well. They loved that Mike took them into the big pool and that Daddy went under, gasp!

We missed you Daddy!





Science Center Visit 2

Oh my. How we wish we had this Science Center in Va Beach. It is so much fun. The girls could play here for hours, not sure I or Nana would want to stay there that long, but it certainly has the potential. Today it wasn't as busy as it was last week so the girls had more of an opportunity to play what they wanted.

Their choices, well really Lily chose, but they mostly played in the Supermarket, the Vet, the Restaurant and the Farm. They loved every second of it, so much so that Lily had a minor 3 year old tantrum when we told her we had to go. She held it together in the end and came out a big girl but oh it's so hard to leave a place you love so much :).

Cars and Pa

Emma loves cars.

Emma loves her Pa, a lot.

Emma loves playing cars with her Pa,

especially on their hardwood floors!

Lunch and Ride

Today we all went out for lunch with Mimi, my grandmother. She loved being able to watch the girls, which were very entertaining to say the least, and have a nice afternoon out. Afterwards, mom and I took the girls to Concord Mills, an outlet mall, to ride the carousel and get some dessert to reward them for their great behavior.

AND, finally....the girls rode horses!!! They started out on the bench which you can see behind Lily in her picture but ended up riding horses for the entire ride! Who initiated you may ask?? Miss Emma did! I tell you, these girls are the best influences on each other, well most of the time. Lily makes Emma think and act a bit calmer while Emma gives Lily that confidence and a bit of courage she needs to try new things. Oh, how fun it is to watch these girls together.

Evenings

Most evenings this is where you could find us. Lily got on her bike and practiced a lot and Emma enjoyed riding in her car :)

Thanks Pa!

Emma at Warp Speed

Today Miss Emma Grace turns 16 months old and she is growing up in warp speed.

As of yesterday, Emma decided that she does not like to be in a wet diaper anymore. YUP. She has been grabbing at her diaper, baseball player style, to tell me that she needs to go and she runs to the little potty. She gets so excited when she goes that she gives me a wide-open, all teeth kinda smile with a cute shrug of her shoulders and a scrunch of her nose that makes me melt. She wipes and tosses the toilet paper into the potty and marches out of the bathroom like she's saying, "OK, now what?".

I'm not really ready to go into potty training Emma and I'm not sure she's really ready but I am going to completely humor her and let her go whenever she pleases. Oh, and have you seen the new Huggies Slip-On diapers for wiggly babies?!?! Did they know that we needed those??? Can't wait to try them out!



Train and Pizza

Today we had so, so much fun.

We drove close to downtown Charlotte and jumped on their metro train. We rode it in to the city to have lunch. We were able to sit outside in a huge courtyard, people watched and ate very yummy pizza. We even walked to do a little window shopping and Emma walked! She did a great job holding hands and holding onto the stroller even if she held up a line of about 25 people rushing back to work. Oh well...she's definitely worth waiting for, just look how cute she is.

First Pool Trip

So much fun.

Discovery Place Kids

What an awesome place.

So great that we purchased a yearly pass so that every time we visit we can go!

So, this is Day 1 in pictures.

The veterinarian office. Fully equipped with microscope, x-rays and plenty of animals to take care of.

The Market. Oh, to go shopping with your very own cart and check yourself out. So much fun.

Driving. The girls loved pretending to drive boats, cars and planes.

The Farm. They went into the chicken coup, picked apples from a tree, harvested corn and could even pretend to milk the huge cow!

The Restaurant. Oh, this was Lily's favorite part. So much so that she called herself the "Restaurant Lady" and that's what she wants to be when she grows up. She came and took our order, brought it on trays, cleaned up and checked us out.

They had a mini concert with cute kiddie songs in which Emma was not shy of shaking her hips to. Emma also loved watching some big kids in the gym center.

The Art Room. So cool that they just supply so many art supplies that kids can go in and make whatever they please. Here Nana and Emma are playing with some of that moon sand. Too bad that Emma wanted to separate every single piece...

Loving this place!

Settling In

We are loving every second of being in NC and the girls feel right at home.

They love playing the organ well, pushing all of the neat buttons that light up too.

L and E have been having a blast exploring and have gotten closer, if that's even possible.

And, yes they enjoy playing in the dog crates. Ha. Their poor dog, Molly, is recovering from ACL surgery so she is on activity restriction which require crating her. But, seems as though these girls like it as much as forts.

Look, It Won't Be Too Long

This is very similar to Lily's U.S. map placemat, which she loves. And, every meal time she says look, it won't be too long. Meaning, it really doesn't take long to get somewhere she really wants to go. Where would a 3 year old want to go?

1.Nana and Pa's house

2.The Princess Castle

3.Lorelei's house in Texas

And, today she gets to take a car ride to her number one spot...Nana and Pa's house!! For 2 whole weeks!

Wonder if she'll still think it's not too long of a trip?!?



Blueberries and the Beach

This morning we headed to Pungo to pick some more blueberries and blackberries, Yum!

The morning clouds kept it cool so we could stay a bit longer picking our huge basket of berries. And, since they had just opened the back of the fields this morning we got the best berries ever! The girls had a blast and Emma actually decided to put some of the berries she picked in the bin instead of eating all of them.

After finishing  we headed to Sandbridge, the closest beach to Pungo which also fulfilled our fun can adventure of; Go to a New Beach. Sandbridge reminded us of a more commercialized OBX with lots of summer rentals. The waves were very strong, the lifeguards had the red no swimming flags posted, it was extremely crowded and we lost a binky with strap :(. We had a great time but realized we are much more a Chic's Beach or North End kinda family.

We also have to say that we love being able to go into the county to gather berries, go to great produce stands to get fresh veggies and then go to the beach. Loving our summer, beachy kinda life.