Labor Day Weekend

We are lucky enough to have good friends who bought a beach house in Oak Island, NC this summer. We celebrated the last long weekend of the summer with them at their beach house. There was a concern at first for hurricane Earl, but considering it didn't even rain in Raleigh, we figured it was safe to head to the beach for the weekend. We left early Saturday morning and we were on the beach at noon. I will say that the waves on Saturday were huge - the biggest waves I have seen on a North Carolina beach. The kids could really only play in the waves near the shore and couldn't really boogie board. Sunday was calm and clear (as you can see from the pictures below). We were on the beach for over 6 hours on Sunday. Yes, the kids love the beach as much as I do. And our friend rented a paddle board for the day too. All the kids took a turn trying it out. It is basically a huge surf board with a paddle and it was so much fun. And it was also one hell of a workout.

Here is Ashley the first time on it. That's our friend helping her out. He's the master surfer.

She's getting the hang of it.

I just like this shot with the boats in the background...

And she finally grabs a hold of the paddle. I am not sure how much she used it, but at least she tried. In the end, she caught a wave while she was sitting in the middle of the board and it was like watching it in slow motion as the paddle board took a nose dive and sent Ashley face first into the sand. But she was okay after some crying and went back on it later. She just didn't want to ride any waves in on it.

Audrey just hung out...but don't worry, she got a turn too.

She wouldn't let go of my arm. She lasted only a few minutes, but still, she did it!

And then it was my turn. And this is the only photo that was okay to post....all the others were not flattering to say the least. My quads were burning when I got off the board. And yes, I am wearing a weird hat as I forgot my sunglasses. Actually it is my Virginia Tech hat, and no, I am not ashamed to wear it even after we lost to Boise State.

Texas

We miss our friends that moved to Texas...Ashley still talks about her best friend Catalina everyday. Hence the poem she did for homework last night....

Another neighbor was lucky enough to go and visit them last week, and brought me back a shirt.

And no, I am not switching loyalties to Texas. If you recall, the last time Virginia Tech played Texas was in the Sugar Bowl my senior year of college (which was *cough*cough* many, many years ago) and Virginia Tech won.

But I will wear this shirt proudly. On non-football playing days. Go Hokies!

Oh, and THANK GOD ITS THE WEEKEND...that's all I have to say about this week. Let's just say it started off with me wearing my shirt inside-out to the bus stop on Monday morning, and it has just never stopped from there.

A Rare Event

A picture of me and Audrey from the zoo on Saturday...

How hard it is to get back to work...

I really didn't want to come back to work today, no offense to my coworkers. Just a few days at the beach, and a Tuesday return back to work was not what I was looking forward to.

The beach was great - pictures to be posted later this week. We visited old stomping grounds that we used to go to on our annual treks to the Outer Banks each year. We ate ice cream, went for runs on the beach, bought beach jewelry, took naps, read books. We took the kids to Currituck Lighthouse, climbed the sand dunes at Jockey's Ridge, and went to Roanoke Island.

We normally pack alot of things in our vacations, but just remember, my kids are early risers. We spent from 11:00am to 4:30pm on the beach on Saturday where we witnessed two girls getting "rescued" from the lifeguard (the riptide was pretty strong, and they weren't really in trouble, but the lifeguard went in after them anyway), saw crabs, had some crazy lady say she saw a shark, and just had fun. Audrey was great - at one point she said she was tired, so we told her to lay down and take a nap. Which she did.
Yesterday on our way out of town, we stopped by Roanoke Island and went to the NC Aquarium there. Where we literally ran into the man who was the best man in our wedding. Seriously, we haven't seen this guy in about 8 years, and we run into him at the beach. Not to crazy though since his parents own a house in the Outer Banks. But still, the chances? So emails were exchanged, kids were introduced and then we were on our way.

And now we are officially one week from the start of first grade for Ashley. She is in another Girl Scout camp tomorrow through Friday. This time, she is in it with a few of her friends, so she is really excited. I still need to take her school supply shopping and I promised her a new outfit for the first day of school.

Off to the beach...

Off we go...to the Outer Banks for a long weekend.

I am turning off all electronic devices. Well, except for my phone. And I may still possibly check email on it. Maybe.

I can sew

I break out my sewing machine every so often. Like when I am tired of Ashley's patches falling off with that iron on tape stuff.

Or when I want to finish my curtains I started like a year ago. And actually, these have been hanging for a few weeks, it just took that long for me to actually take pictures of them.

These were actually not that hard to make. And don't worry, they are not without their mistakes. Just don't look too closely.

Okay, it's 11 years, not 12....

Um, so yea. It took my friend in Virginia to call me and ask me if I was sure I had been married 12 years.

It's really only 11.

Can you tell this week has been nuts?

Friday Pictures - Earth Day (with a few Easter ones thrown in for good measure)

First up, Easter pictures. As most of you know, I like to dress the girls alike because a) I'm crazy and b) I am fostering some sort of inner peace from dressing two girls alike, unlike when my Mother dressed me and my twin BROTHER alike as kids.

Audrey had been begging to wear those shoes for weeks. I finally let her wear them. The dresses are from Crazy8s...an awesome site with great priced clothing. I always get free shipping and shop the sales.

Actually, Audrey was only happy about the shoes. She wasn't too keen on the dress, although she will only wear dresses these days and it drives me insane. Mostly because I bought her some really cute shorts that she refuses to wear.

So freaking glad I got her hair cut....but really? Does this look like a five year old?

So to celebrate Earth Day last Saturday, we hiked over the the UNC campus, specifically outside of the Morehead Planetarium last Saturday. Not only was there free stuff for the kids to do, but Kickin Grass was playing. They played the girls favorite song, Chugalug (yes, a song about drinking, but it's catchy and fast and it puts the girls in a good mood) and even dedicated the song to us. Which was nice in that now half of Chapel Hill thinks our family is a bunch of drinkers.

Yup, there was face painting with all organic materials. We can never pass on face painting.

The girls got to make some homemade chia pets (I always wanted one!) with recycled pantyhose, coffee grinds, grass seeds.

And this is Bob (a girl) and I forget what Audrey named hers. They are now sprouting grass "hair" on our back deck.

Hey look! Ray actually had the camera! And even took a picture of me. Not sure how that happened....

Friday Pictures - Warning, there are actually pictures of me and Ray in these, not just the kids

Last weekend, we went to Duke Gardens with our friends who were visiting for the weekend. If any of you live in the Raleigh area, these Gardens are beautiful. Even if you don't like Duke (the hate/love of colleges around here is quite funny, either you love or hate Duke or UNC), it is worth the trip.

Ray and Audrey enjoying the scenery.

Ashley posing, seriously, we are in trouble with this one!

Look! It's a real picture of Ray! And my other favorite thing, Diet Coke!

Me, our dear friend Adrienne, and Ray. Adrienne's oldest daughter took this picture for us.

A very, very rare shot of the four of us.

Ashley and her very best friend from Virginia, Grace.

Weekend Wrap Up

Ashley really wanted a two wheeler scooter, like a Razor. She isn't the most althetic child, and we were excited she was ready to do this (we took training wheels off her bike this weekend as well, but she is still not quite there yet). Friday night we went out and got ice cream and ran into Target and purchased her scooter.

And all she wanted to do on Saturday was ride the scooter (after the back-to-back birthday parties we attended). So she rode and rode and rode, and got better and better.

And then she left it at the end of the driveway.

And I ran over it with the van.

Friday Pictures - Memorial Day Weekend (Yes, I realize these are late)

I finally downloaded and weeded through all the pictures from our mini trip to Virginia.

First up, Grandma Mocha (Ray's Mom) and cousin Aiden, who as you can tell, can pull his own weight. Or in other words, doesn't miss a meal. He turned one in February.
And he weighs more than Audrey...
We attempted a family picture...
And had dinner with old friends and played "Battle of the Sexes" where unfortunately the girls lost.
The men worked hard on figuring out what to ask us.
And the kids crashed on the couch watching Scooby-Doo.
And we had dinner with new friends, where the girls rocked it like Hannah Montana.
And when I say rocked it, they did.
Oh, and I love their dog...I just can't remember his (or her) name.
Emily was so cute...
When these girls are on American Idol in like 20 years, you can say you saw them here first.
Love Abby's smile! Emily was just too quick for me to photo....
And Ashley just liked all the cool stuff Abby had.
Our last stop was Kings Dominion, an amusement park in Virginia. My twin brother met us since Ray was on his way to Atlanta at that point and I knew there was no way I could do it alone. Plus, the girls love "Crazy" Uncle Mike. This was the first ride of the day.
Audrey was beyond excited.
Somewhere there is a picture of my brother and I on this very same ride when we were little.

Uncle Mike and Ashley (the last car) on the Avalanche ride.

At least I knew who this character was...I didn't know some of the ones we encountered that day. Hey, don't judge, I am just a Disney person (although we own enough Backyardigans videos).


And I promise never to mention Memorial Day again. Pinky swear...

Minor League baseball rocks...

This past weekend, we decided at the last minute to go to Myrtle Beach for the weekend. It was the end of Biker Week 2008, but really, all those Harley riders are pretty nice. Plus, we don't stay on the main drag, so we don't even really see them much. My only regret for the weekend was the fact I FORGOT MY DAMN CAMERA. I didn't even have my Canon Powershot in my purse.

Saturday we spent time at the beach, then headed home for a quick nap for Audrey. We were back out of the house and off to Broadway at the beach so the girls could ride some rides before dinner. This is becoming a must for our trips there, and it is driving Ray nuts. Anyway, we went to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant (where Ray orders pizza, go figure) and we were off to our very first (except not really as we took Ashley when she was six weeks old to a game) Myrtle Beach Pelicans Baseball game.

They had these seats called "The Beach" and it was like sitting on the beach complete with sand and beach chairs. The girls had a blast running around and playing in the sand while we enjoyed part of the game. We only stayed until the 5th inning as it started to get chilly and I didn't bring any sort of jacket for me or the kids.

But really why minor league baseball rocks? We walked out of there with two coupons for a gallon of windshield washer fluid and 10 coupons for free donuts from Dunkin Donuts. They were giveaways in certain innings for not letting the other team score a run and striking out someone. And we got 10 coupons for donuts because the guy at the gate said we had two small kids and we needed more donuts. I am not sure if he meant we needed more or the kids. Ashley was a little confused as she thought they were actually going to give us a donut on the way out.

All in all, it was a great weekend away. Now we have to get geared up for this weekend's trip back to Virginia to visit family and friends.

I love baseball. I love watching baseball. I love eating the food at baseball stadiums. I love minor league games because they are so freaking funny sometimes.

Tomorrow...

The first time I flew by myself, I was meeting Ray in NYC. He was a consultant and at the time at a client there. I had no idea what to expect. And then I got off the plane and Ray was no where to be found. I called his cell phone only to find out he had to work late and he sent a car service to pick me up.

And that's when I started to cry. I had no idea where to find this car service person, or how much to tip him, or where I would end up, or even if the guy knew where to take me.

And of course, I worried for nothing. The guy was standing a few feet from me with a sign with my name on it. He safely delivered me to my hotel in Times Square and we ended up expensing a few things that weekend since Ray worked late that evening.

Tomorrow, I will fly again by myself, but this time to Fishkill, NY for a trip sponsored by Saturn and Orvis. I will blog about it as soon as I can. Wish me luck!

I think I did it...

I think I successfully made this holiday a good one for Ashley (and Audrey!).

• A new Valentine's Day shirt arrived in the mail yesterday, and she loves it
• Hearts sprinkled on her bedroom floor for when she woke up
• Balloons, including the Princess one she begged for in the Dollar Store
• Heart shaped donuts from Krispy Kreme (and omigod, are they yummy...)

• New pjs to wear tonight

I was going to attempt to make heart shaped pizzas for dinner tonight, but I think it will just be pizza. I was up until 11:30pm trying to convince Audrey to go to sleep and doing all the Valentine's day stuff. And then Audrey was up a few times after that. She obviously is unaware that Ray and I need some sleep.

And Ray got me a yummy box of chocolates that I had to restrain myself from devouring the whole box. He has been slammed with working so much this past week (the real estate market here is good), and because he is such a good husband, he has been trying to at least eat dinner with us and work around some scheduling conflicts I have. I couldn't ask for a better husband.

Check tomorrow for pictures of the festivities!

Friday Pictures - Shoes and what I do on Thursday nights...

I admit it. I have a shoe problem. And it's not for me, it's for my kids. I love getting shoes for the girls. They have church shoes, tennis shoes, multiple pairs of crocs (which they are discouraged from wearing to school anymore), and play shoes. I am thinking I need to get some boots for them, although it doesn't snow here...

Anyways, I bought Audrey's newest pair of shoes from Kohl's for $14.99...what a deal!

Aren't they cute? (and yes, I mean the shoes and the people)

Buy me more shoes!
Check out my new shoooooossssss.
Ashley had to get in on the fun...she is showing off her socks. That black thing? It's really Minnie Mouse's head...

The next pictures are going to showcase what I do for an hour and a half on Thursday nights...just in case anyone out there was curious...My town built a brand new cultural center a little over a year ago. Yes, my little town outside of Raleigh has a cultural center. It's really kind of cool, it has a library, rooms for classes, a coffee bar, and a 200 person auditorium. That auditorium is where we practice and play. The town provides us with chairs and stands.

Gathering before practice. That person in the red on the right is my good friend Heather. She comes to my house and eats dinner with us prior to practice every Thursday. And she got to see the wrath of grumpy Ashley last night. I think I scared her from having more children.

I sit next to these clowns. Seriously, they were laughing so hard at one point last night they were crying. Or maybe they were crying because they miss Martha?

Our low brass, the trombones and tuba guy. Oh, and the end of my bassoon. There are normally a few baritones, but they didn't show up tonight. I think they knew I was going to bring my camera.

My view, and our very nice, very good band director. The seats normally don't look like that, they are pushed up against the wall.

And this is what I play.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...well, it has for a while for us since we have been practicing Christmas music since September. This piece we are actually playing along with a children's choir.