The State Fair Reel-2017

 

The State Fair 2016

The sights, the sounds, the smells...nothing comes close to the NC state fair! A hallmark of Fall, we were all excited to go to the fair this year and eat our share of kettle corn and cotton candy. As usual, it was an experience.

Over the years we've built up our own tricks and trades of the infamous North Carolina state fair. We know where we park, have our favorite fried foodie stands, and by now have developed our own family fair route of sorts. To avoid the crazy crowds, we go during the week and midday. However, as much planning you can put into a traditional outing like this, there are some things you just can't control and don't plan for. This year, it was the near 90 degree weather in October. And so, we took home pink faces for souvenirs!

Asher's first fair!

...because it's tradition.

Future pilot?? I wonder...

Mother Nature was a new addition this year

In ride news, the boys rode their first roller coaster this year. Chris said they were probably the most terrified pair on that kiddie coaster, which made their reward all the sweeter. If asked they will say that was their favorite part of the fair, and that it was "SO COOL!!!!!"

The carousel will always be my favorite ride.

 Last but not least, our traditional family photo at the hush puppy mill. We started taking this picture over 9 years ago on one of our first dates to the fair. Suffice it to say, it has changed a lot!

Another fair in the books...next year we will not miss the ribbon fries or pig races. Always something to look forward to. :-)

Fourth fun

We had a great time celebrating the fourth of July in downtown Raleigh this year. Fayetteville street was lined with oodles of fair food, smokey barbecue, live music and all kinds of red white and blue hulabaloo. 

After walking around in the crowd we stopped for some patriotic fun in front of the Capital building. The boys signed a copy of the Declaration of Independence with a real feather pen(turns out it's a bit harder than one would think and a lot messier!) and Bennett got to "pie a redcoat."

Next we beat the heat with a trip through the NC museum of history. The story of our state and country is a rich but heavy one, and I look forward to taking our boys back when they're older and can bear the weight of it on stronger, more mature shoulders. Until then, Evan is very proud to know that the the state vegetable of North Carolina is the sweet potato(really, he won a pencil to prove it!).

The highlight of our Raleigh afternoon was of course, the wet and wild water zone. This activity was made even cooler by A)endless bottles of dawn soap and B)the fact that we were not prepared with bathing suits and so the boys got to get wet in their regular shorts, a childhood right of passage if you ask me.

SO much fun!

Later that night we made our traditional ice cream flag cake and had a hodge podge of an on the fly dinner that included of Mexican leftovers, Chinese food and local deli meats. Chris and I agreed that this was indeed a very American dinner, melting pot style. :-) No fireworks this year due to babies and bedtime, but we look forward to them in the future-perhaps even next year. Nonetheless, we are so proud and thankful every day for the blood bought freedoms we enjoy as Americans.

Happy Independence Day!!!

On moving

If ever you find yourself living in a castle of cardboard, here are some helpful moving tips I've picked up over the last few weeks...

1. Declutter, declutter, declutter! Moving is like Spring cleaning on steroids. Now is the time to refresh your space and get rid of things you don't use. If you don't wade through that box of useless but sentimental "stuff" now, it will haunt you on the other end. For us downsizing to a smaller square footage also forced us to think about bigger things we didn't need. We ended up donating a TON of stuff(which is a nice tax write off if you want to skip the work of a garage sale) and I was also able to sell a bunch online. In fact I funded all of our U-Haul expenses completely from selling things we didn't need to take with us. Plus, you're going to want to use the money you get from selling old stuff to replace the things you won't be able to find later, which brings me to the next point...

2. You will lose stuff. It's okay, just find you're nearest Target and buy the new toothbrushes(true story). Even if you are diligent to pack and label wisely(for the most part, not us), it's still incredibly difficult to get to things that may be boxed away. This is where making several trips comes in handy. If you can take a few loads before the big haul, bring the small stuff like cell phone chargers and Shampoo separetly.

3. Prepare to eat out, a lot. And don't worry about the extra calories, you'll burn plenty unloading boxes-especially if you move in the summertime.

4. It's a community effort. Moving is hard! It isn't just mentally exhausting, but requires muscle to accomplish. I cannot even begin to express how thankful we are for our friends, parents, aunts/uncles and church family who made it happen. Seriously, ya'll rock. I was almost sure we'd have to make two big truck trips and was blown away that we were able to get everything out of our house and ahead of schedule at that. To friends who gave up their Sunday afternoon to disassemble bunk beds, unloaded our dishwasher, vacuum, offer childcare and so so much more-we are beyond grateful. I should also note here that we were surprised and completely blessed by a local church here in Morrisville who reached out and helped us, strangers, unload on this end-heaven sent they were! So many evidences of grace on this crazy train.

5. Last but not least, it's probably a good idea to vacuum underneath those couch cushions before the whole world sees them-raisins, popcorn and pennies oh my! Just kidding, but seriously...I plead many small children haha! 

It's been one week since we moved and I can't tell you what a breath of fresh air it is to be writing this blog on the other end of it all, seated at our unpacked computer in a mostly put together new dining room. My last note would be that while moving seems an incredibly daunting task and is undoubtedly hard work, we got it done taking it one day at a time, having an amazing support system and trusting God for the big and small details-I did find those tooth brushes after all. :-) 

First Field Trip and Baby Update

Today we took to the big city for our first real field trip and my OB check up for baby #3. We started the day with a visit to one of our favorite libraries, and ended with rainbow sherbet from Baskin Robbins-the boys declared together that it was the "best day ever!!" (As an aside, we have a lot of those lol!)

First stop-the library. After filling our backpacks to the brim with new books to explore (mostly dinosaur related) we enjoyed an awesome storytime program. Aren't these kiddo librarians just about the most energetic, colorful bunch you've ever seen? Engaged kids= thankful me!

From the library and after a quick detour to Kohls, we made our way to a favorite family lunch spot-Pei Wei! I was bound and determined to have it at some point during my birthday week. As usual it did not disappoint, and I'm happy to report that Evan's chopstick skills are improving with each visit. :-)

Thankfully, my doctor's visit was mostly uneventful-just what you want to hear! This was just a routine check up and we were in and out within 20 minutes-praise the Lord. I'm measuring right on schedule(surprisingly), my blood pressure is great, the scale is tipping and little boys heart is beating strong. So far the boys have been to every baby appointment with me, and really enjoy listening to baby brother's heartbeat each time. For myself I'm definitly getting a bit more uncomfortable at this point, and have already begun to experience the lower back and pelvic pain that I *feel like* should be reserved for those last few days and weeks. Ahh the joys of pregnancy round three!

Bennett still thinks it's time for the baby to come out of my tummy every time we go to a doctor's office. I can only imagine how exciting it'll be for him when we can finally say "YES, we're having the baby today."

Our OB's office is just down the street from the NC Art museum, so I couldn't resist planning a trip! I looked online before hand and found this really fun "Tour in a Tote" feature for kids, and knew it would be there perfect guide to our little field trip. The website describes the tote as "A free lending resource for young visitors to explore works of art in the permanent collection through kid-friendly, interactive prompts."

Evan was especially interested in the Egyptian section, but nothing caught his eye quite like this painting of the revolutionary heroes. It was his favorite of the whole museum and I have to say I'm impressed with his taste.

Bennett found himself at home in the colorful modern art section. At one point here Evan made quite the face at one exhibit in particular(a pile of broken glass on a giant serving tray) saying "that's not art...that's a mess." I couldn't help but laugh, he's definitely my budding realist.

To top off our long day we stopped by Baskin Robbins on the way home. I was secretly craving some rainbow sherbert, and didn't think the boys would mind the stop. Talk about cool points.

And now that the day is done and I've got two tired boys tucked into bed, it's time finish off that leftover birthday cake...

Happy birthday Bennett bear!

It's hard to believe our sweet little Bennett bear is almost 3. We celebrated his birthday this past weekend with family and had a blast. On the agenda was a visit to Build a Bear and then lunch at Kanki for my little chef.

I knew Build a Bear would be cool but it was really even much more adorable than I could have imagined. Above you see Bennett giving his animal a "heart" and picking out it's characteristics, and below is one of the first stations where the stuffys get fluffy.

Bennett picked out this cute pup, a dalmatian, and outfitted him for space in a super cool Buzz Lighthearted costume. Evan opted for the less traditional "Tootheless" the dragon and if I thought for a second we missed the build a bear boat with him, I was wrong. Both boys really enjoyed picking out their special animals, naming them, bathing them, giving them birth certificates and taking them home in their special boxes. Two thumbs up build a bear, and many thanks to Gigi and Poppy for treating!

 

After a quick stop into the Disney and Lego stores, we settled in for a show at Kanki for lunch. We were so happy to have Aunt Catherine and Uncle Kerrick join us there, and both boys really enjoyed the Teppankyi grill. It was entertaining and delicious!

At home we sang happy birthday over these dreamy cupcakes, and opened the rest of his gifts.

Grandma sent this cool blue set of new wheels, and at the rate he's going he'll be riding fast beside brother sooner than you can say "watch out for that gutter!"

Three years has flown by, and I've enjoyed every day with these special boys-even the ones where I feel like I've gone to the proverbial gutter myself! Happy birthday sweet B, I'm so thankful to see you blow out your candles for a third year in a row. You are a gift!