Fourth of July

So, in between our trip to the beach and our next big trip to Texas we had a few days to spend in town  and celebrate the Fourth of July.

Our first stop was the Festival on the Eno which is a big Durham festival that we love to go when we can.  There's a bunch of music and good food and of course, the Eno river where it takes place.  So, on a hot Durham summer day we drove up to North Durham to check it out.  We had to park our car at a stadium and they were shuttling everyone over in Greyhound buses.  So, we hopped on.  I have to say that the 1.5 mile bus ride over might have been Ben's favorite part of the whole day.  He was so excited to be sitting in a big boy seat with no car seat or anything.

When we got there Ian and I wanted to check out some of the craft booths or other vendors, but Evan had other ideas.  He had remembered that this was the Eno river festival so the river had to be nearby.  We had to head straight for the river.  Now, I knew that you could hop in the river and wade around to catch tadpoles at the festival, but I hadn't really thought through everything.  The boys were wearing their cute Fourth of July shirts and not swim suits.  That didn't stop those boys.  They were almost immediately on their tummies in the shallows, their shirts and pants completely soaked.  It didn't matter, they had a great time wading around.

After a while we did manage to get them to exit the Eno.  We did change Ben's diaper because it had grown to an enormous size, filled with river water.  The boys just stayed in the rest of their wet clothes.  Because it was so hot outside, they really didn't mind being a bit damp.  Our other main stop of the festival was the food court. (Are you surprised?)  There was a new food truck we wanted to try called Baguettaboutit-bread filled with sausages and yummy sauce-what could be better?  We finished off our trip to the Eno listening to some live music and sampling some Ben and Jerrys.  It was a great way to celebrate the Fourth.

That wasn't all of our celebrating though.  It couldn't be the Fourth of July without some fireworks.  Of course, my boys don't like loud noises.  So, we went to the South Carolina border on our way from the beach, to one of the mega fireworks stores...and picked up sparklers and smoke bombs.  Oh well, maybe in years to come we'll get more of the fancy stuff.  So, the evening before the Fourth we headed out to the driveway with our neighbor girls Isabelle and Carolyn and their dad and we got started.  They all had a great time throwing the poppers.  Then, we started the smoke bombs and they could all run through the smoke plumes.  Finally we did the sparklers.  They were a little more wary of those, but the older three got used to them and had fun waving them around.  Ben got burned a little on the tip of his finger and that was it for him.  He watched from the grass for most of the remainder of the festivities.

Happy Fourth of July everyone!

(the bus ride-the best part!)

(Evan tries out a violin at the festival.)

(Ben playing in the river)

(Finding a treasure)

(a view of the river)

(smoke bombs on the driveway)

(Daddy and Ben try out sparklers.)

(sparkler fun)

(Ben takes a time out.)

(watching our one noisy firework...scary!)

More Picture Perfectness

So, I know the boys were handsome in those pictures from Portrait Innovations that we just posted.  However, we have even more handsomeness.  When we were at the beach we were able to get some fabulous family pictures in the sand and the sun.  We had a famous photographer helping us out in the talented John Davis (we've got connections).  While the boys nice outfits and little linen shirts only lasted a few minutes before the boys were wallowing in the waves and sand and permanently staining them, we still got some great shots.  Take a look at my handsome boys!



Picture Perfect Memories

My boys are getting so big!  I can't believe I have a two year old and a four year old.  As with tradition a couple of weeks ago we headed to Portrait Innovations for some wonderful pictures.  I knew they were getting big, but it took sitting in the studio and looking at the pictures come up on the screen that I realized how big they had actually gotten and how old they actually looked.  Take a look and see my adorable twosome!

Beach Fun

So, sorry about the delay in finishing our tales from the beach, but traveling across the country with the boys can be exhausting.  Now, I'm feeling more well rested and ready to tell everyone all about our beach fun.  Looking back at the pictures reminds me of what a good time we really had. 

This beach trip was the trip for all types of weather.  We had rain, we had wind, we had sun, we had record lows, and record highs.  However, we had fun in each type of weather.  We usually started each morning or afternoon at the beach and then moved to the pool right next to our condo to rinse off before we finished.

At the beach it seemed much easier to hang out with the boys than it has been in years past.  Apparently it will just get easier as they get more independent...that is, until they get to be teenagers and we have to worry about them diving through the waves.  The boys loved digging in the sand.  They were especially excited about searching for little digger clams when the tide was high.  They would pluck them out of the sand and then "plant" them back in.  They also loved building sand castles, both the holes and the towers.  They especially liked Ian's pits that he tried to make large enough to fit an entire toddler.  They were also much more comfortable with the waves than in previous years.  They liked to wade in the shallows, kick the waves, and lay down in some tide pools that we found.

As with the waves, they were also much more comfortable with the pool.  Even since swim lessons the week before, Evan was so much more brave.  He was putting on his goggles and swimming under water on the steps.  Then, he'd put on his floaties and swim out into the deeper water.  Benny on the other hand loved to jump off the side to someone, even if his little head went underwater sometimes. 

There was even great downtime in the condo.  Gramps and the boys loved playing a little Angry Birds as well as with Gramps' solar electric circuits.  We had so much fun that our poor puzzle did not even get it's border finished this year.  Alas, we were having too much fun!

(Ben and I contemplate the waves.)

(Searching for diggers)

(In a hole)

(In a hole)

(Jumping the waves)

(Surfing the waves)

(Basking in the sun)

(Sand yoga with shovels)

(Underwater Evan)

(Into the water with dad)

(Evan showing off his name that we found written in the sidewalk)



(Angry Birds)



(What a great week at the beach!)

Four!

While we were at the beach, Gram really wanted to take the boys to a mini golf course for some putt putting.  I wasn't sure if Ben and Evan with golf clubs was a good idea, but one night, we headed on over.  Gram said that it turned out to be everything she imagined.  There was running, there was falling in the stream, there was golf club waving, there was chaos, and of course there was fun!

Evan was a good little golfer.  He started off at the starting point and hit the ball down the course.  Then, he's follow it around doggedly with the club until it rolled in the hole, or he got bored.  Ben on the other hand was not bound by conventional golfing rules.  Ben loved putting the ball in the hole, but it was typically with his hands.  He loved golf ball throwing.  They both loved any tunnel that we got to go through.  Yelling "echo" was particularly fun while in the "time tunnels".

While our scores on the score sheet were probably not as accurate as they could have been, we all had a wonderful time.  I think we have some future pro-golfers on our hands!

(The boys contemplate the hole.)

 (Benny putts the ball in the hole.)

(Evan takes a shot.)

 (This is fun!)

 

 (Ben agrees.)

 (Everyone watches the important shot.)

 (A break in the action)

(Our family hides in the trees.)

(A fun golfing outing!)