TAX DAY!!!

FINALLY OVER!!

Strawberry Picking

Suzy and I took the kids strawberry picking, yes strawberry picking!  Our local farm already had a good crop of organic berries ready for picking.  It was a bit cold when we got there but warmed up after awhile.  

Finding the right berry!

Grace helping Thomas pick the berries 

(she forgot her jacket so she is wearing Sammy's shopping cart cover :)

 The berry picking crew!

 Sweet

NC Zoo

Kim and I decided to take the kids to the zoo during Spring Break.  It was a beautiful day, not too hot with a great breeze.  It was however, very packed since it was Spring Break week.  After taking 5 hours to go through Africa, we decided to call it a day. 

Doesn't look it but they all had a good time

 

Giraffes

Zebras (not bad for an iPhone picture)!

Elephant

The one kind of animal we know Aniela is not afraid to pet :)

Saturday

A near perfect day spent at Durant Nature park ...

 

...Then we ended the night making smores at the Arwood's fire pit and swinging on their hammock.

 

Warm Weather

All of this warm weather has playing outside every afternoon!  Sam didn't like his first feel of grass.  He opted to stay put on the blanket. 

Getting so tall!

Sand and goldfish ... nothing better!

 Lunch in the fort

Still on the blanket ....

Checking out his reflection

Karate

Aniela  was invited to a Karate birthday party.  It was so cute to see them learning Karate moves and they each got to break a board which was the highlight of the party!

 

Grace's Chorus Concert

 Aniela and I went to see Grace's school chorus concert this week.  Grace did a great job and Aniela loved watching her sing!

Holiday Express

We headed to Pullen Park Saturday night for the Holiday Express! They have spent the last two years renovating the park and it turned out great. There are a bunch of play spaces, the carousel and train have been fully restored and the new buildings are beautiful. We rode the carousel and the train and took in all the Christmas lights. It was a very cold but fun night! We ended the night at Gypsy's Shiny Dinner for a warm meal.

Sammy bundled up for the cold!

Waiting for the carousel (luckily it was heated in there!)

Riding the bunny

Enjoying the ride

Bundled up for the cold train ride

Disney on Ice

We took Aniela and Thomas to see Disney on Ice while Sam spent some quality time with the Midhas. They both loved the show and were very excited about the skating (or skaping as Thomas called it)! We had to answer a ton of questions on the way home from Aniela such as do the Princesses skate back to Florida? Will they put on their pjs?

Waiting for the show to start ...

The PRINCESSES are here!!!

Staring intently while holding onto his popcorn with a death grip

Halloween Hoot

We headed to the library for the Halloween Hoot! Aniela and Thomas loved looking at all the costumes and singing the songs. After they paraded around the library for treats.

The Witch, The Ghost (saying Boo) and The Bat ready to go

Singing 5 little pumpkins

Ms. Melanie was a witch too!

Halloween Trail

We headed to Durant Nature Park with one of Aniela's classmates to do the Halloween Trail. It was a great event! They had a hay ride to take you to the trail, crafts, animals to see and skits all along the path. We took our flashlights and headed into the spooky forest! The kids loved it and enjoyed all the fun.

Waiting for the tractor

Snuggled in

Thomas loved craft time

Busy Summer Week

It was a busy week as we tried to beat the heat and have fun. We had something planned every day but Monday!

Tuesday we went to Aniela's art class. While her and Sophia were in class Thomas and Lami swung on the swings and fed the ducks. We then headed to Mara's house for lunch.

Wednesday we did our regular swimming with the Arwoods and Midhas at the pool.

Thursday we went to Jumping Beans to burn off some energy and headed to Mellow Mushroom for some lunch.

Friday Aniela went to her first play date without me. While she was there Lisa dressed her up in some of her beautiful clothes and took some pictures for her website! While she was gone Thomas Sammy and I played outside and Sammy swung on the swing for the first time. Not sure he loved it but he didn't scream so I call it a success!

Happy Birthday Brian

Brian turned 40 this weekend and we headed to the Turkey Lounge at the Angus Barn to celebrate. Kim rented a limo to drive us there sop no one needed to worry about driving. It was a great night with the Arwoods, Proffitts and Midhas!

The Birthday Boy