From the Ocean to the Mountains

It was just the most beautiful September morning when we woke up today. We had to run into town to pick some things up and driving back I noticed how clear the mountains were. So I stopped at the house, picked up our park pass and the camera and took the kids up the mountain. It is simply gorgeous up there right now. Leaves aren't turning yet, but the way the sun was playing peek-a-boo with the clouds was amazing. The light also made for some perfect photo-taking opportunities. Hope you enjoy them.

Beaching Around... (warning picture overload)

Woah - That's Cool


It's official - we're a family of beach bums. We got another chance to spend a week at the beach with my family last week (unfortunately Tom was on travel and couldn't come along). We rented a cottage about 100 yards from the beach down on Emerald Isle in NC. Someone had recommended it to mom as a great beach for kids and I'm very familiar with that area as Tom and I honeymooned there and made it our special getaway place each year after that (although we hadn't been back since Erin was born.)

The cottage was adorable with a big porch with rocking chairs, 3 bedrooms, a kitchen and dining/living area. And best of all it was right across the street from the public beach access at the point of Emerald Isle. The beach was wonderful - the water in the 80s. During high tide the waves crashed all the way against the bluffs leaving very little beach but low tide made for a great wide beach with gently rolling waves and the ability to walk out pretty far into the surf if you wanted. Both Erin and Jeff fell in love with the ocean pretty quickly. Jeffrey ran right into it the first he saw it. He made little games out of throwing shells (and buckets and his hat...) into the surf. Erin preferred to stand in the waves with a firm grip on Oma's hand or to sit on the sand and let the waves come up over her lap. Every morning Erin would wake up and ask when we were going to go play in the ocean. We took a special trip one day out to Bear Island and pretty much had the whole beach to ourselves. There were tons of shells that made for great shelling (we even found one 'almost' whole sand dollar).

We did some other things besides playing at the beach. One afternoon the ladies all went mini-golfing. It was Erin's first time mini-golfing and she had an absolute blast. Another day we took a trip to the NC Aquarium on the island. It recently re-opened and is amazing. There are some huge tanks and several touch tanks. Erin sat through a presentation on alligators and even volunteered to help out by pulling a measuring tape to represent how long a crocodile can be. When it was all over she even got to pet a live alligator. After the aquarium we all went to Ft. Macon, a Civil War era fort at the tip of the isle. Jeffrey loved running around the interior of the fort and exploring the cannons and empty rooms. Erin thought it made a great place to play hide-and-seek.

But mostly we spent our days playing in the ocean. Picking up seashells. Digging in the sand. Making dribble castles. Getting pink cheeks and brown backs. And most of all spending time with family (but sad to miss daddy) just having fun.


Turner's Corner - Our Home for the Week


Scooping the Waves


Bucket Brigade


Splash Splash


Sleepy Boy


Hello in There


Mini-Golfing Pro

Stepping Back in Time

As a late Anniversary celebration, Tom and I went with the kids (and my folks) to the MD Renaissance Festival last weekend. The Ren Fest has been a special place for Tom and I since our second summer dating, when we started going to the festival in New York. The MD festival is very similar, with a lot of the same type of acts, a jousting arean, hair braiders, and of course -- turkey legs.

We thought we might get rained out by Ernesto, but after a rainy Saturday, Sunday turned out to be beautiful. Morning started off cool and cloudy, but by noon the sun was peeking out and it started to warm up just a little. Since we thought it was going to be hot, we didn't pack our costumes this year and will save them for another trip (or they're always GREAT at Halloween parties).


Erin and Jeff also had a really great time. Jeff spent most of the day in the stroller, getting a little fussy at times, but there was so much for him to look at he did pretty well. I tried to convince Erin to get her hair braided with me, but we decided to buy her a flower wreath instead (better idea I think). I finally had hair long enough at this time of year to be able to get mine braided. It looked great and I'm so glad that I did. Erin did paint a silk suncatcher of a fairy and buy a bubble wand so she could blow bubbles with the pros there. Jeffrey also enjoyed the bubbles but he had more fun chasing after them and playing with the suds that fell onto the ground. There was also a big silde that both kids got to ride (with adults in tow). Erin totally loved it. Jeffrey wasn't so sure but Grandpa had fun with him anyway. And not to be forgotten were the free pony rides for Erin (Jeffrey would have rode also, but he fell asleep right before we got in line and we weren't going to wake him up).


All of this was much fun - as much for me as for the kids because I just love watching them explore new things and having fun. The best part for Erin though was getting her face painted. She waited almost all day to decide she wanted it, but was convinced by the little girl in line with us for the pony rides. She had a moon on her face and Erin thought that it was the coolest thing she'd ever seen. So off to the face painting station where Erin sat perfectly still and even told the girl doing it that she wanted a moon. She even got sparkles on her cheek to go with it. And...I wasn't allowed to wash her face for 2 days. That's right folks the moon stayed on her cheek for 2 days.


Tom and I got some time to ourselves also when Noni, Oma and Grandpa took the kids for a while. We did some shopping (Tom got be a beautiful sterling silver ring) and eating festival food -- mmmm Steak on a Stake. Next year Jeffrey will probably be able to enjoy it a little more and Erin might be willing to sit and get her hair braided with me. At least it gives us and excuse to go back again.

A Trip To DC

Isn't it nice when you get to mooch off your husband's hotel room for a week? We've been to DC so many times, but this time rather than stay with Noni and Grandpa we stayed in Alexandria right across from a metro station. The room was a suite so we could put Jeff to bed and still stay awake with Erin. Each morning we were able to get gourmet omelets made ready to order. The kids fell in love with ham & cheese omelets. With a big breakfast, I'd steal an extra banana and we'd head out the door to catch the metro into the city.


We've had the kids downtown before, but it's been a while. Our first day I asked Erin if she wanted to walk and see some cool buildings (the monuments) or go inside and see some animals. Clearly my animal-lover picked the second choice so we headed to the Natural History Museum that has a huge exhibit of "stuffed" mammals. Erin was extremely excited and ran around pointing at all the exhibits. She loved the lion and the zebras and the kangaroos (all of them life-sized stuffed animals). We checked out the dinosaurs (a little scary) and then the gems and minerals. Both the kids loved the gems and minerals and all the sparkles. That was the day we also went to the fountain and rode the carousel on the "Mall." Since it was very hot and sticky we headed back to the hotel early afternoon and met Tom for some drinks and snacks (courtesy of the hotel) and then dinner.


Day two brought a cold front. We woke to a light drizzle and grey skies. From all my previous experience I realized that this would be the perfect day to visit the zoo. The animals are always much more active when it is cooler, and it's certainly more comfortable to spend the day outside. Erin and Jeffrey LOVED the zoo. Erin was especially taken with the giraffes, the cheetah, and the dwarf donkey in the barn area. Jeffrey liked the elephants and the donkey also. We got the great chance to see the orangutan outside swinging on ropes between towers that crossed the pathways. Erin stood and watched him for a long time. When it was time to move on, I said "say goodbye to the orangutan" so she looked up and waved at it. As I took few steps, Erin squealed back at me "Mommy it waved at me!!" I didn't see what happened, but she was sure he had waved at her and that was what mattered to her.


The next two days were a little less exciting. We headed to the American History Museum to see Dorothy's Ruby slippers before the museum closed for two years. My little Wizard of Oz fanatic thought it was pretty cool to see the shoes so I'm glad we got the chance. We then met Noni for lunch at the hospital. With signs of Ernesto heading towards DC we zoomed back to the hotel by means of Erin's favorite mode of transportation -- the Metro. She LOVED riding the train and watched out the window. She got especially excited for the planes near the airport.

Friday Ernesto hit Alexandria with a vengeance. The wind and rain were vicious and very cold (for September). Since we had to check out of the hotel at noon we needed to find someplace inside to hang out. I bundled the kids in their jackets and loaded Jeffrey in the stroller to RUN across the street to the metro. We spent the afternoon walking around Union Station until Erin couldn't take it any more. We headed back to the hotel and waited, shivering, for Tom so we could load things up and start towards my parents for the weekend.

We had a great time in DC. It was really nice being across the street from the metro and being able to get to everything so easily. Although it was hot one day the other days (except for Friday) weren't so bad. Even if it wasn't too sunny being cool in DC is an opportunity that should never be passed up. Maybe next time we can bring you along too :)

A Special Place

Two years ago, we went to DC for Memorial Day. It was a dreary afternoon, but we decided to do a little urban Geocaching. We found this realy cool fountain in the National Gallery's Sculpture Garden. Erin toddled and crawled around and explored the whole thing. We got many great photos of her sitting on the ground in front of it and climbing on the edge.







Last week we went to stay with Tom outide DC. We stayed at a great hotel and took the Metro into the city every day. The first day in, we stopped by the same fountain. Erin was so excited as it was a very hot day and sitting by the fountain really made us feel cooler.





Erin decided on her own that we needed to have a little photo shoot again. I thought I'd include some of the pictures from our first visit and a few from last week. Maybe we'll make this fountain a special place to visit every year or so and watch how Erin grows.