First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for Alexis and Jacob. Alexis is now in 4th grade and Dusty and I have decided that she is way too big. Jacob is in 2nd grade this year and is excited that he gets to walk to school. Our neighborhood is right across the street from the school and we live 4 houses in. So we are super close. Emma and I walked them over today. Then we picked them up at the corner later this afternoon. They were both excited to be in school and had great 1st days.

Museum of Natural History

On Saturday we visited the Museum of Natural History in downtown Raleigh. There were so many exhibits and things to look at. We learned about and saw so many cool things; dinosaurs, snakes, a live butterfly room, gemstones, turtles, a live bee hive, North Carolina history memorabilia and oh so much more.



They had a children's discovery room with interactive activities. This is where they had the bee hive. They were behind a glass wall and you could see them fly out the tunnel to the outside to get the pollen. Then the bees would come back in and do their thing. We even saw the queen bee. We held beetles in our hands and dressed up like bees and ladybugs. They had a puppet center and books about insects. Emma liked the book area and found a spot on the steps to read. We also saw spiders, really big ones!!

The museum was a great way to spend our Saturday. The kids enjoyed it and so did we. We promised the kids that we would go back again because there was so much to see that we didn't get to it all (there is a pirate exhibit that we missed that they are begging to go to). And Dusty made friends with the friendly guy below, so we will have to go back to visit him too.

Dance Classes Begin

Our girls started dance this week.

Emma is taking ballet & tap. She is in the "Opals" class and wears pink tights and leotard. Her teacher is Miss Kathryn, who has a really cute English accent and is so cute with the little girls.

Alexis is taking ballet with character dancing. She is in the "Ruby" class and wears pink tights with a ruby leotard. The character dancing requires character shoes. They look like clogging shoes to me. They also get to wear these fun, flowing skirts. There are a lot of girls in her class, 15 that I counted. When we showed up for class we found out that her teacher is a male. Alexis looked at me at said "Oh, great! Now everyone is going to make fun of me". I can't say that I didn't have some of the same thoughts I know most of you, as well as Alexis, are having. But when class was over she had enjoyed it. So all is fine.

Jordan Lake

This week I went to Jordan Lake with my new friends Carolina and Kalyn. The water is partitioned off so the kids can't go out too far. There is a sandy beach and we put up umbrellas, eat lunch and let the kids play. We were there for about 2 hours before it started to rain. We thought it might pass over and waited, but we decided it was time to pack up and head home when the thunder and lightening began. This is the second time the kids and I have been there. I really love going to this lake because it is 15 minutes from home and it only costs $5 per car.

This was our last outing before school starts. The kids had a great time and I was able to relax. Fun summer days!!

Harris Lake

Last Saturday we went to a barbecue at Harris Lake with some of Dusty's co-workers. It was absolutely beautiful with all of the trees and the water. The kids played on the playground and played soccer out on the grass. We strolled down to the water to skip rocks. I had forgotten my camera so I asked one of the other ladies to take a picture of our family. She just sent them over and I wanted to post them right away for you all to see.

Playing soccer as a family

Close-up of the family

The lake was so beautiful. I think we might go back and try fishing a bit.

Sisters Pictures

While I was in Utah my sisters and I got together and took some pictures to give to our mom for her birthday. The pictures turned out really cute. My sisters and I aren't together very often so it was good to capture some moments of us together.

Below is Amy.

Below is Becca.

Below is me.

Below is Julie.

For us just messing around and snapping pics with my sister's camera I think they turned out pretty good.

Durham Bulls Game

Last Friday we went to the Durham Bulls Game. They are a AAA baseball team. We were down close to the field by 3rd base. I liked seeing the pitcher practice. Man, they throw those balls fast!! The game was exciting to watch. At the top of the 9th we were winning. The other team hit a home run, which the entire crowd and our coach thought was a fowl ball, and they ended up beating us by 2 points. Even so, it was still a fun night.

The kids took in the whole experience and loved it. And what would a baseball game be without yummy stadium food? Lex got to have her Tiger's Blood Snow Cone. Emma opted for popcorn, but stole my nachos. And Jacob had popcorn. We ate a ton of junk food and had a great night.

When they hit a home run this bull's eyes light up red and his tail moves and he lets smoke out of his nostrils.

They did fireworks after the game which were fun to see. We haven't seen fireworks like that in years.