I wish, I wish.....

For a new camera. Mine broke on our beach trip. Luckily it lasted until we were done with our last tourist attraction, picture-taking opportunity. I have to say that I hated the camera that I had and am excited at the prospect of getting a new one. But knowing that the last two cameras had were mediocre, this time I am going to get a good one. So, I am welcoming suggestions. I want to be able to take good, quality pictures. I don't want to have to spend a year messing with the settings to figure out how to take a picture at night (I tried taking a picture of the temple at night with the lights all lit and none of the setting on the old camera would produce a good picture. I finally quit trying after Dusty had waited for me in the car for 15 minutes). I am willing to pay a little more for one than previously. I also think I might sign up for a photography class to learn a little bit more about how to take good pics (but I think I need a camera first). But all of this costs $$. So I will patiently save my pennies until I can get one. Maybe for Christmas. So, I will continue to post and I will take pictures with my cell phone. But just know that they won't be the best.

Send me your thoughts on different cameras. Likes? Dislikes? Favorites? Where to buy?

Labor Day Beach Trip

I know I am posting this way late, but here is what we did for Labor Day.

We decided to combine Emma's birthday and Labor Day and took a trip to the beach. We ended up staying in Wilmington, NC. When we arrived we had to find parking near the beach which was a huge chaotic event. It is very crowded and there are side streets that lead up to the beach. You have to search until you find a spot. They have a few public parking areas along the way, but there are lines of cars waiting to get in. So finally, the kids and I got out of the van with our beach gear in tow and started walking while Dusty waited in a line of cars for a parking spot. Eventually, he got a spot and joined us.

The kids loved the water. Alexis and Jacob spent most of their time battling the waves with Dusty, while Emma and I spent most of our time closer to the shore and digging in the sand. I was most surprised at the saltiness of the water (I have never been to the ocean before). People here laugh at me when I say this. But I really was surprised. We stayed at the beach until dinner time and then headed to our hotel to clean up for dinner.

The next day we packed up and headed to the Battleship North Carolina. The battleship has been decommissioned for some time now and is awesome to tour. We had the best time exploring under the deck and navigating the different passageways. There was so much history there and it was great to learn about life in the navy.

The battleship is even home to a alligator. I couldn't help taking a picture of this sign. Funny. But I guess there are people crazy enough to try and feed an alligator. Don't worry, I stayed far away from the water.

We took a ton of pictures of the battleship and there are so many to share.

Happy Birthday Emma

Miss Emma is 5!! It seems so weird to have my baby turning 5, such a milestone age. Most kids start kindergarten at this age, but she missed the deadline by 3 days and has to wait another year. She is in preschool and is loving it. Every day I ask the kids at dinner time what their favorite part of their day was. And Emma always says that preschool was her favorite part. I am glad that she is enjoying it.

I think back to when Emma was born. Her tiny 2 pound, 3 ounce body was a miracle to me. Laying in an isolette in the NICU at LDS Hospital she was a fighter. She never had to be put on a ventilator for her lungs. She gained weight steadily and after 2 long months we were able to bring her home. What a wonderful feeling to finally be able to bring your baby home. During those 2 months Dusty and I went to the hospital every day to see her. I pumped milk at home, going through the motions of having a newborn at home, but without the actual baby. So we were ecstatic to bring our little girl home.

Emma is such a blessing to our family. She is a spit-fire (don't know where she got that from). She loves to dance and shake her hips. She loves singing. She loves helping me around the house. Whether I am doing the dishes, the laundry, vacuuming, etc. she wants to help and it is so cute to watch her feel important while she does. She is very shy around anyone new and definitely has a small comfort zone. She is our cutie with long hair and glasses. We love her and are so blessed to have her in our family.

So, here are a few pics from her birthday this year. Since we just moved and haven't met many people yet we did a family party. But her friend next door did surprise us with a Happy Birthday sign on our front door. And she brought over a present for Emma later that night. We had pizza for dinner. Then we had cake and opened presents. Dusty brought home balloons for Emma, which she loved. We had a great time celebrating as a family this year.

Emma with all her presents and cake.

With her new princess clock.

Wearing her new pajamas and holding her new barbie.

Fast asleep in our bed after a long day of birthday fun.

Happy Birthday Emma. We love you.

Goofy Moments at the Burke House

Our kids were wrestling this past week and I snapped some pictures of them being goofy.




Here is Alexis tackling Jacob.

This is Emma and Alexis wrestling.

In this last one Jacob was supposed to be folding laundry and decided to put his boxers on his head.

Have a great Sunday night!

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.