Pullen Park

I took the kids to this great park in downtown Raleigh a few weeks ago. It has a few little rides, a playground, and some pavilions for picnics. They loved it so much, they've been begging to take Bruce with us. So we all went together on Saturday. We had a great time walking around and enjoying the sunny day.

They have a really old carousel that has been restored.

The carousel scares Travis a little, so he prefers to just watch. One of the animals is a lion. Every time it goes by, he roars at it. I think it helps him feel brave. So cute.

The kids couldn't wait to ride on the paddle boats with Dad. They had begged me to go for a ride the first time we went, but there was no way I was getting on one with 3 kids by myself. I just knew someone would end up in the water.

Travis enjoying his juice while we watched the others on the boat and looked for ducks. Next time we'll have to bring some bread to feed them. Just look at the fun time my sister had with that! He didn't miss going on the boat at all. It definitely wasn't as fun as throwing rocks into the pond!

A ride on the miniature train around the park ended our fun outing.

I'm 2!!!

Travis turned 2 yesterday. We had a fun little party with just the 5 of us. He's so cute and growing fast and getting older. My baby is gone, but he's growing into such a sweet and fun little boy. Here's his birthday adventure:

My big 2-Year-Old smile!

My favorites for a birthday dinner-spaghetti and watermelon. You do know that spaghetti is finger food don't you?

oooo-candles! I tried to blow them out myself, but I just couldn't, the flames wouldn't even flicker. Thank goodness for a helpful older brother and sister.

Wow, this looks good!

Yep, it is!

I'm going to take my time and unwrap this as slowly as possible. Courtney and Dylan kept getting yelled at by Mom and Dad because they couldn't stand it and wanted to help me rip it all open.

Can I just say-I LOVE BALLS! Now I have this great hoop that is just my size. I can do all the slam dunks I want! Yea!!!

Thanks Grandma Cook for the cool truck and cars. Now I don't have to take Dylan's away. I love my tractor too, as long as the controls are turned off. I get a little freaked out when it starts driving by itself, its too loud. But I love pushing it around myself.

I got this scary dinosaur. I played with a friend's dinosuar a few months ago and laughed and laughed. It can roar and walk all by itself. But I've forgotten about it and now am so scared. I had to jump on the ottoman quick so it wouldn't get me. So Mom put it on a high shelf.

It was a fun birthday. hmmm . . . terrible 2's are going to be fun!

Summer . . . Gone Already?!

Here are a few pictures of Courtney as we walked to the bus stop on the first day of school, which was last Monday. I can't believe she's in school already. They do year-round school out here, and after a 1-week break at the beginning of July, the new school year starts. Then it's 9 weeks on, 3 weeks off. Although her first break comes in August. I think it will take a while to get used to this. Then, in 2 years, we really get thrown for a loop. Dylan will be in 1st grade year-round, and Courtney will move to the middle school, a traditional calendar. Its so weird. But I think they are just trying to accomadate all the new people moving into the area. They can't build schools fast enough to fit everyone, so year-round is the answer. I'm sure we'll get used to it, but for now-school in July??!!

Now, doesn't she look so cute!! She really wanted these short baggy pants for her new outfit. I love you Courtney! You're so beautiful!

1 Year Older x2

Bruce and Dylan both had their birthdays this week, Dylan's on Sunday and Bruce's on Monday. It was pretty crazy trying to get them organized since we had just come home from camping, but with a little planning, they turned out great. In the past, we have celebrated them on the same day so other family only had to come to one party, instead of 2 in a row. But since it was just us this year, they got their own parties and their own special days.

A Big 5 Year Old!!
How can he be 5 already??? Where did the time go? I can't imagine him going to Kindergarten this year. He's old enough, but we're going to wait until next year to send him, for various reasons that I won't get into right now. Courtney started school this week and I just can't believe he could have been getting on that bus with her. It's just not possible that he is old enough!

He requested a whale cake this year. Normally I would have made a cake shaped like a whale, and decorated it very cute. But since we came home from camping that morning, and then had to go to church, I knew I wouldn't have time. So he got a blue cake with some dollar-store bath whales plopped on top. He loved it!

More cars!! He can't get enough of the Cars Movie cars. I don't know how many he has, but its just about all of them. I haven't seen any new ones lately that he doesn't have. He keeps requesting certain characters that he doesn't have, but they don't make them yet. Maybe we need to write to the company!

A new umbrella for all the rainy days we have here.

A fun track to race his cars

35-my old man!!

I wanted to make him a fun cake, so I stole this idea from my sister Jill. She made one similar for her son Jordan last year, although hers turned out much better. I always make Dylan and Bruce separate cakes. We end up with so much cake afterwards. (You'd think we'd be throwing it all away, but somehow I end up gaining a few pounds each July instead.) So this year, I made a 2 layer cake, but frosted each layer separately, one for each of them. It only took me 5 years to figure that one out!

4th of July Camping

We went camping over the 4th of July weekend to beautiful Jordan Lake, only about 15 minutes from home. They have a lot of campgrounds, beaches, and trails. We had a great time, (except for the 7 ticks that came home with us, YUCK!)

Someday we'd like to get a boat and go out on the lake a lot. Last year we rented a pontoon boat with my sister Kim and her family. It was so much fun, we wish we could do that all the time. Someday!!

It rained a lot over the weekend, mostly at night though, so we were able to still go swimming and hiking. We found lots of leaks in the camper that we'll need to fix before next time. The kids loved it and Bruce and I are still learning how to enjoy camping with small kids. We make a list every time about what to bring on the next trip to make things easier for them and us.

Jordan Lake, NC

It was very hot the first day of camping. We were miserable for a while trying to stay cool. I tried to lay down with Travis for a nap, but laying on the blankets made the heat so unbearable, I gave up and he went without a nap that day. Bruce, Courtney, and Dylan went swimming in the lake, then stayed in swim suits the rest of the day to stay cool.

Our yummy dinner of roasted hot dogs and watermelon. Travis was in heaven. He loves anything fruit, the messier the better. Although, he still doesn't quite know how to eat it. Right after taking this picture, I had to cut off the rind because he kept trying to eat that part.

Dylan loves camping, as he told us repeatedly during the trip. He became quite the pyro, after seeing what styrofoam does when put on the flames. He kept asking for everyone's garbage, or making his own, ("Hey mom, I have to just wipe my hands on this paper towel.") Notice the whistle he's wearing. I'm the Whistle Nazi, my kids have to wear them at all times if they are outside of the camper, all because of the frightening experience we had with Courtney while camping 3 years ago. They get a lecture each trip about what to do if lost.


Courtney insists on helping with everything, setting up the camper, starting a fire, leading us in the hike. She'll get pretty hurt if Mom or Dad says, "No, not this time." She loves just about everything there is about camping, except the bugs. Every few minutes, "Mom get it off!" She had one tick right on the bottom of her foot when we got home. I thought the world was ending based on her reaction. Luckily it was tiny and popped right out. She's not much of a girly girl except when it comes to bugs. "EWWWWWW"