Last Hurrah

We had one last week of summer break before heading to the beach and then to school, so I decided to use that week as our last hurrah- fitting in all the fun things we hadn't gotten yet! 

Don't they look ready for some fun?

First stop? The Museum of Life and Science in Durham. We never take the time to drive to Durham to go to this museum, but that has been a mistake. It is awesome! Their outdoor exhibits really impressed us like this unique climbing ropes course... 

the super cool "tree house" adventure area...

the creek area where you were encouraged to take off your shoes and play...

and the dinosaur trail!

Don't know if was all the climbing or walking or the extreme heat, but we were worn out after a couple of hours and ready for lunch. Thanks to my old Duke days, I knew just where to go...the Mad Hatter Cafe! Love this place, and now thanks to the complimentary "decorate your own cupcakes", the girls do too.

Later that week, we headed to Three Bear Acres for some fun with the Flynn family. We arrived early and had the place to ourselves. The kids had a blast!

The jumping pillow is a must...

but this time around, the sleds were by far the most popular attraction. Those kids wore us out going up that hill over and over and over. Even Walker and Addie were completely game- shrieking happily as those sleds tore down that giant hill. The only thing that slowed them down were tired legs and when Collins accidentally got bumped off one. It was a scary moment, but she was lucky and only got a bruised knee.

We had never done the paddle boats before decided to give it a try...

A lot of work for Mom, but got to hear the funny commentary of my cute boating companions...

We finished our morning with a picnic lunch and just a few more jumps on the pillow before heading home. The girls love Three Bear Acres- even more so that day sharing it with Charlie, Bennett and Walker. 

Other fun stops that week? The Rainbow Room and the History Museum. Think we officially checked off our summer bucket list!

Celebrating Two Birthdays...One Half and One Full!

We did lots of celebrating and ice cream eating the weekend of August 13-14th with Collins turning 5 1/2 on the 13th and Marty turning 79 on the 14th. 

You know that half birthdays are a big deal in our house (that ice cream cone and extra 1/2 to tack onto your age mean a lot!) and this year was no different. Collins had been counting down to 5 1/2, and she knew exactly where to get her token ice cream cone- State's Howling Cow. This was a great idea until we realized upon arrival that it was freshman move in day! Campus was bonkers! But we waited through a marathon line because the mint chocolate chip was worth it. 

This girl is getting tall! She is growing so fast physically, mentally and emotionally these days. Over the summer she has not only learned how to swim and ride a bike (two big milestones) but is acting so mature and smart. The observations and connections she makes amaze us. I think she deserves every bit of that extra 1/2 year. :)

We were excited to celebrate Marty's full birthday the next night. Donna cooked a fabulous and fancy dinner, and we finished things off with a ice cream sundae bar. The girls REALLY got into this idea! Pop Pop got his fill of ice cream, and the girls got their fill of gummy bears and homemade hot fudge. A fun way to celebete a great man!

Summer in Raleigh

We were lucky to be able to spend a lot of time at the beach this summer, but when we were in Raleigh, we found lots of different ways to entertain ourselves. Here's what our time in Raleigh looked like this summer...

Many hours spent cooling off at Ridge Road pool...

exposing the girls to hockey and a load of bounce houses at the Canes summer fest...

saying yes to fun summer treats...

 cooking out with friends at the park... 

wearing pajamas in the middle of the day because we had no plans to leave the house... 

discovering how much fun taking the shuttle bus to church can be...

 experimenting in the kitchen...

and running wild through sprinklers because some days it was too hot to do anything else.

 

While we were busy entertaining ourselves this summer, I couldn't help but think (with anxiety) that school was looming right around the corner. I know I should have felt nothing but excitement for Collins going off to kindergarten, but I have worried about how she would transition and have been sad about this new permanent change which would have her gone most of the day. 

But as we were leaving Ridge Road pool one afternoon, Collins shouted out, "Look! A rainbow!". We turned the car around and sure enough, there was a beautiful rainbow hanging right over Lacy Elementary. With the summer quickly winding down, I think it was God's way of telling me that everything was going to be okay with Collins starting school and that I needed to put my trust in him. A wonderful reminder and a happy sign of what is to come! 

Tennis Fever

After watching some of Wimbledon earlier this summer, Collins asked, "Can we go play tennis?". She did not need to ask her father twice as he was already loading up the car with racquets and balls. Brian and I both would love to see the girls take an interest in and enjoy playing tennis...and maybe if they earn a tennis scholarship to a Division I college we would be happy as well! :)

But we all enjoyed getting out on the courts and running around, and the next day Collins asked to go play again. And the next day as well. So we took this as a sign that there was a real interest there, so we signed her up for some tennis lessons. 

She played 10 weeks over the summer at the Millbrook Tennis Center through Parks and Rec. Here she is at her first class...

We were excited to find out that she and one other little boy were the only ones enrolled in the class. It was almost a private lesson! But we soon found out that the little boy Luke was going to be a problem. From day one, he did not listen to the teacher, sabotaged the games, refused to participate, caused huge distractions, and eventually was mean to Collins by calling her ugly names. I about lost it at one point, and had to talk to both the coach and his mom about his behavior. He did get a little better after that, but it's still a shame that Collins got partnered up with him because she could have learned a lot more than she did. 

But she did learn a good lesson on how you deal with someone who is not nice to you. She finished the class, and improved her tennis skills. She hasn't asked to play much since so we are not pushing it. We just hope that a love for tennis was discovered somewhere along the way this summer!

Potty Trained...Check!

This cutie is officially out of diapers! We started potty training Addie back in June when we got back from Wrightsville Beach. She showed signs of being ready so we took it at a slow pace and two months later, she is ready to show off her Hello Kitty underpants! There were some issues along the way that required some M&M bribery, but eventually she just "got it" and has not really had any major accidents. We are really proud of her! She has grown in so many ways over the summer, and moving out of diapers and into big-girl pants just proves how big she really is. And checking off this major item from our to-do list before baby comes makes me really happy! Go Addie!