Beach Trip 2013, Part Un

Finally the post we've all been waiting for, Beach Trip 2013, split up in order to savor it all the more...

After our low key week in Raleigh, we traveled to Emerald Isle on Saturday afternoon. We got there in time for cocktail hour(s) and a first ocean dip. Clearly we're all very excited to be here.

Sunday morning we awoke to absolutely gorgeous weather and were out bright and early staking our claim.

Meghan finishing up breakfast before heading out onto the shore.

Armed with inner tubes and boogie boards, we're ready to have some fun.

Clara taking after her Uncle Jack "surfing".

Who's happy to be at the beach? Me!

After lunch, consistent with the crazy weather we'd had for most of the summer, a storm rolled in.

By early evening the rain stopped and the clouds moved off shore, so we could once again enjoy the sand and surf.

Meghan followed her Pop-pop and became very excited about searching for shells, though she was not quite as discriminating as the rest of the family.

She handed him handful after handful of shells.

Dedication.

Jack tolerates a kiss from Daddy.

Wee.

Jack, hard at work with his machines.

Cheese.

Surely that can't be Memo beside Pop-pop, she never smiles at the camera!

Meghan & Mommy

Meghan gets a little snuggle time with Nay-nay.

Meghan puts on Lucy's visor and suddenly starts "tasting" everyone's drink, an effect of the hat?

She's a cutie.

That would be, "No, Daddy, don't take my picture."

Busted. Distracted with bolts and nuts for the win!

Headed for a dip with Pop-pop.

"Get back here, you!"

Nothing like a Mommy-blanket to sit on at the beach.

Or maybe a chair is more comfy.

Lucy puts her marine biology degree to use and teaches Meghan about the joys of sand diggers (yes, that is a technical term).

Our cottage.

Back up on the deck, Meghan gets some hugs from Aubrey.

The matriarch and patriarch of this mess.

An inland storm leads to two small rainbows at the cloudline.

On Monday morning the kids are up bright and early for day two of beach fun.

Meghan was so tired by mid-morning that for our sanity the Nuk was allowed to make an appearance on the beach (not the last time on this trip), and it was snuggle time with Nay-nay.

Bloody Mary time!

Cheers to the best bartender on the beach.

Speaking of bartenders, could you get me ann-uuzz-zerrrr?

Super cute of Stinkles and Clara, 

And their true natures shine through.

Next up was the impromptu Beach Photo shoot.

So you've gotten bathed and in fresh clothes, sure then let's go down to the beach.

Nothing like being showered and changed to dig in the sand some more.

Dean of students supervises the 9 o'clock dinner.

To be continued in part deux...

Saturday in Pullen Park

Before we get to the great Beach Recap, I'd like to share some events in real time. We had some gorgeous weather in Raleigh this weekend, starting with slightly cooler and less humid temperatures Friday that turned to mid-70's and sunny today and yesterday. We managed to spend the bulk of our weekend outside. In the drier conditions that we haven't seen in awhile, the kids, particularly Clara, seemed to rediscover their love for the outdoors.

On Friday morning after running several errands, we stopped at the park before heading home for lunch. In classic fashion Meghan would not smile at me.

Saturday morning we ventured over to Pullen Park, along with the rest of families in the city. We arrived near 10:30 am and happened upon a man pulling a giant bird, that turned out to be a steppe eagle, out of his car, so we followed him and found out that a new series called Discovery Days was running this fall at 10:30 am, aimed at pre-school and elementary school aged kids. Check and check. The feature this Saturday was all about Birds of Prey. It was awesome; the people came from the American Wildlife Refuge and exhibited the steppe eagle, a black vulture, a red-tailed hawk, a kestrel, a barn owl, and a screech owl. No pictures (though you can check out the birds here), but we thoroughly enjoyed the show.

Next we fed the ducks and then took a stroll around the lake. Jack waited at the bottom of the bridge on a rock in the sun while Clara opted for the shade.

 

 

Meghan lagged a little ways behind, distracted by some balloons at a birthday party venue but was determined not to be left in the dust!

 

Next we took a turn on the carousel. It was Meghan's first experience. Though you might not be able to tell by her stoic expression that remained so throughout the ride, she really liked it as was apparent by her dismay (i.e., kicking and screaming) when it was time to exit the ride.

 

Clara of course loved it too. If you look at the window to the right, you can see Jack on Daddy's shoulders outside of the venue. Jack still is not keen about the whole idea, though given his penchant for things that spin, maybe he should rethink his stance on merry-go-rounds.

 

We finished off the outing with a stop at Locopos, yummy!

Early-August (4-9)

After both our and their weeks of fun, we were all hit with a dose of reality.

We spent some of the rest of the weekend enjoying the temperate weather out in our backyard. Meghan tries to blow bubbles with little success possibly due to the excessive amounts of dirt and rainwater in the bubble solution.

And later in the week...

At least somebody enjoys their spaghetti dinner.

Sleeping and stretching

There is some French toast buried under all that whipped cream.

"Bill & Nyla" fearless pioneers

With Meghan the Red Sox fan tagging along.

Captain Clara perched atop her vessel.

Restaurant Week 2013

While Nay-nay and Pop-pop were having fun with the kids, I managed to find some ways to fill my time during my very own stay-cation in Raleigh. Brec and I took the opportunity sans children to go out to dinner for the 2013 edition of our very own Restaurant Week. This year we tried some new places and returned to a couple old favorites.

We hit the ground running with lunch on Monday afternoon as I was on my way back from South Boston, and Brec's new office is on the way home. We dined at Bull City Burger and Brewery on their in house-ground, locally pasture-raised beef burgers and duck frites. A great way to start off the week.

Then after an afternoon of painting the trim around the window panes in Meghan's room, something leftover from my 2011 painting extravaganza/stay-cation, we decided to do it up on our first night for a late (8:00 pm!) dinner at Poole's Diner. I got the crabcake, and Brec had the fried flounder, both delish. Enjoying a Pimms Pitcher outside the restaurant, waiting for our table to be ready.

On Tuesday night we stayed slightly closer to home by choosing to dine at David's Dumpling and Noodle Bar on Hillsborough St. We ordered both dumplings and noodles which were, as Pop-pop would say, fabby-fab-bu-lous.

Wednesday night we went to Beaseley's, a place we often go with the kids, but it was nice to be able to relax and enjoy the delicious chicken.

Our last night on the town before the kids return on Friday afternoon, we dined at a new-to-us Bida Manda, a Laotian restaurant downtown. Everything from the drinks and appetizers to the main courses were extremely tasty. 

Meanwhile back at the ranch daily while Brec was hard at work at the office, I was busy organizing and cleaning up and out the kids' rooms. One of my main goals in Jack & Clara's room was to attack the top of the wardrobe which had essentially become a dumping grounds for anything and everything that needed to be up high away from Meghan. Anything that wasn't placed on the wardrobe was shoved into their closet, making it the other focus of my efforts. I don't have before pictures, but following several trips to the Container Store for shelves, I can assure you that these afters are a vast improvement. 

My other big accomplishment was the rearrangement of the names & feet to include Meghan's and the special cast I got last fall of all three kids' handprints. It may not seem like much, but it took me awhile to envision how I wanted to arrange the pieces and even longer to translate my paper calculations into actual hooks on the wall. But after all my careful planning, I'm very happy with how it turned out. Below are the before and after.

Then just like that it was Friday afternoon and who arrived back in Raleigh but the children! with Nay-nay and Lucy. Lucy generously agreed to babysit the kids Friday and Saturday night so that I could attend a family wedding with Nay-nay in Chapel Hill. During the day on Saturday, also in town for the wedding, was Aunt Betts from whom we had a visit! It had been a long time since last she saw the children, almost two years. We tried to show her a good time so that she'll come back before another two year pass. ;) We dined at Armadillo for lunch, then hit the Cupcake Shoppe for dessert. Yummy.

On Saturday night Brec, Nay-nay, and I met Betty, Memo, & Augs in Chapel Hill and caravanned to the wedding venue, the "Barn at Valhalla" in Carrboro. 

Then afterward we took the opportunity of being out with a babysitter at home to finish off our evening and restaurant week with a fantastic meal at Acme in downtown Carrboro. Everything I tasted was wonderful. We'll definitely head back there to partake of the kid-friendly Sunday brunch someday.

Thanks again to Nay-nay & Pop-pop for the gift of time to ourselves that made all this home productivity and "Restaurant week" possible.

4-Day 4's & MMO

Today was Jack's first day back at preschool and Meghan's orientation to the Mother's Morning Out class she'll be in on Tuesday mornings. Of course we had to get the token first day pictures on the steps, but somehow the faces I captured were as goofy as could be.

Here I believe I had just told Jack to move his hand away from his mouth, so look what Meghan does.

Meghan decides she'd like that bag now.

Jack ever patient with Meghan yelling a full-on, Mine!

Sheesh, what a punk.

Jack's like, Whateves, I'm going to sit down now, and Meghan's thinking, Wait, what? We're sitting, and no one cares about the bag anymore?

Bag is forgotten, I'm sitting like my big brother.

And this is the result of me saying, Look at me and smile!

Jack's patented "look-away Cheese".

Not sure how they planned this look.

They're both onto me.

And we're done.

Jack had a great day with his new teacher; they met with only half the class for an hour. While he was occupied, I took Meghan over to her classroom to meet her teachers and classmates or "babies" as Meghan was calling them. She hasn't looked in the mirror lately. It should be interesting next week when she goes by herself the first time, but I think once she gets used to it, she'll really enjoy it.