Emerald Isle

Usually the thought of going to the beach over Memorial Day would just seem insane (the traffic, the crowds), but this year we needed a little mini-vacation and decided to brave it. We headed off for Emerald Isle - it was surprisingly quiet and we had a fantastic time. The only downside: still getting up at 6:30 even though you're on "vacation."



Working on our drip castles




Buried alive!


Pretending to be asleep




Petting rays at the aquarium


Trying out his new sunglasses


Feeding daddy grapes

Strawberry Picking

This year we went out to Vollmer Farm to pick berries. Our builder, who is rapidly becoming the person we talk to most in any given week, suggested them as their berries are organic. So off we went to Bunn for a day of berry picking.

The great wide-open strawberry patch


"Ooh, that's a good one!"




Sampling the loot


The boys and their baskets


Strawberry face


Capping off the day with homemade strawberry ice cream - YUM!


On the way home, Charlie told us: "I didn't cry, mommy and daddy. You can't cry when you're going strawberry picking. You have to be happy." And he was.

Sunday was spent dealing with the 12+ pounds of berries we picked. Here's what we have in the larder/freezer:
-17 pints of strawberry freezer jam
-1 loaf of strawberry bread
-18 strawberry muffins
-27 strawberry shortcake cookies
-1 pint of strawberry syrup
-gigantic freezer bag full of frozen berries

I felt like a hybrid of Martha Stewart & Lady MacBeth at the end of the day - my hands stained red from a day of berry processing. Out, out damned spot!

Tour de Coop

Each year, Raleigh does a Tour de Coop - an open house for urban chicken keepers. Three of the houses are in our neighborhood, so we usually go check out the scene. This year, we were invited to Evan's coworker Seth's house to see his chickens and have brunch, and then we made the rounds.

Checking out Seth's chickens


Having brunch with Miley


Letting Miley play with the dinos


Gathering eggs with Seth


Taking a break on the tour

Underwear All Day!

When Evan picked Charlie up from school Friday, his daily sheet read: "Charlie wore his underwear all day today!" So today, we asked him if we wanted to wear underwear. He said, "No, I'm little again now. I need to wear a diaper." After some probing, he told us that he would be a big boy again at school, but he is too little for underwear at home.

Dino Party

Charlie has had his heart set on a dinosaur birthday party ever since he figured out what birthday parties were. So we planned a few dino-themed activities along with a T Rex cake for the big day.



Adding spines to the Stegosaurus


Charlie and Gabriel head off to hunt for dinosaur eggs


Searching for eggs in the mulch mounds




Checking out the baby dinos


Lunch is served!


Grandma & Great-Grandpa


T. Rex






Opening presents


Gang of dinos


One worn out little Charlie-saurus

Happy Birthday!

I was worried Charlie's actual birthday might seem anti-climactic after the family party, but, apparently, cake and presents never get old. We took cupcakes to school, which he was very excited about. After school, he and Gabriel ran around on the lawn, fueled by the power of sugar, and then home for more presents.



A new set of dinosaur magnets


And a dinosaur shirt to go with them!

German Invasion

The weekend before Charlie's birthday, the German half of my family came to town for an early birthday party. Aunt Moni had come over for my cousin's college graduation, and we were glad to have some time with her.

Out on the town, waiting for the Raleigh trolley


Opening presents


Thanking Aunt Moni for his presents - which included DVDs of my favorite German children's show, Sandmannchen (Sandman)


Checking out the sticker book from Aunt Niki


Playing t-ball and golf with Omi & Opu, and occasionally letting them have a turn




Ginormous chocolate cake