Visitors, more beach, crafting

well, contrary to what this blog shows, there has actually been a lot going on around here this week!

On Monday we had a visit from my baby sister, Adrianna. She took a break from work and school to go on an adventure and we were so glad to have her for the day! We took her to the beach, which may not have been the most exciting day ever, but since she had spent the day before shopping and touring New York City, we thought she'd enjoy a bit of relaxation. Plus it's always nice to go back home from vacation with a tan. :)

Monday evening, my step-sister, Jackie, came down from Baltimore and we enjoyed dinner and a visit together before both girls headed out.

Aren't they just the cutest things??

Here is the whole gang:

The rest of the week went by quickly, with appts, parties, work, etc. We were also getting ready to send the boys off to Scout camp. Nick has been sick all week and we haven't gotten a conclusive answer from any of the tests they've done. We went ahead and sent them off this morning. Since Dave is going as well he can watch Nick and make him take it easy if he needs to.

Of course, Nick being gone means that we have a week of trying to keep Joshua happy back here. We've got some ideas, though--I am NOT doing the week of crafts we did last year- I'm still recovering from the glue-gun burns I suffered then!

But speaking of crafts, I am delighted to say that I am most of the way finished with my craft "area" downstairs. I have longed for a space of my own for quite a while. Some place I can organize my sewing and crafting supplies, a clean space to work, and a place to leave things out if I need to. We've had this corner downstairs where I've been storing everything in a mismatch of rubbermaid totes, dreaming of what it could be.

Well, here's what it could be!

I don't have any before pictures, which is probably a good thing because I'd be too embarrassed to post them. I'm not quite finished yet, but it is well on its way to being done. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. I used it for the first time this morning when I was sewing the Order of the Arrow patches on Dave and Nick's uniforms. The sewing machine was already out, the thread was handy, and I didn't have to move the bowl of fruit off the dining room table to make room! It feels great to have a space of my own....

And coming up this week:

Keeping Busy While Nick is Gone, Joshua Turns 6, Jarrett Comes to Visit, and We Celebrate the 4th!

Here Comes the Sun (dn dn du du)

Yesterday we were blessed with I think may be the only day this entire month that it didn't rain at least part of the day. Well, we were not wasting a minute of it!

We packed up and headed down to North Beach, right on the Chesapeake Bay. It's about a 45 minute drive from here--perfect for a day trip.

We took along 3 friends who happen to be 2 brothers and a sister, too. The big kids played chicken and in one round the girls held the boys on their shoulders. I think Alyson had a bigger job, but she is proud to say that they still won! :)

The water was warm and really shallow a long way out. It was perfect for the little boys to swim. The big boys played some catch, and Alyson was upside down....

We walked out on the pier to get a better view of the sailboats in the distance.

About an hour before we left we walked down the beach a little ways to look for shark teeth (I found one!). The kids were poking around in the rocks and we found a HUGE colony of horseshoe crabs! There were dozens of them in and around the rocks, half-buried sometimes, wedged in, or just hanging out. Nick got this one out--it was actually one of the smaller crabs. Some of them had shells that were well over a foot in diameter!

The drive was so pretty and easy and I know we will be going back soon. Joshua has pronounced the day as "the second funnest day of my life." He's still riding high off the visit to North Carolina and seeing Jarrett. :)

We all came back suntanned (and a little burnt), happy, and feeling summer is actually started now.

Of course, the weather today..........

30-Day Shred

Meet my new workout buddy:




Since my old workout buddy had to go back to work (for some reason, the Army has a limit on leave days allowed.....) I have been stuck working out on my own. I've been pretty good about getting up and running, but the strength part has been seriously lacking. Apparently I need the added encouragement of someone yelling, "Stop your whining, soldier!" at me. And don't even ask about those horrid driveway repeats. They are a thing of the past. Good riddance.

Anyway, I needed some motivation to do more than trudge through a couple of slow miles. That's where Jillian comes in. I first read about this DVD here. I was intrigued by the comments left and being a fan of the Biggest Loser, I thought that Jillian might just be the "encourager" I needed.

I've only done the workout twice. Level 1. Wow. Muscles are sore on me that haven't seen use in quite some time. The first time I did it I used 5 lb handweights. Ha! The next time I was smarter and went to the 3 lb. She says things like, "If you're looking for a modified jumping jack, look elsewhere. I've got 400 lb. people that can do jumping jacks and so can you." She leaves out the "so shut up and quit whining" but it's implied. ;-)

So far it's great. It's broken down into 3 6-minute segments so the exercises never get boring, and most importantly, you don't feel like she's going to make you keep suffering forever. It's a perfect second workout-not too long, but extremely challenging. Alyson and Dave are doing it in the evenings and even Joshua is doing it, too. We haven't dragged Nick in yet--I think he's content to watch us wheezing and whimpering.

This Was The Funnest Day of My Life!

So was the proclamation by Joshua late Saturday evening as we headed up to Jarrett's dorm.

We left for North Carolina late Friday, ready to cram in as much as we could all day Saturday. We were going down to celebrate the graduation of one of Alyson's sweet friends and were so happy to have the excuse to go!

I could write pages about how great it was to be back in North Carolina again. Most of you know I do love to wax eloquent on that subject. :)
But I'll just stick to the highlights and share some photos:

• Stayed in a hotel that gave Joshua a free Webkinz! He got the springer spaniel and named him Forest (for Wake Forest, of course...)
• Jarrett came and met us for breakfast first thing Saturday morning
• Went to Chapel Hill to walk around, shop, and drink from the Old Well
• Drove down to Johnston County for Farrell's party. Highlights of the party were the whole roasted pig with the FANTASTIC Carolina barbecue sauce (thanks, Dick!), seeing the girls, and getting to visit with my walking buddy.....
• Drove by our old house, ran into some friends that we NEED to keep in touch with, drove over to the Y, where we spent just about every summer afternoon for 2 years.....
• Went to Adventure Landing and played mini-golf and the kids rode the go-karts
• Made 3 trips to Bojangles in 12 hours!
• Joshua and Jarrett had a sleepover at Jarrett's dorm since no one else was there for the weekend. They played a little Wii, watched some of the Princess Bride, and drew pictures for each other. I know Joshie will remember that for a long time.... The last picture was taken Sunday morning in front of Jarrett's dorm. As much as we wanted to stay and enjoy the sunshine, we had to pick Joshua up and head north. On the way we went to two more graduation parties--3 parties in 3 states in two days!

Some of you may be wondering where the other third of our family was! Dave and Nick were somewhere north of Baltimore, participating in an Order of the Arrow Ordeal, part of the requirement of being inducted into Boy Scout's honor society. They were both "tapped out" recently and were honored to be chosen. The details of the Ordeal are secret, but I do know that they came home dirty, tired, and very hungry!

Class: insecta Order: lepidoptera

All spring Joshua has been saving caterpillars. We have gone on walks, picnics, to church, in the back yard--just about everywhere outside--and he has found a caterpillar to bring home. He puts them in a crowded little housing project called his "bug box." At any given time, there have been at least 5 caterpillars and/or cocoons in the bug box.
It's been a great opportunity to study caterpillars. We have been recording what we find out in his nature notebook. His nature notebook is used for drawing anything we find interesting outside. We use it as a springboard to further research. He has drawings of every bird we've seen at the bird feeder, some animals we saw at a regional children's farm, etc.

Despite the close quarters, the caterpillars don't seem to have any problem settling in to their new digs. We give them fresh leaves every day and usually within a day or two they've started making cocoons.

This week we've been delighted to see that, for a change, we had to chrysalides in the bug box. Usually we just have fuzzy cocoons, which we know always turn into moths. And for us, usually gypsy moths. Yesterday we saw two butterflies drying their wings inside the box. And this morning, one of them was out! Here he is, a beautiful mourning cloak butterfly:

We let him go right away and will do the same with the other one when it comes out.

We have some more cocoons we are waiting on and Nick found a particularly interesting little guy the other day--he looks eerily similar to the caterpillar in The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Maybe we'll get lucky again!

Ha!

My hopes were short-lived........

Outdoor breakfasts

Finally--after a soggy, dreary spring there is a glimmer of hope that summer is on its way. We woke up this morning to a beautiful sunrise. We have been waiting to be able to eat breakfast outside again and Joshua woke up ready to head out!

One of my favorite things to do is spend the early mornings outside with a cup of coffee, my Bible, and fresh fruit for breakfast. Our church is reading through the Bible in six months and mornings are my favorite time for quiet time. Then when the kids get up they come out and join me. I'm hopeful that today was the beginning of many months of early morning sunshine~

Brother-missing Blues

There is nothing better to help get someone over the blues than a good, sugary snack! Thanks to my friend Sheri, here, Joshua and I had the perfect activity to break up those blahs.
Who wants to come over for some popcorn balls?

Family Fun

Jarrett came up this weekend for a visit. Since he has a full-time job Mon-Fri he can only come for the weekend. We had a great visit-it feels so good to have everyone home. Joshua had been counting down for about 2 weeks. He was excited because Jarrett was going to sleep in his room in his new bunk bed. :)

Saturday Jarrett and Alyson went to the mall, then the boys swam in the pool, and in the evening we went to a graduation party.

Sunday was the big day. We packed a lunch and headed for the Metro right after church. We had tickets to see Night at the Museum 2 at the IMAX in the Natural History museum! We got there early enough to be able to walk around the American History museum for a bit, then over to the Natural History. We haven't been there since December, which may be a record for us! Usually Joshua begs us into going every month or two. They've gotten a few new things in the new Oceans exhibit, which was fun. In fact, on the giant globe there was a presentation on ocean currents, something Joshua and I were just learning about in science!

The movie was PACKED, but we had pretty good seats. It was hilarious! We will definitely be seeing it again. The only downside of the IMAX is that there is no popcorn to munch on. That was harder on some of us than others.....

It was really cool to see the movie at the Smithsonian. We kept thinking, "we're there!" and "that's right across the street!" Jarrett was wondering if he really could sneak into the archives like Ben Stiller does in the movie....


After we got back we decided to play Pictionary. Joshua had never played so it was boys vs. girls. Alyson and I thought it would be ok if they outnumbered us--after all, he's only 5. Well, our mistake! We forgot that Joshua can draw better than most of us! He had a BLAST playing--I guess this will be our new go-to game for quite some time!

.........I think they're tired of having their pictures taken.........

At bedtime there were many tears. The realization that Jarrett was leaving this morning hit pretty hard. We reminded him that Jarrett was going to get up and watch Curious George with him before he leaves, which helped somewhat, but when the time does come I imagine there will be some wet eyes again.....

I love my not-so-little family.