Carolina Hurricanes

Our realtor had a client appreciation night and treated everyone to a hockey game. Jeff has always wanted to go to a professional hockey game so this was a perfect opportunity to check this item off the bucket list. We don't really follow hockey so we didn't know where either team stood in terms of playoffs or even the season, but it was awesome nonetheless. Before the game even started, our realtor told us we won some raffle so we were gifted a gift card to a great taco restaurant in town. Wahoo! The game was fun and seemed relatively high scoring for hockey. And it even went to overtime. And it was still tied so we got to see a shootout! Talk about getting your hockey's worth! Pretty incredible! The Hurricanes weren't on the winning side of things, but it was great to see the full cycle of a hockey game for our first professional game! 

NC bucket list: Parlour

As our time in North Carolina draws to a close, we are working on our NC bucket list. Well we are just starting to create that list and knock things off as we can, but hey we're working on it! Ice cream at The Parlour in Durham was on that list. Check. 

Beach boys

Tonight was a bucket list event for me. The kids and I went to see the Beach Boys in concert!! Jeff would have joined us but he was out of town for work. I know the Beach Boys are 'old school' music, but my kids thankfully know their songs and rock out to them because it's just great music! And it takes us back to our San Diego days not too long ago. 

We started off with dinner at Fosters and brought some over to the concert for Ross' friend who hooked us up with the tickets. 

Our seats were AMAZING! We were just left of center about 10 rows back. It was absolutely incredible and the kids enjoyed it as well. It was amazing to hear the songs that made up the soundtrack of my childhood car trips. I think there were 2 of the original Beach Boys in this tour. They started playing around 7:30 and played a good 3 hours. Needless to say, the kids were wiped out afterwards. And they had school the next day. :-) But it was totally worth it. 

Longest time

Jeff and I went to see Billy Joel in Charlotte. I grew up listening to him in car trips as a kid. I can still remember the orange vanagon trucking along between Illinois and Ohio and listening to the cassette tapes from the little brown suitcase of tapes. Needless to say, seeing Billy Joel in concert was a life bucket list item for me. Others that we listened to on childhood road trips include Simon & Garfunkel (saw them, best concert ever); Neil Diamond (saw him); Beach Boys (saw them in high school); Elton John & Lionel Richie. I'd see Billy Joel, Simon & Garfunkel and the Beach Boys in concert again should they tour nearby. Talk about transporting back in time in such a good way. 

Zoo finale, San Diego finale

Today the packers arrived. That meant we had to get out of the house. I needed to get out of the house for my own sanity and emotional well-being. Nothing like a bunch of strangers putting everything into boxes and clearing out your house to make a move get very real. 

So we went to the zoo. A place I have always loved. And it was on my San Diego bucket list to visit before we left. So we hit our favorite spots - the Skyfari (Kyle used to be terrified of this), the meerkats and the spider monkeys. 

Aaron had been asking to ride the train outside the zoo for some time. Today seemed like a perfect day for that. :-) So we rode the train. And Aaron loved it. Check one off Aaron's San Diego bucket list. 

Aaron had also been asking to ride the carousel near the zoo. Again, what better time to check one off his San Diego bucket list than 2 days before we left. 

Yea, then there's the move... it's still emotional seeing these pictures nearly 3 months later. I know this is just stuff, but the "here's your life in boxes and a home that holds so many memories" part is what gets me. 

That evening, Emily's best friend Haiden invited us over for dinner. They made a delicious meal for us all to eat together and the kids got to swim together for a long time. It was a welcome distraction to the move (on our last night sleeping at our house) and a wonderful time with wonderful people. 

Nobu

Another item on our San Diego bucket list was to eat at Nobu again. We had been there before and loved it so we wanted to experience it another time before moving away. And it sure didn't disappoint. Emily was so pleased (this was one of her suggestions) with the meal. 

Tea time

One of the items on our (Emily's especially) San Diego bucket list was to go have tea at the tea shop. (Last time I went to tea time was an awesome day marred by a kidney stone that night when Aaron was 3 months old. I realize full well that the tea didn't cause the stone, but it was an event that day that has marked that day in my mind.) Anyhow, we had a wonderful (and uneventful) tea time at Shakespeare's Tea Shoppe in San Diego. I think I found my new favorite tea there as well - a white coconut tea that has a taste of the tropics and only a slight amount (perfect for me) of caffeine. The little foods were delicious and a lot of fun as well. Aaron especially thought it was great since they were just his size. 

Aaron even wore his London shirt from Chryssi to mark the occasion

Ropes course

Another item on our San Diego bucket list was to do the ropes course at the Wild Animal Park (or Safari Park or whatever it is called). Aaron got to spend his day with Alice while Jeff and I took Kyle and Emily up to the ropes course. It was awesome. The kids loved it and so did we.

We had a camera on one of the helmets to capture the fun, but haven't transferred the video yet. But here are a few in the meantime. 

Kyle on the course

Emily on the course

Cowles Mountain

Also on our San Diego bucket list was getting to the top of Cowles Mountain (the highest point in San Diego). We had tried it previously, but we were thwarted by heat, nap, hunger and Aaron who didn't want to ride in the backpack. This time, it was muggy out and it had rained a bit too so the sun wasn't beating down on us too bad. It was still hot and we only brought 2 water bottles, but somehow we made it to the top. It was a cool view even if it was a bit obscured by the low clouds. But we made it!