Duke gardens

It was a beautiful spring day here in Raleigh and we had not been up to Duke in a while. Also, on Jeff's NC bucket list was Vietnamese Saturday lunch at Bahn's. So up we went! 

The gardens were pretty spectacular. The blooms, the scents, the warm sun. It was excellent. 

Apparently Kyle has been teaching Aaron to meditate. 

We are still looking for our tree from college, though we both grant that it is likely covered over by more bark - after all it's been about 20 years - and plenty of other foliage around it. 

Duke gardens

The kids and I spent the day at Duke today enjoying the gardens, playing some soccer, climbing some trees and watching a women's basketball game. Jeff was still away on his work trip but that didn't stop us from enjoying his alma mater. Emily's friend came with us as well. 

Some monkeys in a tree

Our tree. Jeff and I had a tree while we were in college that we carved in the gardens. We have been unable to locate that tree and the carving through we do acknowledge that 17+ years of tree growth would likely cover it up. Our old one said JB+KB inside a heart. And now we have a new one. 

More Duke basketball games

Jeff had to return to Salt Lake City, but the kids and I still made sure to have some fun together. Jeff and I had gone to the Duke Men's basketball game the evening prior and our tickets were good for free entrance to the women's game the following day so we capitalized on that. And I think this was the game that Duke defeated the then #2 team in the country, South Carolina. We went back to another women's game a week later though I don't recall the opponent. But I do recall that Duke won. As a former basketball player, it's fun to watch a live college game. And the kids enjoy it and especially in Cameron. While it may not be as crazy as a men's game with the fan antics, there is still an element of that and the experience it is to be in Cameron. It's really small compared to nearly any other basketball arena. Televised games make it look so huge when in reality it's very cozy. 

Duke basketball game

Jeff was home from Salt Lake City for the weekend and as luck would have it, we were given two tickets to a Duke Men's basketball game! This has been on our Raleigh bucket list since we arrived (and before). We had tried getting tickets to previous games, but they are so expensive. Last time Jeff was at a game was when he was a student at Duke where tickets don't cost an insane amount, just some camping outside the stadium. He even took me to a game when I visited him at Duke in college. Anyhow, it was an amazing experience to be back inside Cameron for a men's game (against Maine). 

There is a lot of construction going on on the walk to the stadium from parking and the diggers, especially this daddy and son digger, were just too cute to not take a picture. 

Al Buehler Trail

When Jeff ran at Duke, he ran on this trail many a times. This was before the trail was formally named and groomed as the Al Buehler trail (I think). Coach Al was Jeff's coach at that time. This weekend, Jeff took us on it for a nice little family run. 

Duke

We've had a fun Labor Day / birthday weekend here. Today, we went to Duke to check out the gardens and enjoy the beautiful day. It's starting to feel a little bit like fall. Still warm, but thankfully not 100+ degrees with oppressive humidity hot. I'm sure we'll have more days of those before fall actually takes hold, but we will enjoy these days as we get them. 

The chapel is finally re-opened. I think it re-opened a few months ago, but we hadn't been up there in some time. We didn't make it to the top of it today because we were short on time, but the renovations look amazing from what we've seen. 

Family visit

This weekend, we had family in town for a visit. Papa & Kari came to see us as well as Adam and family. We had so much fun having family here. One of the highlights was going up to Duke, Jeff's alma mater, to show them around. We went through the gardens, around campus, and to the K-ville. We did a quick basketball tour and got to see the hall of fame (I think that's what it's called) museum there where they feature all of their superstar athletes and accomplishments. Was pretty awesome. We also went over to the track where Jeff spent a lot of his Duke time and the kids ran some laps. (Note: Jeff, I think you have more pix on your phone to add to this post)

Clarkus

Clark is here visiting from San Diego. Today we went up to Duke so he and Jeff could revisit their old stomping grounds together. Crazy to think that it's been 15 years since they were both at Duke together. It's really cute seeing the kids with Clark. When Kyle and Em were little, they would climb all over him and just have a great time with him. Now they still have a great time with him and play Guitar Hero and ping pong with him, they just don't climb all over him. Aaron has taken over that duty. Aaron just adores Clark and wants to sit by him and hold his hand and sit on his lap. 

NU v Duke football game

Duke was playing Northwestern at Duke this year. Being a divided house for this game, we went to the game to support both teams. Aaron and I had on both NU & Duke gear. Kyle and Em don't have NU gear that currently fits them so they were decked out in Duke. And Jeff was in Duke gear of course. The game was loads of fun despite the blazing temperatures and zero shade. Northwestern pulled off a great win though Duke did look good. 

Family football game selfie

Aaron with his NU shirt and 5 Duke hats. Because you need 5 hats.