Aaron & Tony

Aaron with one of our favorite people in North Carolina. Aaron climbed right up on Tony's lap to play some Tower 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. 

Hockey game

Tonight we went to our first ice hockey game with some friends to see NC State play UNC. While we didn't grow up playing ice hockey and our kids certainly don't play (that's on the banned list of sports for our kids - football and hockey), it was fun to see a game up close. And there sure are a lot of rules to hockey, yet there are so many missing about not fighting and such. It's a bit crazy how the aggression and fighting is just part of the game. Entertainment I suppose. 

State games

Kyle and Emily participated in the North Carolina State Games for track and field. It was a fun opportunity to extend their track season a little bit. Little did we know this meet was gigantic, meaning there were probably 1,000 kids competing and it would be a crazy long and insanely hot day. Nonetheless, they persevered and had fun. 

They started the morning off with the turbo javelin. That was a morning event around 9am. Even then it was blazing hot. Probably 90+ without a cloud in the sky. Scorching. The mile run was later in the day, which turned out to be way later due to the sheer number of participants, many events and rain delay. So around 5 or 6pm they took to the track to run their mile. Emily had a tough time with the heat, but she went out there and finished in the blazing heat and a very difficult field of speedsters. Kyle also ran and it was the first time he had a starting gun for the start. He wasn't a fan of that at all, standing at the start line with his hands covering his ears. He ran a good race and tolerated the heat fairly well and came in 2nd overall with an insanely fast field. 

Emily running

Kyle running

Great job Kyle & Emily!!

And great job cheering on the kids, Aaron! He was a trooper throughout the day in the heat and taking a nap in the car (with the AC on) while we waited for the mile in the afternoon. 

Snow storm Raleigh style

So we did get quite a bit of cold weather, ice, and snow with the latest winter storm here in Raleigh. I love how the kids have made the best of it. Coming from San Diego where it didn't snow, Kyle and Emily still find snow a novelty. And for the most part, it doesn't disrupt our daily routine. In fact, here it gets them out of school. When all was said and done, the kids had 2.5 days off of school due to the cold temperatures, ice, and snow (all days called off by the school district). Now they have Saturday school to make up 2 of the days, but we will see how that plays out because Saturdays are our days. The kids played outside for 4 days straight. It was amazing and wonderful. And we didn't lose power like we thought we would when the lights started to flicker. Our neighbors threw a snow party one of the evenings so we all had a potluck dinner at their house, hung out, played games and the kids watched a movie. 

All the streets in our neighborhood were covered in ice and having hilly streets, everyone was out with their sleds sliding down the streets during the day. No one attempted to drive for the first 3 days. It was a blast and such a fun community of neighbors we have.

Again, being from San Diego, the kids used what they know best to have some fun in the snow and ice. Here is Kyle boogie boarding down the street because it was a sheet of several inches of ice. And because we have boogie boards, not sleds. They wanted to use the surf boards, but the fins would have prevented any movement. You can take the kids out of San Diego, but you can't take the San Diego out of the kids. 

Kyle surfing down a hill

A bunch of kids sledding Raleigh-style

Kyle and Em surfing down the hill

Alice's visit

All summer, Aaron has been eagerly anticipating Alice's family's visit to us in North Carolina. Alice is Aaron's best girl from San Diego. Alice and her mom and Aaron and myself spent the past 2.5 years together until we moved. We were so sad to move far from them, but thrilled that they (along with Alice's dad and her 3 brothers) were coming to visit us before heading up to DC for a visit there. A three year old doesn't have much concept of time so for about 2 or 3 months, he kept thinking Alice was going to arrive. The time finally came!!

We had so much fun with them!! We went swimming, played a lot, they went to Marbles (while Aaron napped). We all went to the beach like old times. The kids geocached together. We went to Duke. It was a busy, wonderful weekend. 

The kids playing in the mushroom at our pool

Aaron and Alice together again

We had a good game of Simon Says going on while we walked through Duke. And a plank contest. Because who doesn't? Jeff had a tough one with Eric on his back. 

Ian, Em & AJ with the goecache. This was Kyle & Em's first time doing geocaching and they had a great time. Thank you Ian for introducing the kids to this fun hobby! 

Duke Chapel in the distance

Aaron loves Ian. 

Aaron messed up Em's rainbow loom. Alice is great with her colors and sorted them out for Em one night when she couldn't sleep (PST to EST is a very hard time change, especially when you are 3). With help from Jeff & Dustin. 

Love. 

Kyle with his tennis coach

This is Kyle with his tennis coach Steve. Steve was moving on to the west coast to be closer to his son as he trains on the pro circuit. Steve was a great coach for Kyle and taught him a lot. Thanks Steve! 

Bluegrass Blueberry Fest

If we hadn't felt like we lived in the south yet, this was definitely a southern type of experience for us. We went out to a small town, not actually that far out of Raleigh (about 40 minutes) for a bluegrass festival at a blueberry farm with our friends, also new to the south (they moved the same time we did but from IL). 

There was corn, blueberries, blueberry picking, slides, a pie eating contest, more food and music. And a lot of soaking fun. A thunderstorm rolled through briefly and soaked everyone and everything, but it was all good. When you're hot, stinky and dirty and out on a farm, rain isn't so bad. 

Anthony took 1st place and Emily 3rd place in the pie eating contest

Annie & Aaron

Em, Annie & Aaron blueberry picking

Kyle coming out of the slide

Annie feeding Aaron ice cream

Jeff and Tony very happy after their delicious burgers

Pie eating contest: Em & Anthony were chosen to participate. Kyle had no interest. Annie wanted to participate, but her number wasn't called. But there ended up being an open pie after it started so she wisely jumped in on the fun. 

More pie eating

Anthony is right next to Em and he took 1st. Em came in 3rd!!

Kyle coming down the slide

Annie & Aaron coming down the slide

Winston Salem

Kyle had a tournament in Winston Salem this weekend. It was his first (stay at a hotel) away tournament. We all went. Jeff got to take Aaron and Emily around Winston Salem to see Old Salem. They had a good time seeing the town.