Fall BBQ
Ok, so it's not really summer anymore, but it felt like it at the "Welcome to Fall BBQ" here in our neighborhood. Local BBQ was brought in -- Micah had BOTH pulled pork and a chicken leg -- which we ate on the grass with our friends, discussing what we plan to be for Halloween. There was also a yummy bake sale (we tried the cookies and carrot cake), face painting and the night was topped off by popcorn and a movie under the stars in the tennis court.
Our Community Had a Back To School Ice Cream Social. Yummm....
At the swimming pool we enjoyed ice cream and toppings (can anyone say sprinkles, whipped cream AND gummy bears!?!?). There was also a Splash Contest, Diving for Coins, and lots of good times as we saw everyone who had been gone on vacation at various times throughout the summer.
Practicing on the School Jungle Gym, Getting Ready for School to Start
Discovered Monkey Joe's Today
Today we explored Monkey Joe's for the first time. It is an amazing collection of bouncy houses -- from killer slides to princess castles, there is a little something for everyone here. It was so much fun that 3 kids (we won't name names...) fell asleep in the car on the way home.
The YMCA Rocks (Pun Intended)
While at the Y for swim lessons, we've decided to enjoy some of the other fun it has to offer. The kid's room is a load of fun, with a bouncy house, rock climbing wall, exercise machines, a place to make art, and more. And, outside, the Y has a water park with all sorts of neat spraying devices, and water slides.
Cape Fear River & Wilmington, NC
Just a short drive from home, we spent a few days enjoying the North Carolina beach. First we visited Wilmington, home of the USS North Carolina. We spent a full day exploring it from top to bottom. What an incredible ship -- practically a floating city with everything from a barber shop to ice cream store. We learned a lot about this amazing boat, including the fact that the North Carolina is the most decorated U.S. battleship of World War II with 15 battle stars, having participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific from Guadalcanal to Tokyo Bay. The battleship is the memorial for the 10,000 North Carolinains who gave their lives in WWII and was a great reminder for the kids of why the upcoming 4th of July holiday is so important to so many people.
Wilmington also had free music in the park, which was a lot of fun! On top of the great music, there was a bouncy house and bouncy slide that the boys climbed ALL over and for the older kids, a bouncy jousting game where Caiti bested her opponent.
As it turns out, Wilmington is home to the North Carolina Serpentarium. We explored their unique snakes and reptiles and were lucky enough to be there at feeding time. The kids got to see them feed the alligator, and several snakes, such as the Anaconda, Emerald Tree Boa, Black Mamba and King Cobra. Cool!
We toured downtown old-town Wilmington, which has a mile-long riverwalk, where the Coast Guard park their boats, and from which you have an excellent view of the USS North Carolina on the opposite side of the river. We enjoyed the breeze, boats and view (with the help of a little ice cream).
The Cape Fear Coast encompasses the city of Wilmington and the island communities of Carolina Beach, Kure Beach and Wrightsville Beach, all of which are known for their beautiful, uncrowded beaches and the nearby estuarine reserves. We decided to view the waterways first-hand. While we didn't capture them on camera, we saw a small group of 3 or 4 porpoises playing in the water outside of Wrightsville - wow! We also saw a fisherman catch a ray - so cool! And, captured a bag full of seashells - woo hoo! We saw some large fish jump out of the water, though we didn't catch any, but instead caught lots of sun rays and smiles as we swam and inner-tubed in the water.
And of course we enjoyed time relaxing pool-side!
Summer's Here... And so is the Slip-N-Slide!
A small slope in the backyard makes for THE perfect place to slip-n-slide. A little water, and a little sun make for a lot of fun! A hose plus boys, girls, and a wet dog equals hours of entertainment. We can't wait to do this again. We only took a time out from the slip-n-slide to ride our bikes and try our hand at rollerblading. (Thanks cousin Alex for the hand-me-down blades... they rock!)
Wow - Free Summer Movies in the Park!
Dusk... Big Grassy Field... Lots of Kids... Free Drinks & Popcorn... Upper 70s... Free Tattoos & Face Painting... Fire Flies....Pajamas... And Tin Tin on the Big Screen! The stars were out and so was the fun last night. We had such a great time watching Tin Tin and getting our faces decorated that we were all disappointed when the movie came to an end. Good thing they do this often over the summer. I'm sure we'll be back to see Mr. Popper's Penguins!
The First Weekend of Summer....
And the neighborhood threw a pool party followed by movies in the tennis court. It was so much fun! Micah won the cannonball contest at the pool, winning a Pool Yo-Yo. He was so excited!
Bunnies on the way to the pool!
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Line for the Cannonball Contest...
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And the winner is...
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Proud big sis!
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Boarding SS McKee before the final Bon Voyage...
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Fifth Grade PartyThe Friday preceding Tessa's moving up ceremony, McKee Elementary held a dance celebration for all its fifth graders. Students boarded S.S. McKee for Jay M Robinson Middle School in their last hurrah as upper class men.
It took months to plan, days to prepare and hours to enjoy. But the memories will last a life time. |
Hugs at the end -- what a good going away present!
After-party clean up...or goof-off. You decide. |
Summer is almost on us....
Just a couple weeks of school left and the kids are anxious for summer! While they'll have to wait, the fireflies have not. They started appearing this past weekend and everyone could not have been more excited!
We were out with the neighbor kids trying to catch these rascals -- and with some serious tenacity Caitlin was finally able to capture one. She decided not to keep it as she thought that wouldn't be fair to the little guy, but did pose for this photo. (If you look closely you'll see it on her right thumb as Micah looks in awe from behind.)
The firefly excitement won't end anytime soon judging from how much fun they had pointing, jumping and leaping for them.
We were out with the neighbor kids trying to catch these rascals -- and with some serious tenacity Caitlin was finally able to capture one. She decided not to keep it as she thought that wouldn't be fair to the little guy, but did pose for this photo. (If you look closely you'll see it on her right thumb as Micah looks in awe from behind.)
The firefly excitement won't end anytime soon judging from how much fun they had pointing, jumping and leaping for them.
