Jack and Mark visit Mimi and Poppy

This past weekend, we went to Tennessee to spend quality time with Mimi and Poppy.  And it was a lot of fun.  We had a great weekend with Mimi and Poppy.  We left early on Friday afternoon in time for the boys' nap.  Heather and I were able to listen to the Tennessee-Michigan NCAA game while the boys slept.  We really wish we didn't have to as the Vols were awful.  After we got to their house, we played in the yard for a while.  It was a lot of fun. 

Earlier in the week, Mimi and Poppy had noticed that every morning they had two guests in the backyard...two ducks.  They walked across the back yard.  Well this was something the boys had to see.  They went outside and had big smiles on their faces as they pointed out the ducks to everyone.

The boys are really into a couple of things right now:  trains and animals.  After breakfast, we went to the train station.  There were no trains moving there at the time which was a bummer, but we did get a couple of pictures of Poppy with the boys in front of a CSX engine.

Poppy and Mark enjoy being around the trains.



Jack and Poppy look down the tracks for another train.

 

That afternoon we went to Bays Mountain State Park.  This is a nature preserve that is a park that Aunt Janet and I went to every year as a school field trip growing up.  There is a really cool Planetarium that has shows that were always fun to watch.  They also have several animal habitats for anyone to see.  They included a bobcat, otter, deer, and wolf habitats.  The boys were too young for the Planetarium but knew they would enjoy the animal habitats.  We wound up not seeing any bobcats or otters.  However, we saw several deer and four wolves.  The boys absolutely loved it.

Here are some pictures from the park:

Look how close we are to a deer.

Jack is pointing out where the deer is.

Where two or more or found, this is called a Wolf Pack.

The Grey Wolf thinks about getting a drink of water.

Mark is mesmerized looking at the wolves.

March Madness

It's March and you know what that means.  March Madness.  Once again, the Wolfpack did not garner an invitation to the dance.  We do have something to look forward to though....a coaching search as Coach Lowe resigned yesterday.

Jack and Mark really were looking forward to this year's tournament.  Last year, they just picked a winner.  This year, they boys picked their Final Four teams.

Jack picked:

Indiana State
Cincinnati
Georgetown
Florida

with Indiana State defeating Florida for the title.

Mark picked:
Princeton
Connecticut
Notre Dame
Michigan State

with Notre Dame defeating Connecticut for the title.

Jack asks if this upset is the right pick. 

Mark is looking at the Sweet 16 games and has a question for Daddy.

Jack asks Mommy to show him what region the Wolfpack is in.  Mommy nor anyone can find it.

Spring Fever 2011

On Sunday, the weather was great and spring fever had really set in.  Not only for the boys, but us as well.  The boys had come down with a cold in the previous 24 hours so they did not pass the "green snot" test for the nursery.  As in if they have green snot, then please don't bring the kids to church.  So we had a quiet morning at the house. After lunch at Chilis, where Jack and Mark saw some geese in the parking lot and were SO excited, we came home and played in the yard for a while.  We brought out a gift that Aunt Janet and Uncle Jarett had gotten them for Christmas, a Little Tikes golf set. 

The boys loved it. They loved hitting the ball off the tee, whether with Daddy's help or by themselves.  The rumor is that one of the boys can hit the ball further than Daddy can already.  Jack would carry the putting green with him everywhere.  Here are a few pictures from their first golf experience:

As a warmup, the boys enjoyed seeing bubbles blown by Mommy.

Time to start the next hole.  I will put the green over here.  - Jack

Jack gets ready to tee it up while Mark wonders if he brought the right club to the tee box.

After 9 holes, Mark is looking a little tired. 

After their afternoon nap, we went to a friends house to play with their kids.  The Shorts have two kids, Jordan (4) and Emilia (1).  Emilia is about 6 weeks younger than Jack and Mark.  The Shorts have a slide, a swing, and a sandbox in their backyard.  The boys had a blast playing with their friends as well as getting on the new attractions.  Here are a few pictures that show the fun they had:

Weeeeeee!  I love going down slides.  - Jack

Jack takes a minute off to help water a tree.

Mark enjoys going down the slide.

This swing is so much fun.  - Mark

Jack and Mark take a picture with Emilia.

Baseball at the DBAP

Saturday we had two choices for afternoon entertainment.  We could watch the ACC semifinals between North Carolina and Clemson followed by Duke and Virginia Tech.  Or we could take the boys to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and watch some ACC baseball between NC State and Duke.  It was an easy decision.  We didn't want to see basketball now that State had been eliminated (and knowing that UNC and Duke would most likely win) and an afternoon at the ballpark is always a fun time. 

Granna and Grandpa were already going to go to the game so we met them there after the boys woke up from their nap.  We had great seats (as attendance was around 500 in a place that seats 10,000) and the boys really enjoyed the game.  They walked around the concourse some and at other times took in part of the game.  Unfortunately, they didn't pull hard enough for the Pack as the Pack lost 8-3.  Here are a couple of pictures from the game:

Daddy, this is fun.  Is this our seat?  - Mark

Grandpa discusses the finer points of the hit and run to Jack

Jack and Mark taking in the game.  Jack is wondering where his sippy cup is.

Mommy, check out that crazy man taking our picture.  - Mark

Trip to Myrtle Beach with the Gang

For the first weekend in March, we all piled up in the family roadster and drove down to Myrtle Beach for the weekend.  When we got down there, we met up with our friends at the Dunes Village.  The hotel is a very family friendly place to stay.  They have two different water areas.  One is for young children and the other one is for older children.

The boys were so excited that they were wide awake on Saturday morning at 6 AM.  WAY too early.  After breakfast, they were already tired so we had a nap at 8:15.  After they woke up, we went down to the young kids' water area.  They had a couple of slides, a one foot kiddie pool that contained several water springs that would shoot water out of them, and a lazy river.  The boys absolutely loved the lazy river.  We went around it probably 50-75 times.  There was so much stuff going on that the boys just watched most of it in amazement.  Jack really liked the big bucket that would fill up with water and would douse some unexpected person on the lazy river. 

That evening, we went to the Seafare Buffet for dinner.  19 people.  11 adults.  8 kids, 5 of which are 3 and under.  Talk about wild and crazy.  Everyone had a good time.

On Sunday morning, joined by Dave, we went to the Ripley's Aquarium at Broadway at the Beach.  The boys have really started getting into animals so this was a no-brainer.  They had a really good time.  We went to Margaritaville for lunch before we drove back.  Unfortunately, lunch was a little earlier than the boys were ready for.  And along with them being out of their routine, the boys did not have a good lunch experience.  Neither ate well and Mark was very tired.  Not a good combination.  We had to stop off at a restaurant in Wallace to give the boys a good snack in order to get some food in them. 

It was an interesting morning.  However, we had a great time and are looking forward to making this a yearly event.

Mommy, this is all you need to take to the beach.  ME! - Mark

Check out me sitting with Daddy after a lot of fun in the lazy river.  - Mark

Mommy and Jack enjoyed the lazy river as well.

I got up before anyone else on Sunday morning.  While I waited for brother to wake up, I decided to try on some shoes.  Check me out in Daddy's big shoes.  I look like I have clown's feet.  - Mark

Next up, Mommy's shoes.  These aren't nearly as big as Daddy's.  - Mark

Everyone getting ready to go see some fish and sharks.

Jack, can you see the jellyfish in the right side of the tank?  It is really big.  - Mark

This shark has lots of teeth.  I hope we don't ever run into him when he is angry.

19 Month Pictures

Well, time came and went and we never had 18 months pictures of the boys taken. So, we decided to get 19 month pictures made. Since it had been awhile (since 12 month pictures) without getting individual pictures, we decided to have individual pictures as a priority and if the boys were still doing good, we would try for a picture of them together. Well, you can imagine how that plan went....we did not even attempt pictures of them together. Neither boy was really interested in having his picture made. The only way we could get Jack to sit still for a picture was to give him Craig's car keys. So, car keys were visible in most of his pictures. Finally, we were able to crop one to get the keys out but have his entire monogram in the picture -- perfect...just what Mommy wanted! Then, it was Mark's turn. Mark would sit still all day long, but wouldn't smile. We tried to be as silly as we could possibly be...we sang his favorite songs and everything else we could think of. He just did not want to smile with a stranger and a camera in the room with him. So, poor little guy had a whole bunch of pictures taken, so we would have as many as possible to choose from....and of course the monogram had to be showing! While he is not smiling, it is a mighty sweet face!  So, here's what we have....pictures of our two sweet little blessings that we love dearly!

Jack David

Mark Douglas

Happy Birthday Mommy

Last week was Heather's birthday.  We started celebrating it the Saturday before her birthday, which was on Thursday.  We got her a cake and had some on Saturday, as Grandpa was going out of town on Monday and wouldn't be back till Thursday night.  You can see the four of us eating the cake here.

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Mommy and Daddy eating birthday cake.  Jack and Mark eating Cheerios.

We went to Chili's with Granna and Grandpa.  We all had a fun time as the boys enjoyed watching the other kids in the restaurant.  On Tuesday, Mommy and Daddy went to Bonefish Grill to celebrate her birthday.  It was a very good meal. 

Heather really enjoyed her birthday week.  On her birthday, she was off from work so she spent 90 minutes at daycare with the boys.  She was around for group time and play time on the playground.  Then she had a romantic lunch with her husband at Moe's.  Finally, she had some Mommy time and went and got her hair cut.  She said she had a great day.

She appreciated all the phone calls, cards, and facebook posts.  But most importantly, she loved being a Mom on her birthday.

Spring Fever

Now that the weather is getting warmer and the days are getting longer, the boys are getting spring fever.  When we get home from daycare in the afternoons, the only thing they want to do is to go outside and run around.  Jack also has a second favorite thing to do outside.  He likes to pick the pansy flower petals from the flowers planted in the rock wall at the front of the house.  It is really cute.

They cannot wait till summer this year.

Look at the flowers.  Which flower should I pick?  - Jack

I have some flowers in my hand.  This is cool.  -Jack

Look up in the sky.  It's a bird.  It's a plane.  It's really a plane.  - Mark

I love it when Daddy lets me play with the wind chimes.  - Mark

I enjoy playing with the wind chimes too.  - Jack

First Baseball Game

NC State's baseball team started their season on February 18.  That Sunday, the 20th, we took the boys to a baseball game at Doak Field.  State was hosting Elon.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day.  We had gone out to lunch at Red Robin, and then went over to campus for the game.  The sun was out and it was a very enjoyable walk over to the stadium from the parking lot.  We got some good seats on the 3rd base side.  The boys enjoyed being outside and they seemed to enjoy the baseball game.  We stayed till about the 6th inning, when it was apparent that the boys wanted/needed to take a nap.  Here are a couple of pictures from the game.

Daddy is trying to explain some baseball fundamentals to Mark.

Jack still has a couple of questions for Mommy about baseball strategory that he is confused on.

 

Getting ready to go back to the car.  We had a lot of fun.  Hope State pulls out the victory (they didn't).