Mark's Easter Egg Hunt

On Tuesday, Mark's daycare class had their annual Easter Egg hunt.  The teachers give the kids their own Easter Egg basket and then place eggs all over the playground.  The kids are limited to only getting 10 eggs.  Once 10 eggs are found, the kids need to stop in order that all the children in the class get 10 eggs.  It was really cute to see the kids all running around getting some eggs. 

Here are some pictures from the event:

I have lots of room for more eggs in this bucket.  Watch out people, here I come!  - Mark

I am looking for more eggs!  - Mark

Ahh sweet!  Found one.  And they thought they would hid this one under a leaf and no one would find it.  Well they didn't realize who they were dealing with.  - Mark

Wanna see the eggs I have found so far?  - Mark

I am the cutest kid in class! - Mark

My class.  I am at the right, where everyone can follow my moves.  - Mark

Prayer Requests

At bedtime, our regular bedtime order of events is:

Bathtime
Sleepers
Read books
Read the Bedtime Prayers book
Prayers
Bed

For several months now, Mommy and Daddy have said prayers while the boys just hold their hands appropriately.  Well in the last couple of weeks, Jack and Mark have started praying for specific people, items, or situations.  Here are some of the specific prayer requests from the boys:

Amy's ankle (recently broken)
Granna and Grandpa
Mimi and Poppy
Mark
Jack
Mommy and Daddy
More pasta
Granna's shoes
Kate
Macy
Aunt Janet and Uncle Jarett
Mommy's stomach

From the words of babes...

St. Patrick's Day Letter from Kate

Cousin Kate wrote Mark a letter on St. Patrick's Day.  It was really cute what she wrote.  Here is a picture of the letter.  Mark and Jack have a really cool older cousin.

It is SO SWEET [16] to still be DANCING!

Yes, you read that right....the Wolfpack is still alive in the NCAA Tournament! What a wonderful weekend of basketball it was! We had to listen to the game on Friday on the radio while we were in the car on our way to the beach. Jack and Mark L.O.V.E. basketball, but seriously, would you ever think that 2 two year olds would enjoy listening to a game on the radio? They just continue to amaze us in so many ways! So, on Friday, we defeated San Diego State! Then, on Sunday, we had to leave the beach pretty early so we could get back to Raleigh to watch the Pack take on the Georgetown Hoyas for a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. We managed to just barely beat them, but the Pack stays alive in the Big Dance!

So, by Sunday night, we had received an email from the Wolfpack Club with the travel package for the trip to St. Louis. Craig and I immediately started talking about how we could make this trip with 2 two year olds. They would absolutely love all the basketball, there was no doubt about that. We decided we could just get a hotel room with a king size bed and not worry about taking two pac-n-plays on the plane and the boys could just sleep with us for two nights. We had everything figured out, but needed to wait until the game time was announced for Friday's game against Kansas. We knew there was a very good chance that we would get the late game which would start around 10pm EST. If that was the case, we just weren't going to be able to make it. No way we could expect to take the boys to a game that STARTED two hours after their bedtime and expect them to stay up until 1AM. We went to bed on Sunday night hoping for the early game. But, unfortunately, we woke up Monday morning to hear that we are playing the late game on Friday. So, we will not be making the trip to St. Louis and will cheer on the Pack from Raleigh.

On Monday night, we decided to go to the Backyard Bistro and attend Coach Mark Gottfried's radio show. Jack and Mark loved seeing Mark Gottfried up close and they even actually talked to him! During one of the commercial breaks, we had our family picture takend with the NC State head basketball coach. As soon as he saw the boys he said, "Oh, you've got 2 cute ones there!" I pointed at the coach and asked the boys, "Who is this?" and they both said, "Mark Gottfried"! So cute to hear them say his name! Then, they both told him "Go Wolfpack!" We told him that we were sorry we couldn't make the trip due to the game time and the boys being too young to stay up that late. He understood and acknowledged that it is a late start! :)

Mr. Wuf made an appearance!

Tony Haynes, Mark Gottfried and Mark Thomas during the radio show.

Mark having a good time at the coach's radio show.

4 Happy Wolfpackers with NC State Head Basketball Coach, Mark Gottfried

2012 Beach Trip with the Gang

This past weekend we went to the Dunes Village Resort at Myrtle Beach with "the Gang." "The Gang" is a group of 13 friends who we have been friends with for years. We are practically like family to each other. Now, we have 9 kids in total, so it is a big group when we are all together. All of us, except the Jungs, went to the beach for the weekend to have fun at the indoor water park together! Boy, we sure did have FUN! Jack and Mark absolutely LOVED the water slides this year. They took turns going down the water slide with Daddy. They would sit in his lap and face Daddy so they wouldn't get splashed in the face too bad. Daddy made sure to hold them tight and they loved it! Mommy didn't try to hold one going down the slide, as I was scared I wouldn't hold them well enough! They also enjoyed riding the floats in the lazy river and playing basketball in the pool too! Here are some of our favorite pictures from the weekend:

Walking to the pool on Saturday morning to let the FUN begin!

Just can't wait to get in the water!

Brothers hugging = melt Mommy's heart!

Best friends, walking to the beach together!

L.O.V.E.

Mark Douglas and Jack David

Mommy and her little boys!

Daddy and his boys on the Carousel at Barefoot Landing!

Jack likes to ride the animals that move on the Carousel now! For awhile, he would only ride the ones that didn't move up and down.

Two cute guys in their St. Patrick's Day shirts from Mimi and Poppy!

March Madness

It is that time of year again...March Madness.  And for a change, the Wolfpack is in the tournament so we have something to pull for besides our brackets (and obviously pulling against UNC-CHeat and Duke).   But speaking of brackets, we did our brackets last night.  Jack and Mark did a lot more choosing their bracket winners this year than in previous years.  We didn't get through the entire bracket yet, but we are getting closer.  Here are the boys picks:

Jack
Final Four:  UNLV, Florida, Syracuse, NC State
Championship:  UNLV defeats NC State

Mark
Final Four:  Colorado, Virginia, Michigan, West Virginia
Championship: West Virginia defeats Virginia

The boys are discussing their thoughts of the bracket with Daddy.

Daddy, definitely Kentucky can beat Western Kentucky.  Mimi said so.  - Jack

UPDATE:  As of 11:18 PM on Thursday, Heather had the top bracket in the entire country.  Here is a screenshot of this.  She is a perfect 12-0.

Miss, Mrs., and Miss Teen NC and Mark

When we were leaving McAlister's Deli at North Hills yesterday after lunch, we ran into a photo shoot for some beauty pageant winners for Miss North Carolina, Mrs. North Carolina, and Miss Teen North Carolina (although a Google search could not confirm).  Here is Mark and the women.  He is so relaxed with the women. 

I am THE MAN!  - Mark

Laney's 3rd Birthday Party

Yesterday, another one of Jack's classmates, Laney, had her 3rd birthday.  For her party, Jack and Mommy went to the North Carolina Natural Science Museum in downtown Raleigh.  All of the children had special shirts printed by Laney's parents.  The boys got orange shirts with a print of an animal that started with the first letter of their name.  Jack had a Jaguar print.  Once there, they had an employee discuss several animals with the children, and allow them to touch the animals.  Jack passed on touching all of the animals.  He participated in several different crafts and really had a good time.  A lot of the same kids were there that showed up at Clare's birthday party the previous weekend and everyone had a good time again. 

Here are a few pictures from the party:



Jack is working on some crafts. 

This person talking about the animals is really interesting.  - Jack

It is time to eat.  Anyone have any macaroni and cheese?  - Jack

Jack sits on his spot next to the birthday girl.

Jack gives Laney a hug and kiss after the party.



Mommy's Birthday

Now not even a birthday party for a friend could let Jack and Mark forget that March 3 was also Mommy's birthday.  Mommy had a good time with everyone at Clare's birthday party, and for dinner we went to Ginza.  Ginza is a Hibachi type restaurant where they cook the food in front of you.  We were curious to see how the boys would react to seeing the show.  We didn't know if they would be scared when they saw the fire.  But the boys had such a good time.  They really enjoyed everything the chef did.  Mommy really had a good time at dinner and she had a really good birthday.  One of her favorite parts was her birthday cake.  It was made at Edible Arts Bakery, which is her favorite bakery anywhere.  She always says that she is really lucky to have the family she has...but we are lucky she is our mommy/wife.

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Here are a couple of pictures from the day:

Watching the boys while they watch dinner being made.

Jack smiles as Mark watches on contently.

The happy family seeing Mommy's birthday cake.

Happy Birthday Mommy!



Clare's 3rd Birthday Party

Last weekend, one of Jack's classmates turned 3.  She had a birthday party at the Natural Life and Science Museum in Durham.  So Jack and Mark were looking forward to going to the party.  We got to the museum on an overcast Saturday morning.  It was a good day to be inside, especially for a party.  Most of the children at the party were in Jack and Clare's class, but some other siblings were there.  They enjoyed playing with their friends as well eating very yummy looking cupcakes.  We all had a good time.  Here are some pictures from the party:



It is party time.

I love cupcakes!  - Jack

Is this the hot seat?  What game are we playing?  - Mark

I had such a good time that I couldn't stay awake for the trip home.  - Mark

Harlem Globetrotters

The boys love of basketball is well known.  They play it at school and at home.  They love to watch basketball, especially NC State basketball.  So, with the Harlem Globetrotters in town tonight, it was a no brainer that we just had to go. 

Daddy had not been since he was a kid so he was really looking forward to going to see the Globetrotters.  They didn't disappoint.  They did their usual tricks and antics against their outclassed opponent, the International Elite (don't ask me what happened to the Washington Generals as I am as stumped as you are).

The boys had a good time at the game, although they enjoy regular basketball more.  They didn't get as much enjoyment out of the stunts and antics the Globetrotters would pull.  They kept looking at Mommy and Daddy saying "More Basketball."  They are definitely our kids. 
Here are a few pictures from the evening:

Everyone is watching the Globetrotters very intently.

Here is some action from the game.  Notice the Globetrotters center.  It is rare to see a white Harlem Globetrotter, much less one that is 7' 8" tall.  Oh yeah, his name is Tiny.

Wow, I want to be able to do that when I grow up.  - Mark

Daddy, you are supposed to clap after a made basket.  - Jack

It maybe past our bedtime, but we still have brotherly love.

Daycare pictures

Here are a couple of pictures of the boys that were sent to us from one of Jack's daycare teachers. 

The face of an angel.  Don't worry, I am not mischievous at all.  - Jack

Getting prepared for football season. 

I am learning how to properly hold the football. -Mark

Waiting for their turn on the court.

Daddy, let me show you how to properly hold the ball.  - Jack

Timeout.  Time for a break. 

Watch me throw a long bomb to my brother.  - Jack

After some football, nothing relaxes me like playing on the playground.  - Jack