Last Day in North Carolina

Young had a business trip to NYC just after Savannah so again, we took advantage of the Grandparents and slipped away together for a few days of quiet time. Sorry to say but I don't have any pictures of our NYC trip except these two...our hotel in Time Square and an apartment building all decked out for the world cup...

We got back to NC for just one more day of fun. I could tell my parents needed a little "down time" from having the kids almost non-stop...and I needed some giggle time...so I took them to Marbles, the kid's museum in Raleigh. Oh my, did the kids have a blast! This museum was non-stop fun, room by room for all ages. Unfortunately we went on a Friday, which apparently is "summer camp field day" trips, so it was PACKED! There was a lot the twins couldn't do because of the crowds or just over bearing older kids pushing them out of the way. But we made the best of it and found quiet niches to spend our time.

It didn't take Timo long to find the trains and cars...
And Cameron to find the dolls and doll houses...

They had a great water play area there....but our time didn't last long here...older kids came running around and sorta took over...

Ever since we ate at the Pirate House in Savannah, Timo has been all about pirates. He was all over this pirate ship...up, down, in, out, and was kind enough to let his sister take the wheel for a minute or two...

The one place we found that no other kids were around was the outside garden. It was so hot outside, 90+, all the other kids had sense enough to stay in the air condition building. But not my two! My San Francisco foggy kids were loving the heat and humidity. They did everything out there...watering the garden, water painting, dump trucks...while I found a patch of shade to sit in.


We finally made it back inside where Timo learned how to surf while Cameron mastered chess...

...they built and raced their cars...

...Cameron robbed the safe, Timo announced it to everyone and then it was time for our plastic, well balanced lunch...
Arts and crafts followed...and that's where we ran into trouble...everything started off nice and calm with a 10 minuet warning that we would be leaving soon...
...they found the scissors table and learned how to use them for the first time. That was it, they weren't going anywhere.

I gave about 5 futile "almost time to go" warnings and then it was really time to go. They didn't snack at all while in the museum and I knew it was past lunch...closing in on nap time. So yes, I was that mom carrying 2 screaming kids under each arm out the door. What a scene we caused. We then had to cross the street to get to our car and Timo decided to do the laying down, kicking and screaming on the side walk just as I stepped off the curb into the street! Some VERY nice lady stopped and helped me out by picking him up and carrying him across while I had Cameron. Ugh...you know it was a good time if the kids cause that kind of scene leaving. We had a quick bite to eat in the parked car and they fell asleep before we even pulled out of the parking lot!

Father's Day and Florida Family

There were so many great things about Father's Day this year...having the best husband and father to our children is tops but the other would be being able to spend it with my Dad! I can't remember the last time I got to see him on Father's Day. Not only is Daddy an amazing Father but he has become the world's best Grandpa to all four of his grandkids!

We also got to spend some time with my Aunt Alice and Uncle Chaz and cousins, Linda and Alan Hartentein, from Florida. They had planned on coming up from Jacksonville to see us because it had been almost 6 years since we saw them last (at our wedding). We all had one big family brunch on Sunday and it was wonderful to catch up.

The motley cousin crew again...and Daddy getting Happy Father's Day hugs from the twins.

Timo thoroughly enjoyed is PB&J for brunch

Thank you Linda and Alan, Aunt Alice and Uncle Chaz for coming up to see us! We enjoyed seeing you guys and hope it's not another 6 years before we see you again!!

Beeeeeeeeeeeeep.......

Due to technical issues (computer crashing), I can't do a post today. I hope to be back online tomorrow!!

JP & Kristi's Wedding

The main reason we planned our vacation to Savannah was to attend the wedding our my childhood friend Kristi Daughtridge...or Lawrence now. Her family and my family grew up in the same church, same school, same marching band...she moved to Atlanta to become a TV producer and we've stayed in touch directly or indirectly through our families.

They had a beautiful ceremony outside by the famous fountain in Forsyth Park. The flower girl dropped little metallic stars along the sidewalk as she came down...and thank goodness she did! The kids spent the whole ceremony pick them all up and not causing trouble. It kept them entertained and sooo quiet!

They provided trolley cars from the park to reception that was on the river downtown. Timo hopped on the trolley with Grandpa while Cameron stuck around with Mommy and Daddy for the last one. Can you tell it was HOT outside? Cameron was just sweating bullets but loving every minute of the ride.
We had so much fun at the reception #1 because it was air conditioned and #2 because we got to catch up with so many of our old friends. Thank goodness for the open bar...the kids could have as much orange juice as they wanted! This kept them good and entertained so Mommy could socialize just a wee bit.


We all enjoyed sharing in Krisit and JP special day. You can tell it was a southern wedding by the Moonpie tree!

After watching all the dancing happening on the dance floor, the kids were ready to show their stuff...

Savannah, GA---With Kids...

My parents finally made it down to Savannah (still no truck but thanks to a friend of ours loaning them their SUV) on Thursday afternoon. We were so excited to see the kiddies! We all went to The Pirate House for dinner...a tourist attraction but fun for the kids. The house is actually the oldest house in Savannah, dating back to 1753. Here are all cousins together...

The kid's menu turned into a pirate hat to provide endless entertainment for all! Timo is all about pirates now...he walks around saying "I am a pirate...Ahoy Matey!"

Kenzie was the only one who took the whole menu apart and really became a pirate!
Our hotel wasn't the most kids friendly hotel but we made it work. When we originally made the reservations, the kids were going to be staying with my parents in their travel trailer the whole week...but again, because Daddy's truck was in the shop, no camper and the kids ended up in the hotel with us! But we made the best of the situation. Can you say room service!
We were doing the "family bed" while there because we only had one king size bed in the room. The kids are out of their cribs so I knew portable cribs wouldn't work. The king bed was plenty big enough and it was actually nice sleeping all together, getting snuggle time with the kids (except for Timo's snoring!). At naptime, either Young or I would lay down with the kids and usually fall asleep too!
One of the days, just as we got into the pool, a big thunderstorm came up and we had to come inside. The kids were upset so we decided to turn the big bathtub into a pool for them.

And let's not forget, saving a little time for dancing in the hotel room!

We got to do some sightseeing tours as a family on the cable car. Here are all the parents and kids lined up down the car. We also did quite a bit of walking around the historical district just looking at all the cool history. It was so hot...and I'm so proud of the kids for walking so much and really being on their best behavior.

One of the highlights was going to the GA Railroad Museum. Again, it was so hot, and most of the the museum was outside but that didn't really seem to bother the kids. They just ran from train to train. Here is our "where's Waldo" pic...the trains were massive! Can you find Timo?
We got to duck inside for a few of the exhibits, like the model train sets. Then it was on to more engines and rail cars...whoo hoo!
Climbing all over trains on a hot day requires some frozen refreshments! A little pit stop while we waited for our train ride to start.
They offered a diesel train ride which was really cool because it started in the roundabout. We got to turn around in two different directions. The kids loved practicing their "chugga chugga choo choo" while riding. What a great morning out! You can see why the kids (and mommy and daddy) just passed out each day for a nap!

I don't have pictures of it because it was a night, but we also took the kids on a night horse and carriage ride. We tried to take a few pics but they just turned out dark. Savannah turned out to be a very kids friendly city...I would highly recommend it to anyone with toddlers!

Savannah, GA---Without Kids...

While on our "vacation" in NC, my whole family decided to take a vacation to Savannah GA for a week to attend one of my childhood friend's wedding. Young and I decided to go down a day before everyone else so that we could have some "alone time" without the kids. My parents, my brother and his family were coming down the next day, bringing the twins...or so that was the plan...but because of my daddy's truck issues, it ended up being three more days before Mom and Dad would make it down with the kids!! Young and I ended up having four days to ourselves in one of the most beautiful cities I've ever been to...what a blessing!!

Our georgous hotel, Mansion on Forsyth Park, was an old mansion that had been redone into a hotel. We were right across the street from Forysyth Park and the beautiful fountain.
We tried to take full advantage of no kiddies and not schedules to eat out at some nice restaurants that weren't necessarily kid friendly...jazz and tapas one night, fine dining southern food another, crab by the ocean in the afternoon and steaks and chops in the heart of downtown...we ate our way through old Savannah!

We were able to do some sightseeing and shopping as well...but it was soooo hot, 100+ some days, we just ended up back at our hotel in the pool or taking naps till dinner time...just enjoying downtime. (can you tell we needed a break from the monkeys)
Here is one of hundreds of statues/monuments around the city giving someone or some group of people honor. And we took a little day trip out to Tybee Island to check out the civil war forts and lighthouse.
But as much fun as we had alone, we were anxious to see the kids and experience Savannah through their eyes...so stay tuned...

Tricycles and Baseball

One of the days we were out we ended up having a big adventure that wasn't planned...does anyone ever plan car trouble?? My dad and I were taking the kids to a museum when his truck started acting up on the highway and almost wouldn't start again. We slowly pulled into one repair and they they had no time to look at it so we hobbled into another one that said they had time to check it out. This repair shop must be used to kids because they had toys and coloring books. I noticed that the toys were geared toward girls...maybe because any little boys are completely facinated with the going ons in the garage! Timo couldn't sit still but Cameron happily played with all the ponies.
Everything was taking much longer than expected, right into lunch time. The only place within walking distance was, of course, McDonalds. Cameron and I took a walk to get lunch and came back to have a little picnic in the office. We had to wait for Granny to come pick us up...the truck was in bad shape and had to stay at the repair shop.
After getting back home and naptime, we stuck around my brother's house since we were limited with cars...what a treat. That meant more swimming and ridding tricycles! Timo finally learned how to ride a tricycle!! I know what you thinking, you have to learn how to ride a tricycle?? Well, I guess my two do. They just couldn't get the idea of pushing the peddles to make it move. My brother's sidewalk is slightly on a slant so it made it easy for Timo to get the hang of pushing the peddles. yeah Timo, way to go buddy!




Cameron was just happy to be on the big wheel...
Later in the evening we went with my brother to a baseball game. There is a farm team just up the road called the Carolina Mudcats. We did all the fun baseball game activities...ate, cheered, ate, sang songs, ate, saw the mascot (Muddy the catfish) and ate some more! (the kids tried cotton candy for the first time). I think the kids had fun even thought they were somewhat restless...almost everyday they as about going to a baseball game...