random....

So I heard the other day why there is so much sand here so far from the ocean!  Apparently this area used to be at the bottom of the sea! Who knew?  Let me tell you, we aren't called the "sandhills" for nothing!  Just a cool, random fact.  carry on!  =)

End of the school year shenanigans.....

So the 2010-2011 school year came to a close, and the last week was full of fun for the kids.  Most notably, Owen won the math award for 2nd grade and Drew graduated Pre-K!

Owen and his teacher, Mrs. Skinner

Drew and his teacher Mrs. Cooper, and her aide, whose name escapes me right now.....

Shelbie's last day of third grade!

Owen's last day of second grade!

Drew's class gave us parents a little performance on the last day.  Super cute!!!

Hatching Butterflies!

Throughout the month of May and into June, the kids and I had a little science experiment going.  We hatched our very own painted lady butterflies!  My pics of their life cycle did not turn out, but I got some great ones of the day we set them free!  They were so cool, they didn't want to leave!  They kept coming back and landing on us which the kids thought was so awesome.  They even tried to talk us into letting us keep one.  We said no, of course, because we had no way of feeding it and we wanted it to live long and prosper.  (lol)

They loved Owen!  They came back to him over and over again!

Dad and Deana came to visit!

In May my Dad and stepmom Deana came to see us! It was so nice, they were our first visitors and I was beyond excited to see some familiar faces!  I hadn't ventured out much to explore the area, so this was the perfect excuse to do just that!  We went and visited two different Civil War battlefields, and took the kids to the Aloha Safari Zoo.  On a relaxing day the kids and I went swimming at the pool at their hotel.  It was a great visit and I can't wait for them to come see us again!  Now when I see things I make note so I can remember to take them next time!

Averasboro Battlefield. The Battle took place March 15-16th, 1865 and was the very first tactical resistance to the Union troops' march through the South. 8,000 Confederates vs. 25,000 Federals.  Those Southern boys had some cahones!  650 Union casualties, 800 Confederate.

Preserved slave quarters. A reminder.

Aloha Safari Zoo

Black Swan!

Wolf pup on a leash.  hmmm....

Checkin' out the huge tortoise.  He was eating watermelon!

This little dude wants to be friends!

Zorse.  Half zebra, half horse.  Wish the pic had turned out better!

Brothers.  First swim of the Summer!

Gramps and Bam-bam!

I wish I would have remembered to take pics at the Bentonville Battlefield.  It was a lot bigger and more spread out than Averasboro.  The Confederates pulled out of Averasboro in the middle of the night and marched over to Bentonville, hoping to cut Sherman off before he could resupply in Goldsboro.  The Averasboro battle was simply a diversionary tactic to slow them down so the Confederates could get more troops together.  The Confederates attacked Sherman's troops while they were marching, and the battle took place between March 19th - 21st.  It was so spread out that it takes a driving tour to see it all.  I love how these places have been preserved so that we can go and see exactly how it was.  Even the "works" are still in place, and at Bentonville the home that was used as the Union field hospital is preserved and you can tour it!  Seriously cool stuff!  During this battle approximately 20,000 Condederates attacked 60,000 Federals.  They were defeated and Sherman marched on to Goldsboro.  1,527 Union troops and 2,606 of their Confederate brothers lost their lives during the Confederates last big opposition.  The war was over a few weeks later.

Memorial Day, 2011

For Memorial Day a big amusement park in Charlotte, Carowinds, was having Military Appreciation where current and former service members could get in for free and their families at a discount.  I really wanted to go so I invited my mom and her friend Mark to come down and join us.  Mark is a Marine veteran so we all got to go for a really great price.  It was so much fun!  They did an amazing tribute where they raised the flags and played the songs of each of the branches of service, and at the end they raised the POW/MIA flag.  I wish I would have captured a photo, because I kid you not right as the flag was going up a dove flew over it!  Talk about a sign!  They also had a lunch for all of us where we got to eat some Southern barbecue! It was a great weekend and I am so very glad my mom and Mark came to share it with us.  The kid to adult ratio was 1:1 and that NEVER happens!  The only part that was not so fun was the heat.  Let me tell you, it was H O T hot!!!!!!  I don't ever remember a time in my life feeling that hot, I guess we just hadn't adjusted yet?  Oh, but adding to the coolness points of Carowinds is that the border between the Carolinas runs right through it.  That meant that Shelbie and Owen could be in two different states and still talk to eachother!  Which of course, when you are 8 and 9, is the coolest thing EVER!

Van and Charlie Brown

Lucy!

All the kids LOVE roller coasters, so it's a good thing Carowinds had some for everyone!  You can't see him, but Van is on my left.  This was the only one he was big enough to ride and we had to go again and again - he couldn't get enough!  Owen was lucky enough to get onto the biggest coaster in the southeast, but when he and Andy went to take Shelbie on it the attendant said they were too short.  Bummer!

The boats were more Grandma's speed!

Van really took his driving responsibility very seriously!

I really hope to take the kids again next year.  At the end of the night they had a fantastic fireworks show, and from our vantage point there just happened to be an American Flag in the foreground!  It was the perfect end to a perfect weekend!

Spring Break, 2011

For Easter this year we had an egg hunt with three other families from the neighborhood.  It was a lot of fun!  Being from Utah, we aren't used to being HOT on Easter, but hey, I'm not complaining!!!

Dyin' some eggs!

Van was really into it!

Happy Easter, cuties!!

Most of the hunting crew.  All three of the little ones refused to be in the pic!  (lol)

Look mom!

Pretty girl!

Big boy!

Not all of us were thrilled with the heat....

Since the kids got so much time off school and Andy was spending every waking moment either at school or studying, we decided to take a trip to visit my mom in MD the week after Easter.  I'm so glad we did!  We had so much fun!  We went to DC, Gettysburg, and Hershey, PA while we were there.  Here is a recap in pics:

Van loved the singing cows in the Hershey tour

Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Capitol building.  great view!

I love this pic!!!  Marine Memorial, Washington Memorial

Mark and Owen in the American History Museum

Me and my crew at the site of Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address"

Shelbie with Honest Abe

We got to see some soldiers in Gettysburg!

We got this AMAZING tin-type made of us while in Gettysburg!  The man who took it is one of only three in the world who knows how to do this old-fashioned photography.  The bonus?  The same lens that took our pic has also photographed famous people like Jefferson Davis!  I was seriously impressed by how still the kids sat for this!

It was a great trip, and I fell in LOVE with Virginia, Maryland, and DC!

Owen turned 8!!!

Owen turned 8 on March 15th.  I can't believe how big these kids are getting!  We didn't really know anyone here yet, so we just had a very low-key celebration after school.  Owen wanted pizza and chocolate cheesecake, and that's exactly what he got!  Happy Birthday, Owen, we sure love you!!!

The Birthday Boy!!!

Finally got his pocket 'copter!

Sibling love!

Handsome boys!