Sunday, August 22, 2010

Outer Banks

We took the boys to the outer banks for a few days. And what kind of a trip would it be if Mom didn't give any history lesson along the way? We had to visit the Wright Brother's memorial and learned about the two brothers experience with the airplane. I love those guys. Air travel is great!


We wanted to take the boys to a fun sand dune area called Jockey Ridge State Park where there is a lot of hang gliding and sand surfing and with what Isaiah called a kite festival. Next time we will let the boys stay there for a lot longer than we had and let them get pretty dirty. It was rainy and we had already traveled four and a half hours to get there not to mention that we hadn't eaten dinner and it was starting to rain. We were amazed that there could be a place where the sand is still there because of the opposite winds that keep the sand in place.




We can now claim to be expert crabbers! We wanted to try something new with the boys and we'll just say that we are going to be doing this again. On the eastern coast they are known for their blue crabs. And so we went to a sea food restaurant to try some and after the experience we decided to catch and release. All you have to do is get a piece of string, frozen chicken neck and a long net. Attach the neck to the string, drop into water and wait about two minutes. Watch as you carefully pull on line and reach under crab with net. We were able to catch about 15-20 crabs in the hour and a half that we were there. The boys weren't ready to go when it was time. But we had a lot to do while we were there. Danna and Braxton did some ghost crabbing along the beach at night. They were out for about two hours with flashlights finding crabs that come out along the shore. Braxton had himself set up with his night vision binoculars and walkie talkies so that he could let Dad know exactly what was going on while he was out. We chased quite a lot of crabs with flashlights until finally they had had enough and buried themselves under the sand. What a blast!




We spent the day at Kitty Hawk beach and had a blast. Braxton in the past had complained about the waves not being big enough, but he wasn't complaining here. He kept telling us that we shouldn't let Isaiah get into the water because it was too rough. It took Braxton a little while to warm up to the boogie boards. But closer to the shore he did a fabulous job.



On our way home, we decided that we had a little bit of time to go to the Lost Colonies and tour the Elizabethan II ship how interesting! The boys even got to try on some armor.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Happy Adoption Day Braxton!



Every year we celebrate with the boys their official adoption day, and today was Braxton's 7 year celebration. I can't believe that it's been seven years already. He is so special to us and are so greatful to our Heavenly Father for placing him in our home. He was worth the wait! We love this little guy so much! We took the boys to Chuck E Cheese and came home to enjoy cake and ice cream. What a fun day!

Monday, July 5, 2010

Raven Rock




After the boys big camp out we decided to take the boys to a State Park that is about 10-15 minutes from our home. We hiked for about two hours and loved it. We found minnows in the streams and crawdads. What are we to do with so much excitement in our lives?

4th of July Weekend





We had a wonderful fourth of July holiday. We had a bar-b-q in the back yard and let the boys light fireworks. Braxton was even allowed to light a few by himself. What a big boy he is growing into. Then later Brandon and the boys camped out in our backyard and tried to sleep.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Garden Harvest

The boys were able to pick onions and potatoes out of their garden this past week. They were so amazed with how big their potatoes were. We had a few for dinner last night. Yum!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Onslow Beach





We went to a Marine Corp base this past weekend with a few families here in our ward. We all had a blast and the boys made a few more friends that they didn't really know before. Braxton got his first crab pinch. The crab was about the size of a quarter, but it had him on the skin right in between the big toe and the one next to it. I bet it hurt.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Memorial Weekend in DC

We told ourselves that since we were so close (6 hour drive) to our Nation's Capital we were going to take the boys to DC. We decide on taking them over Memorial Weekend. It was so fun and very crowded at the same time. We had to take quite a bit of resting breaks with the boys because of all of the walking that we had to do. We were able to visit the National Mall at the Smithsonian and take the boys into a few museums. Along with visiting some memorials which make you very thankful to be living in a place with the freedoms that we have because of the sacrifices made in our behalf. The boys loved riding the metro and getting to go places very quickly. It was crazy to see so many bikers in one place. The boys would find the best bikes that they wanted when they grow up. We are glad that we were able to go.


Arlington cemetery


Changing of the guard







There was going to be a biker parade on Sunday and Saturday this is where they all congregated. Right on Lincoln's doorstep



Vietnam Memorial

Walking, and walking and walking!

President Obama's House

Our Nation's Capital Building