Daddy's weekend with the kids

I know it's been a little while - I've been busy!

Last weekend (Mother's Day weekend) I went to Phoenix to help clean up our house there for new renters. An added bonus was seeing my friends :) It was a quick trip, exhausting, but very productive. And it was great to see my friends.

Daddy was left behind with the kids. Poor Ian had a fever Thursday and Friday. He was better Saturday, but still wasn't eating very well. It turns out that he had Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease which is contagious. I, apparently, have never had it before. So, on Monday, Mommy wasn't just tired from the trip, I caught HFMD too! Anyway, I won't supply the details here, but the first part of the week was all a blur. And all of a sudden, it's been a week since I was gone.

So, even though Ian was sick, Daddy still snuck in a trip to a Lego exhibit and a Megalodon Shark exhibit in Raleigh.

WALL-E

I bet that left a nose print.

I sometimes feel like these sculptures. 

NC Museum of Natural Sciences

Megaladon (enormous extinct shark) exhibit

My kids next to skeleton of a whale.

Kids looking at fake snake - that rhymes!

Daddy, we're done.

Actually, I think they said, 'Daddy we're tired. Can we go home now?'

Slip N Slide Play Date

I think we've gone from Spring into Summer already. So why not play like we're in summer.  We've had the slip'n'slide out twice now. Today we shared it with Samuel and Sarah. The kids always have a great time together (when they don't gang up on each other - that is)

The play date started in the pool. We had water guns, lots of floaties, a blow up dolphin, a blow up shark - the kids were entertained. The Mommies enjoyed visiting.

Then we moved on to the slip'n'slide. Ian really has the hang of it. He flies down the thing. It took everyone else a little while to catch on. Our old red slide really helped Sarah.

Then somehow things deteriorated to mud play. Before the Jill and I knew what was going on mud was being painted on the pool, on each other and on the slip'n'slide.

By this time Ian was already done with the water and had changed.

He wasn't very impressed with the mud-play.

Fun....

NC Zoo

Scott's working nights this weekend, so I needed to get the kids out of the house so he could sleep this morning. Why not take them to the NC Zoo one more time. The kids were very excited, especially because we met Samuel and Sarah there.

First stop was the African side because the giraffes were a common request. The giraffes were a little far, but we didn't mind. This is such a beautiful zoo.

Then we continued on up the African hill to the elephants, ostriches and rhinos.

The animals held the kids' attentions for a little while, but these egg sculpture/art/playthings seemed to be much more popular. Here's a series of Payton, Ian and Sarah hatching from an egg.

I think it was Ian's idea to get out. 

But, he got quickly overruled.

The girls thought they could get out at the same time.

Sarah won out.

Ian - always the gentleman, really just let the girls go first ; )

After lunch we took a 'fancy bus', as the kids called the tram,  over to the North American side to catch the play area, Polar bears, and sea lions before the kids melted. The kids all grinned, and eyes lit up as the tram pulled out of the station.

The play area was a favorite.

We were all hot and tired by this point. But a promise had been made that we would stop by the lions on the way out, so to the lions we went.

Along the way, the little ones started to feel a bit out of sorts. The whining commenced, and everyone wanted a ride in the wagon or a piggy-back ride. Solution: out came the miracle lollipops. Anyone that wanted a lollipop had to walk. The whining ceased and we had peace.

There's nothing like licking lollipops while leering at lazy lions lying in the grass.

On the way out, Ian was so tired. So I let him ride in the wagon. When we got to the parking lot, I turned around to look at him.

Ian? 

Are you ok?

Leave me alone, Mommy, I'm tired!

Triad Park

Everyday Ian asks, 'Mommy, is it a good day to go to a park?' Of course, my answer varies according to what we have to do that day and the weather. Well, Wednesday WAS a good day to go to the park, and we met Samuel and Sarah at Triad Park for a play date.

Triad Park has 3 play areas and a rock climbing area. Samuel was the only one with any rock climbing skills, but we got all the kids up on one of the rocks for a picture.

It was good to out of the house and not thinking about the impending move.

Aaahhh Arugula - My ode to salad

Crisp leaves
Dark green
Light green
Spicy
Sweet
All are a garden treat.

Ok, so I'm not poet, but I love eating lettuce fresh out of the garden.

The lettuces in the garden have just exploded this past weekend. It's funny because when I planted everything, it seemed to take FOREVER for it to grow. Now all of a sudden, there is hardly any ground space left in the garden. It's beautiful!

I have Grand Rapids lettuce, arugula, red lettuce, and spinach all ready to be eaten. I've been eating out of the garden for about 2 weeks, but now I have an abundance. That's another fun thing about gardens - sharing :)

This past week....

has been busy and a little long for the whole family. Scott flew to Dallas on Tuesday to look for a rental home for us. I don't think I've posted it officially that we are moving to Plano, Tx. Scott took an intensivist position (that's a critical care Dr.) with Questcare and will be at the Medical Center of Plano.

We are excited to be moving back to the same state as our families. We will be closer (in distance) to some, but at least we'll be, at most, a 7 hour drive to everyone.

The kids missed Daddy this week, but were excited to see all the pictures that Daddy sent of the houses that he looked at. Payton definitely had her favorite - the sliding house (it had all hard wood floors). Unfortunately for her we didn't pick that one, but Ian was a little more reserved. I think Ian is still somewhat trying to wrap his head around us moving. He keeps asking if his toys are going to move with us. It's like he's double checking to make sure we won't change our minds.

Payton is excited about the move, but occasionally she'll comment, 'but, I like my school....'.

I'm starting to get excited. We have quotes from two moving companies and will make that decision soon. Alot of the homes that Scott looked at are really nice and they are in areas that will be nice live in - parks nearby, good schools, and good running routes.

Anyway, Scott came back Saturday. We were all thrilled to have him home.

Payton's 5 year Well Child Dr. Visit

Oh good Lord....We were there for an hour and 15 minutes. And we really didn't have much down time. We had the 60 month old questionaire to fill out. Payton had a hearing test, vision test, urine analysis, hemoglobin test, the usual physical exam, and 4 shots. Whew. We were all tired afterwards. Payton was a champ. Don't get me wrong; she cried  before the shots, but recovered rather quickly - especially when she all the stickers and treasures she got from the nurses afterwards. Ian did a great job too. He wasn't needy. He just hung out while Payton got poked and prodded.

Statistics: height - 3 ft. 5.5 inches; weight - 42 lbs.

Oh, and all the tests were normal :)