The most gratifying sound...

The most gratifying sound is the sound of my children delightfully playing together.

Crown and Wand

While playing dress up, Alice issued this command: 

"Mom, next time you go to the faerie store, buy me a crown and a wand."

Having a ball at Walnut Street Park

The morning was hazy and not hot, so we went down the road to the nearby Walnut Street Park.  Simon made valiant, quixotic efforts to climb things that he was just too small or too uncoordinated to do.

Then, to take advantage of the lack of burning hot sunshine, we went to the field and let the kids kick around some balls we'd brought with us.

The only problem was that Alice was having a low-blood-sugar morning, but was refusing to eat enough to solve the problem, and so she burst into tears every few minutes. We eventually just went home and had lunch, at which point she suddenly realized she was starving, ate a lot, and was happy again.

A Giant Puppet Show

Zac's coworker's wife is in this performance group called "Paperhand Puppet Intervention". I've seen pictures of their shows in the paper, and it always looked weird, but we decided to give it a shot this year. The show was on Friday evening at seven, with music beforehand (performed by none other than Zac's coworker and his wife.)  Instead of trying to go home and then back out, I picked up the kids and met Zac at a restaurant near the art museum. Nobody cried, but restaurant eating with the kids remains far from pleasant.

We were running a bit late, and so we heard the music as we were walking from the parking lot to the amphitheater, but by the time we got a seat, they were packing up to make room for the main show. We were sorry to miss seeing Zac's coworker, but it was probably for the best given that the kids have a very small window for sitting still.

When the person came out on stage to warm up the crowd, Simon got really into it. Alice cowered behind me, fearful that terrifying giant puppets might emerge at any moment.

Once the show got started, I convinced Alice she would be safe on my lap, and she and Simon were really interested in it for a while.  Eventually, Alice had to go to the bathroom and Zac took Simon to the grassy area to run around. When Alice and I got back, she watched for a while more, but then became more interested in where people were getting popsicles from than the action on the stage. Which was understandable, given that the second part of the show was a bunch of childhood vignettes acted out by adults wearing giant heads, like in the movie Frank. The first part had been something about water and pollution, but it was at least interesting for children to watch the giant frogs and fish and water drops.

So we went to the grassy area at the top of the amphitheater and Alice whined for a Popsicle for a while (which we did not buy her). Soon, we were able to distract her by telling her she could go play in the fountains with Simon, a time-honored tradition we have whenever we visit the museum.

Alice explains her art

Alice comes home with random pieces of art every week, and it's always fun to hear her explanations. It's hard to tell the difference between what she's making up on the spot and what she actually intended during the creation process. I actually have a clear memory of being pretty little and drawing something, and then I'd ask someone what they thought it was. Whatever they said, I would agree with.

Rain and rainbows

On Thursday, I went to a Shakespeare lecture for a couple of hours after work, so Zac picked up a pizza on his way home with the kids. Since supper was so short, they had time to play outside in the rain. And they were able to see a rainbow from the backyard!

And of course, they splashed in some puddles.

Bugga bugga before school

Usually we herd the kids directly to the van on school mornings, but today they went rogue and had some front yard bugga-bugga.

Broccoli Time!

1. Simon is a parrot and repeats whatever we say.

2. Just add "time" to the end of anything in a sing-songy voice, and it will sound like something fun, because it is usually associated with fun things, like "bath time" and "snack time."

3. Simon struggles with the concept that we cook certain vegetables, such as broccoli and green beans, before eating them. He will see them when we get them out to prepare, and will really want them, and will be quite upset that he has to wait for us to cut them up and cook them.

4. So at supper tonight, when the broccoli was finally ready, Simon kept repeating in the cutest sing-song voice, "Broccoli time!" as we got him ready for supper and put him in his booster seat.

Trip Day 4: Wilmington

On our last morning at the beach, we did not go down to the beach. We would never have been able to check out on time, since getting all the sand off the kids is such an ordeal. So we gave them breakfast and then hooked them up to videos so we could get all packed up. Finally it was time to head out and bid our beach condo farewell. Simon, ever one to notice a pattern, asked, "Where's the ice lollies?" as we headed out the door. ("Ice lollies" is British/Peppa Pig for Popsicles.)

On our way of town that morning, we stopped by the Wilmington Railroad Museum. By chance, there was family story time that morning, meaning the whole family could get in for $5. It was fantastic luck.

Alice and Grayson enjoyed story time, while Zac took Simon to play with the toys.

Simon had a giant tantrum when we put him the van, because leaving this place of train heaven was completely unacceptable. Once we wrestled him into his car seat (no small feat) he cried for ten more minutes. 

For lunch, we went to a Hibachi restaurant, because Grayson's dad loves them. We hadn't been to one in ages, and our kids', who we rarely take to restaurants, had certainly never been to one. Watching the chef and seeing the fire right in front of them was definitely worth it. 

Worth what, you may ask? Simon eating on my lap and showering me with rice every time he took a bite that was too hot and spit it out. Simon sitting under the table, in the spilled rice, playing with trains. Simon laying on the floor driving his trains. Simon running around the restaurant.  Luckily, the place was virtually empty and Alice, at least, did a great job behaving herself. We left a big tip and an apology for the mess. This too shall pass, I tell myself.

Then it was time for goodbye hugs as we went our separate ways and drove back to Cary. 

What a great trip, says Self 4.  Where should we go next?

Kure Beach: Day 3

On the third day, the morning was cloudy and rainy, so we decided to head to the nearby Fort Fisher Aquarium.

We had to hook the kids up to some cartoons so that we could all get ready and out the door in a timely fashion.

The aquarium was really fun, especially since Simon could be fully engaged. He's been coming along with us on outings like this since birth, but it's only now that his verbal skills are fully online and he seems to really know what's going on.

Simon loved watching the tortoises run around. I think turtles are Simon's spirit animal. (-:

Alice was afraid I would put her in the petting tank. In a book of hers, that I brought on the trip, a kid falls in the petting tank and comes out with an octopus on his head. Maybe that's why she was nervous.

After we had looked at all the sea creatures, we went to the outdoor area, that has a little playground for the kids.

We were lucky on our timing at the aquarium, because it wasn't too crowded when we were there, but as we were leaving, there was a giant line. We headed back to our condo for lunch and naps. Zac and I actually had an hour or so to sit on the deck and read books. We both marveled at the moment; we hadn't actually expected any time to relax on this trip.

Eventually all the kids woke up, and we played inside for bit, then had an early supper.

After supper, we headed back out to the beach for the last time. All weekend, we'd been giving the kids popsicles as they headed out the door. It was great way to give them a special treat and not have to worry about the mess, since they just ate them on the walk to the beach.

The last evening on the beach was beautiful. I was actually glad it was a cloudy, drizzly weekend, since I hate the summer sun.

This picture, below, is just to remember how Simon loved playing with the shells in the pot of this fake palm tree, but he kept dropping them on his toes.