Spring Break- Visiting Raleigh

While Grandma Beth was home with the flu, the boys and I took a little road trip. (PeePaw actually spent the first part of Tuesday with her and met us after lunch.)

Over the past few years, we have always made it a point to visit a new place in NC and check out what they have for the boys to do. With Uncle Matt living in Raleigh now, it was an easy decision to visit there this year. First off, we all LOVED Raleigh. There was so much for the kids to do and we loved all of the restaurants. Raleigh is definitely a place to visit, and I want to go back soon!

The boys with their Uncle Matt in front of the NC capitol building

(We were so glad he took off work to spend the day with us!)

Our day began at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. It is a HUGE museum, separated into two buildings. Since it is so large, we decided to stay in the Nature Exploration Center, but next time we visit, we will definitely check out the Nature Research Center. By the way, this awesome, huge museum is FREE. :)

The animal talk was really interesting. While most of the museum focused on animals that live, or have lived, in NC, the animal talk was on animals from the Tropics. 

We loved the sloth! 

I think this is the first one I had ever seen and it was hilarious. Since it rarely moves, there were monitors all around that showed videos of it moving about...so slow and so funny!

Yikes...

After the museum we met PeePaw at our hotel and then headed to lunch. Then we made it to our next stop...Frankie's. When I told Uncle Matt that we were coming to visit and mentioned the things we wanted to do and see, he got really excited about Frankie's. Apparently he had heard about it from his friends and always wanted an excuse to go. Maybe that's the real reason he took off work... ;)

Frankie's is like Main Event meets The Track. 

Obviously, it was a blast!

The kids went through the Fun House first. Luke came out a hot, sweaty mess.

Such a good uncle... ;)

They did a 3D simulation game shooting zombies.

From outside the game, I was able to watch them on monitors. Love how Luke's little face barely shows!

It was a cool afternoon, so we only went outside for the go-carts. 

One of the last things we did (you will see why...) was The Spider Web. The kids had as long as they wanted to climb this web of ropes. They were so cute in there and we could hear them laughing. 

Can you spot them at the top?

When Luke came out looking like a coal miner, we decided it was time to go! (Somehow he looked like this and only Caleb's hands were black.)

One last game..."Look mom! I see a Chevrolet!"

The boys LOVE staying at hotels, especially when there is a pool. (They get the love for hotels from their mom!) After dinner, we let them swim for a half hour, but had to call it a night since it was almost 10pm!

While Caleb and PeePaw shared a room, Luke and I took the room next door. We closed the black-out curtains, cranked up the AC, and slept great! 

Spring Break in NC

We had another incredible spring break in North Carolina visiting PeePaw and Grandma Beth. We left Sunday morning and it took us just a little over seven hours...not too bad! The boys were great (watching movies, playing the DS, snacking, etc.) and since my thoughtful husband renewed my XM radio the night before, I got to listen to good music the whole way! 

The boys were so happy to see their grandparents!

We spent the first day and a half at their house in Winston-Salem. The weather was gorgeous so we spent time at one of the nearby parks most of the day.

The giant, sand area was a huge hit. Luke would have probably stayed here all day!

I think my fear of geese may have rubbed off on Caleb. He hung back in the parking lot with me for a while, but then we got braver and walked closer to the pond. ;)

Luke was happy, regardless of the geese, due to the giant sucker he got at Cracker Barrel that morning!

 The park also had this awesome old train you could climb on. We quoted quite a few Polar Express movies lines while we were on it. 

Unfortunately, Grandma Beth didn't feel great, and what we thought was just allergies, actually turned out to be the flu. It was such a bummer, but we were glad we got to spend time with her at the beginning of the week!

Main Event

We survived our first day back to school after spring break. Well, actually Luke was home, still recovering from some fever bug (mild case of the flu maybe??) he picked up, but Caleb had a great day back. We spent most of spring break visiting PeePaw & Grandma Beth in Winston- Salem, NC, and even made it to Raleigh for a few days to see Uncle Matt. 

Since we wouldn't get to see Creed for a week, we decided to check out Main Event the Thursday afternoon before break. Our plan was to let the boys play there for an hour or so, and then go out to eat. But, because we were all having SO MUCH FUN there, we played, ate dinner there, and played more. I think we were there until a little after 9pm, which was way past our normal school-night bedtimes. However, it was so worth it!

Ready for some fun!

Caleb loved the ropes course. He was nervous the first time he did it, but when he tried again later in the night, he was like an old pro. He finally realized he wouldn't fall. :)

This simulator was by far Luke's favorite thing to do. I would guess he did it at least 10 to 15 times over the course of the evening.

They loved the interactive floor

While Creed and Caleb did lazer tag, Luke and I had fun playing all the video games. 

Icee break

Later on in the evening, a girl that worked there gave us a card to play unlimited games for an hour, which is another reason we stayed so long. We all had a blast running from game to game!

Easter Weekend

We forgot to dye Easter eggs this year until the night before Easter. Oops! The boys still had fun, even if it was a last minute thing. 

This year we were scheduled to serve in the nursery during the worship service, so Caleb planned an Easter service for us to do at home. It was precious, and so thoughtful. We are so proud of our big kid! 

Easter baskets!

After church we went to my great-aunt and great-uncle's house to celebrate with my extended family. The kids had a blast hunting eggs, and even turned it into a girls vs. boys competition. 

Caleb and Luke

Caroline, Baylee, and Ella

They laid out all their eggs to see which team won. :)

Later that day we took the boat out of dry storage and put it in the lake for the season! So exciting and so, so ready for boat season!