First Lake Day

On Sunday, April 17th, we had our first lake day of the season!

It was sunny and 84 that day, so as soon as church was over, we headed straight to the lake! (I love wearing my swim suit under my dress!) I can't remember such a perfect day, so early in the season, but we will take it! 

We spent the day fishing, relaxing, and even did a bit of swimming, although Creed's dip wasn't planned out. Luke, without thinking, simply dropped Creed's pole in the lake, and without hesitation, Creed jumped in to get it. Thankfully he was successful in grabbing the pole and not losing his sunglasses. 

The Fishermen

Luke definitely enjoys fishing more than Caleb. He is patient to wait for a bite and then usually is able to reel it in all by himself. And, he always asks "to pet" the fish.

Caleb, like his mom, prefers catching rather than fishing. ;)

His idea of perfect:

My idea of perfect:

Caleb took a pretty good rest while we cruised, but he swore he was just faking being asleep. :)

I dare you to jump in.

Do it!

He did it.

And, he even did it a few more times. The water felt more like mid-May temperatures instead of mid-April....not the temperature you would want to float around in but not freezing either.

When someone mentioned that Little wasn't tough enough to jump in (like his brother), he was in the water in three seconds flat. ;)

See! I told you I could do it!

Luke, still recovering from being sick the week prior, crashed on the ride back to the marina. 

He crashed on the towels as we got packed back up

and didn't budge when we moved the bag of towels to the dock.

Lake days are exhausting. 

Lake naps are the best!

Recently...

Colin rode home from school with us and the boys spent the afternoon together. They are just the best of friends!

That same evening, a very worn out Luke put himself to bed sometime around 6pm. His lights were on, his curtains open, and he was fully dressed when we found him.

The next morning he was down again. It was three days after his flu fever went down, and since he was running another one, I took him to the doctor. Apparently while getting over the flu he developed a sinus infection.

Thankfully, after three doses of an antibiotic, he was himself again! 

We serve in the four year old room at church one Sunday a month. Caleb always helps us, and this week put on a puppet show. The kids LOVED it!

I got to go on the Belle of Louisville with my sweet boy last week! It was a fun field trip, even though there were over 300 first and second graders there that day- ha!

A lesson on how the boilers work

With his buddies

Caleb, Paige, Bryce, and Alex

Kristen and I put on the first ever art show at our school. We displayed at least one piece of artwork per student in the gym and had art stations for the kids to do in the cafeteria with their families. It took forever to put together (especially since we are only in the building two days a week) but it was worth it. Students, parents, teachers and administration were full of positive comments.

The Rest of Spring Break

Our last morning in Raleigh

When we got back to Winston-Salem, Peepaw took the boys to see a movie while I did laundry. Then we spent our last night at a park enjoying the beautiful weather. We were also thankful that Grandma Beth was so much better, although PeePaw was getting sick at this point. :(

Each year we always get a picture of the boys in front of the blooming azalea bushes. This year they tied a "cape" on Hallie so she could join their team. :)

We drove home Friday morning and made great time. Both boys fell asleep (what?!!) for an hour or so. That night Caleb had a sleepover at his friend Bryce's house. Apparently, he and Bryce, along with Alex, were guarding the tent they made. ;)

Saturday I went to see Garth Brooks with my friend Kristen. Since Caleb wasn't feeling great, my mom actually came over to my house to keep the boys until Creed could get home. We were hoping he was just tired from his sleepover...

My favorite pre-concert (or pre-any sporting event!) meal:

The concert was really fun! Basically every single person in the YUM Center knew all of the lyrics and everyone sang along and danced the whole time.

Uh-Oh...

We spent all day Sunday like this. Both boys picked up a (VERY) mild version of Grandma Beth's flu. Luke ran a low fever for about 48 hours and Caleb ran a fever (less than 100) for like 4 hours. But, both were exhausted for a good three or four days.

(And remember how my Mom kept the boys when I went to the concert? Well, even though she had a flu shot, she got sick. Really, really sick. Like in bed over a week sick. We are just thankful she is better now!)

Another Day in Raleigh

After breakfast at the hotel (Caleb loved making his own waffle each morning!) we let the boys swim for an hour. They were so loud that I was concerned we would get kicked out!

Then it was on to the Marbles Kids Museum. Of all of the children's museums we have ever visited, this was our favorite. Our past experience is that the boys will last between two or three hours before they are ready to go...we made them leave Marbles after four hours! They would have loved to have done each area again!

Marbles is a hands-on, play museum, with so much to do and see. Each area has a different theme, with plenty of things to keep their attention. Many of the exhibits we made the boys leave, just to make sure we could see them all. And this awesome museum...only $5! 

The exhibit "Splash" focused on everything under and around the sea. The boys were pirates for a while...until we made them leave. ;)

"Around Town" was really crowded when we got there, so we actually went back to this later in the day. They played in fire trucks, ambulances, a grocery store, and even a news helicopter. Sadly, their helicopter was hit and on fire so they were trying to make an emergency landing. (Lots of pretend that day!)

Caleb and PeePaw spent a lot of time in "Idea Works" trying to build the fastest car.

And Luke spent most of his time in "Moneypalooza." He made me more pizzas than I could count and did a great job delivering them each time.

When Caleb made it to this area, he ran the lemonade stand.

Instead of having a big lunch, we had snacks in the gift shop area. When Luke told PeePaw, "You would be the best PeePaw if you bought these," guess what he did?! 

Meet Lightening Man and Lightening Boy

Then they ran around the rest of the exhibits in character.

I can't say enough about how awesome this place was. 

Definitely a must visit if you are nearby!

The boys also loved the hotel for it's endless supply of cookies and juice in the lobby and the happy hour snacks each day.

We met Uncle Matt when he got off work that evening and he took us to one of his favorite Mexican restaurants, which happened to be across the street from NC State's campus and the The Memorial Bell Tower.

One last swim to end our day in Raleigh.

While we had planned to return to Winston-Salem that evening, we extended our stay another night due to Grandma Beth being sick. PeePaw actually went on back, so it was just me and the boys. We  slept great again, had a yummy breakfast, and then made the trip back to Winston-Salem the next morning.