Kerr Lake Memorial Day Camping Trip

We took our first camp trip of the year this past weekend.  We tried a new spot, Kerr Lake State Park.  It was a really great, family oriented camping spot.  Sam had an awesome time and really got into the roll of sleeping in a tent, collecting firewood, swimming at the beach and just being a dirty, smelly little camping boy.

He was reading in his crib after nap, he just looked so funny kicked back.  He never even called out to us to let us know he was awake.  That's how much he liked the tent.
The lake had tons of spots with beach front, and there may have been more had the water not been so high from all the rain we have had through winter and spring.  The water was still kind of cold for me, but Sam didn't seem to mind.  Cody was a good sport wading in and out with him.Sam enjoyed the playground too.  There were several spots throughout the lake's different entrances.  We stayed at the most northern end, figuring it would be the quietest spot.  It had lots of families with young children, but packed!  We got the very last spot this weekend.Cody and Sam cooking the campfire Jiffy PopSam and me snuggling before bed, watching the campfire.
The only thing missing was Grandpa and some fishing poles.
Toasting some 'mellows!  This is my favorite part of camping.  I live for it.
Sam made lots of friends this weekend, between dogs and kids.
Our little spot, it was really shaded with a big field in front of us and to the side.  We had the end spot of the campground.  Most of the sights had beaches right there, we were lucky enough to be invited onto one of the 'neighbors'.  It was so much fun, we can't wait to go back!

Unfortunately, the south has a tick problem and we had to douse ourselves in Deet.  We brought a few home with our stuff.  Hopefully we have gotten them all.

Zoo with all the little monkeys

Holly and I took the boys to the North Carolina zoo yesterday.  It was a great time, the little guys really enjoyed their first view of the park.  They especially dug the sea lions, who were very active during our viewing. 

Sam wanted to get out and walk quite a bit, whatever was good for Dennis was good for Sam. He is always out to keep up with his big boy cousin.

The elephants were very cooperative during the photo shoot, unfortunately Sam was not.  He kept pointing at the camera.  He is so not into having his picture taken.
Dennis doing his best impression of Macauley Culkin.
We brought a picnic lunch and stopped off in Africa to partake in sandwiches, fruit and Doritos.

Holly and Dennis having a race!  Dennis looks so much like his mommy, this picture really shows it off!
Our boys checking out the sea lions antics.
One tuckered out tiger!  Sam dropped off around the end of Africa, he didn't miss much except for the three mile walk back, uphill.  Holly and I were sweaty and tired.  I don't know about her, but Sam and I had some quiet time on the couch when we got home yesterday afternoon.  While I took a quick power nap, Sam watched The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

It was one of the best days I ever had with Sam!  I love to watch him learn and take in all kinds of new things. It is corny, but pretty special to see him so excited over the world around him. Honestly, it is what I feel mommying is all about.

Weekend

A chillin' weekend, we just hung out as a family. We cleaned up around the house and yard after being away for two weeks, there was some serious pollen to be reckoned with!  We broke out the baby pool and sprinkler for Sam... he really enjoyed it, of course, he is such a water boy.

On Sunday, we got hit with all day raining and storms.  So, rather than be stuck in the house all day with Sam, The Wiggles and Winnie the Pooh, we opted to go torment Dennis and Holly with our company.  The boys played hard!  They are so stinking cute together, Dennis is really good with the little guys and I think really enjoys role as ring leader.  Joe and Sam have so much fun chasing each other, and Sam is finally getting used to Joe's rough and tumble.  There were only a few moments that required the ice pack.

Oh!  And, we also made the big switch!  We are now part of the ithis and ithat world.  We gave up on old faithful, the 5 year old PC we got for Christmas from Sam in 2004.  Cody had it fixed a few times, cleaned out, and the computer guy finally gave us the thumbs down.  The old Dell just can't keep up anymore.  We tried to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle with parts, however, it wasn't responding the way we wanted it to.  Needless to say, I love my iMac.  It is so sleek and compact and modern and tidy!  No wires!  However, I have no earthy idea how to use this thing.

Animal lover

We were invited to come to a picnic and petting zoo with some friends early on in the week. It was held at the Friends School of High Point. Sammy is going to go there next year for playschool a couple of days a week. Sam had such a good time, he really loves animals! They had all kinds of your typical "petting zoo" critters: goats, rabbits, chickens, ducks, kittens, ferrets, and few others. Our friend, Alana with a python. This little girl has so much spunk! She held that snake for like 10 minutes and was absolutely delighted.
Sam thought it was pretty cool too, and wanted to pet it. This was totally freaking out the other moms there.

Kittens and ferrets

Goats

Baby shaking!

Oh yeah, he can boogie.

30th Bday Part 2- Providenciales

Provo is like the epi-center for tourism, so when in Rome...

We did all the tourist stuff, underwater sea excursion, Snuba (a cross between snorkelling and scuba), ate, drank, swam...the works. Provo had all the bells and whistles, it was so different than GT. They want you to be spoiled and want for nothing while you are enjoying the resorts. It was kind of nice to have your dinner take the normal 30 minutes, rather than the hour and a half it would take on GT. Oh yeah, no kidding, they were in no rush on GT to do anything for you--which strangely you kind of get use to. By the time we were in Provo, we almost felt rushed!

This house is the epitome of modern day castle, we came across it on our "exploring with a car day", it is massive...
with a mote...and here is the draw bridge. I betcha it is like Bruce Willis's house or something. Who thinks this stuff up, seriously? A mote!? At the World Famous Conch Shack, waiting on my conch fritters, yum!

Our room at Grace Bay Club had a spectacular view!My honey and me It is five o'clock somewhere right?

White girl and her traveling umbrella hat, no flying nun jokes please. I barely suffered any sunburns.

Our Snuba guide had an underwater camera, she caught us checking out a turtle. I have never been able to see one so still before, they usually take off as soon as they see you. There were actually 3 of these guys, one was at the surface and the other two were feeding on sea grass. This was a HUGE step for me, since Cody and I met nearly 10 years ago, we have been slowly working on my Thalassophobia (fear of ocean). My adventuring husband scuba dives and I would barely go in past my belly button, I was really proud of myself. I only got nervous one time, and it was mostly due to water conditions being a bit rough. I am even toying with the idea of getting certified to scuba one day.

The air tank were on rafts on the surface about 25 feet up, it was cool to get to try the scuba experience without having to go through all the lessons.

Our hotel had beds both poolside and on the beach...that's right, beds...it was heaven.

This is some brain coral, not a great picture through the glass of the submarine.

A spotted eagle ray, I spotted one of these in Grand Turk...they are absolutely amazing creatures, so graceful and beautiful to watch.

Our last night, we went to a romantic off the beaten path Morrocan restaurant. We ate hummus, tangine, and moussaka...and of course, drank some wine. It was one of the best meals we had while on our trip. The next day was long with flying and driving. We got in after midnight, exhausted and anxious to see our Sammyboy. He was sleeping sound. The next morning was the best! He snuggled in bed for almost an hour with us, and kept smiling and laughing and kissing us. He changed a ton in those 12 days! Nana and Pop-pop did a fantastic job taking care of our little britches, he talks about them everyday still and about Uncle Damien and his kite. It was a wonderful vacation, and we cannot thank them enough!

30th Birthday Extravaganza! Grand Turk

Paradise was...well, paradise! Cody took me away to Turks & Caicos for my 30th birthday present, I know right? He is fabulous. I had two conditions for my birthday, one, I can't be pregnant and two, I can't be in High Point. We decided that since it had been awhile since we took a vacation together (Luisa and Ollie's wedding circa '06) that there was no time like the present.We started out on Grand Turk. A teeny-tiny island to the far east of that group of islands and is strongly rumored to be where Columbus made landfall in his quest to the new world, it is also where the capital city is located. Grand Turk was all but decimated during the hurricanes of '08 Hannah and Ike all but leveled it. The island was actually just getting back on its feet when we arrived, the inn we stayed at was only renting 3 of its 5 rooms and we were the first tourists that year. The owners were lovely ex-pats of Australia, and had bought the inn several years back as a hobby in their retirement. There were about 3 restaurants, but most of the other inns and restaurants were still closed due to extensive damages and no money to repair.We had the run of the island. The big draw is the huge sea wall off the several hundred yards off the shore line, making it one of the best places to scuba dive in the world and the snorkeling wasn't half bad either, in spite of the major damages done to the coral and sea life. Cody indulged in several ($$really cheap$$) dives while I lounged on the beach, and made a few trips to the spa.We had bikes at our disposal, and several mornings or afternoons we took off to find the beaches deserted. There are so few tourists there that by the end of the week most of locals new us by name. The only exception was the cruise lines have a port at the south end of the island, Celebrity Village, that would be slammed with cruisers 2-3 times a week for a few hours. Cody and I rode down one day to eat a burger at Margaritaville and people watch.In the late afternoon, we'd watch for the fisherman to speed past on there boats and run down to the end of town where they would set up a primitive fish market, with the freshest, tastiest fish I every had! Every night we went onto the roof deck to watch the sunset and the wild horses and donkey roam the streets after all the locals went home for the night. Then we'd go in crack some wine, make dinner and sit on the beach.If you want to experience real island life, this is your place. No resorts, no people, no tv, phones, or Internet (seriously), no worries...this is your spot.

Grand Turk Inn

The Sandbar...one of two bars on Grand Turk, my favorite...good view, cheap drinks and delish food!

Beach in front of Sandbar, even the beach bar's beach is deserted. Got to love that! Our fisherman buddies! They had all kinds of tastyness...Grouper, Snapper and the island specialty Conch (which tastes somewhere between clams and calamari).Wild horses cruising down Main Street, Cockburn Town.

Tequila and a sunset!Beachcombing was so fun there, you never know what you would turn up! Turtle shells, sea urchins, star fish and all kinds of crazy, beautiful shells.

This is a good shot of the water, you can see in the distance the dark blue line of water...that's the wall. I think Cody said it plunges to something crazy (7,000feet)! And then, you can see the lighter areas of blue and the spots, that is all the coral reef. We saw a nurse shark, eagle ray, sting ray, squid, sea turtles and all kinds of fish. The coolest was the flying gurnard.

This shot says so much about our days, we rode until our butts wouldn't let us. We had so much fun exploring and not having to get into a car was kind of relaxing in a strange way. At least, we didn't have to feel guilty about the amount of calories in margaritas and beer we drank. Our day at Margaritaville was really all about a cheeseburger in paradise! It was so worth it!

This is a shot of us that another couple took of us on my actual birthday! I love it. I think it is my favorite one from the whole trip.