Duke Gardens

On Tuesday John went golfing again with Scott and the kids and I headed to Duke Gardens. It was beautiful as always. The kids rushed me through all of the flowers though because they were anxious to feed the ducks. They had some baby ducks that Ella was absolutely crazy about.

That afternoon we spent some time again with Christie and her boys. We were also able to see Stacie and her girls. We really miss our Carolina friends but know that they too will be leaving Carolina soon. That evening John gave a talk to the residents at UNC. His talk went very well and he enjoyed seeing old colleagues.

Carolina- day 3

On Monday we spent the morning with our friends the Greens. It is amazing how big the boys have gotten but it has been almost a year. That evening we drove around and looked at how things had changed. We also drove to the UNC campus. It was beautiful with the dogwoods and azaleas blooming so we took some new pictures by the Old Well.

Carolina Sunday

Here are some pictures of the kids at one of our favorite parks. The Chapel Hill Community Center. It has a big play structure and tons of room to run around. Sam also loves to have races with me on the boci ball court. It also has a beautiful rose garden but we were too early for those to be blooming yet. John was playing golf with Scott while we were at the park, which is no surprise to anyone I'm sure.

Sunday evening we had a BBQ at the McCulloch's house. It was my birthday so Kristie had a cake to celebrate the day. We enjoyed spending time with friends and relaxing.

Going to Carolina!

We went to North Carolina for five days to visit old friends and some of our favorite places. The first day was mostly travel. They no longer have the direct flight from KC to Raleigh so we had to switch planes in Detroit. Sam was a big fan of the Detroit aiport. They have an above ground shuttle that takes you far away gates. He thought that was pretty awesome!

Ella was excited until the first plane began to take off and she got scared. She doesn't remember flying back to Missouri all those times. She was fine though once we got in the air and did well until it was almost time to land and her ears began to bother her. The above picture is Ella on the plane.

We spent the first evening at Scott & Kristie's on the back deck having a few beers while the kids played in the playroom. It was a nice evening.

SPRING!

Spring has finally arrived! We have had a few warm days but the weather would quickly get cold again. This week my tulips finally decided it was warm enough to open their petals. I took a few snapshots of Ella with the tulips and playing sidewalk chalk.

Sidewalk chalk is her favorite thing to do right now. The second we pull into the garage she grabs the box of chalk and begs to play outside. The only disappointment in the whole thing is Mommy's drawing abilities. She was not impressed with my Boots the monkey or Mickey Mouse the other day. Not what I would have chosen to draw, but her requests. Although, I said, " How about I draw Daddy's truck?" I couldn't even get Daddy's truck drawn correctly. She told me it wasn't a truck but a grocery cart.

Watch out Broadway!

The kindergarten and first grade classes had a music program at school the other night. Sam did a nice job. For the most part he sang and did the actions. He would occasionally get more interested in what was going on around him to participate, no surprise there. It was a very cute program.
The video is extremely shaky thanks to having to hold a two year old as I was recording on just my regular camera. She was not going to sit alone. John of course, was still at work.

Look at her go!

For some reason this pic won't rotate! Notice though how Ella has an egg in each hand!

Running to Mommy to put the egg in her basket.

John's group had and Easter Egg Hunt and party for everyone and their families. They rented out the children's museum, which was a real treat! It started with pizza and cupcakes and a visit from the Easter Bunny! Sam had been so excited to meet the Easter Bunny then when he showed up he was very disappointed. He said, "I thought it was going to be a real rabbit. That is just a person dressed up like a bunny." We told him yes, but not to ruin it for the little ones. Ella was not a fan of the bunny either. In fact, she was scared to death. She wanted nothing more than to leave the room. So, no pictures with the Easter Bunny.

Next came the egg hunt. Both kids had a great time finding the eggs hidden all over the museum. Unfortunately, I only have pictures of Ella. The kids were divided by age so I went with Ella and John went with Sam. Ella loved finding the eggs, she was on a mission. She got very uspet when she dropped one and a little boy picked it up and put it in his basket.

After the egg hunt the kids had a good time playing in the museum.

"Eggcellent Eggs"

Ella and Sam had a great time decorating their eggs this year. Sam worked neatly and decorated with different colors while Ella threw the eggs in the bowl and used her hands to get them in and out again. They both had a good time and were proud to show off their creations!