Weekend Trip to Raleigh

Last weekend, we decided to take a little getaway.  We have been wanting to check out the Marbles Kid's Museum in Raleigh for awhile and were kind of itching to get out of town and visit a few other places we don't have - all the 'amenities' of a real city.  We ended up having a great time. The Kid's Museum was a lot of fun and we got a hotel with an outdoor pool and annoyed all the people who were relaxing poolside with their cocktails.  Ha! 

Here are the girls in downtown Raleigh walking into the kid's museum.  They insisted on holding hands.  Actually, it's usually Piper who insists on holding Josie's hand.  She doesn't like to hold our hands anymore - just Josie's.  It is pretty cute, but Josie gets really frustrated if she's not up for it. 

The kid's museum was huge!  We were there for a few hours.  In this section, there was music from around the world and the kids can go pick the music they want to play.  They both really got into the dancing, but Josie broke out all her moves.  She went to town dancing.  The world would definitely be a better place if we were all comfortable enough with ourselves to break out dancing like that when feel compelled. 

 And of course, there were animals.  Piper wasn't happy about having to leave this horse. 

 

Unfortunately, we forgot our camera, so we took these pics on our phones and don't have any pictures of the rest of the weekend.  We also visited Trader Joe's, REI, the Raleigh Running Company, and the Raleigh Farmer's Market.  And we had dinner at a Lebanese restaurant downtown on Saturday night and a good breakfast Sunday morning.  Why Lebanese food, you ask?  Well because the restaurant we first decided on and picked (based on their menu online) only had one highchair and it was being used.  Which is really a pretty clear message that kids are NOT welcome.  So we walked around until we found the Lebanese place, which was great.  We all loved the food except Piper wouldn't eat anything except of Clif bar.  Oh the joys of feeding a toddler!   

We look forward to our next trip to the "big city".

Wilmington Children's Museum

Yesterday, we decided to take a little day trip down to Wilmington to go to the Children's Museum.  We haven't been able to do all that much this summer because of Josh's back, but he is getting better (yay!), and we were itching to get out of New Bern.  The children's museum is in a great old building downtown and near the water.  The girls got to do some art, play with blocks, sand, drive a boat, a car, and play with the slide.  There were a lot of things that were for bigger kids, but definitely enough for little kids to keep them busy.  After a couple hours there, we had lunch at the Mellow Mushroom, and headed home during their naptime. 

 It really is funny how much fun little things like this can be with kids.  I love seeing things through their eyes and watching the looks on their faces as they experience new things. 

Because Sharing is Caring

Perhaps you are sitting there wondering what is currently on my Kindle and my iPod (ha!).  Well, you're in luck, because I am sharing them.  Earlier this week, I downloaded the new Airborne Toxic Event album, All at Once.  I loved their last album and listened to it over and over during my first trimester of pregnancy.  When I listen to it now, I always think of walking, walking, walking around the neighborhood, before I was put on bedrest and wondering what life would be like with twins.  Their new album is every bit as good as the last one.

One of the songs:


And of course, I have been a reading machine this summer.  I think the following two books have been the best books I have read all summer - and there have been a lot.  I might even put them in my top ten best books ever.

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett was a bizarre story that takes place in the jungles of Brazil.  I just couldn't put it down.  Here's the NYTimes book review write-up.

I was so sad to finish City of Thieves by David Benioff.  This is an amazing story and made me want to learn more about what happened during Russia during World War II.  But it didn't feel like 'work' reading it.  It was just a great story.  Here's the review of this one. 

Two-zero months

 Josie and Piper are 20 months!  Last month got away from us and I didn't write a monthly update for the first time since we started this thing.  Some of the latest from the last couple of months:

• Talking: There are more new words everyday.  Josie leads the way and Piper will eventually say the same words Josie does.  Some new favorites are ewsh (shoes), pease, birbie (bird),  wa (when they want to walk), wawa (water).  Josie says more phrases than Piper, like "there you go", "all done" and "all gone". The other day, I showed her an airplane and the very next day I was changing her diaper and an airplane flew overhead.  She was so proud to say "airplane!". 
• Reading: We read a lot of books.  And by "read", I mean that they bring us a book, reverse back and plop in our lap, then we read the first two sentences and they say "all done" and go get another one.  But they really enjoy this, so we do it over and over.  We can get Piper to sit still for awhile by asking her to point out objects in the book.  It's amazing what she has picked up on.  She doesn't talk very much, but she can point out random objects like ice cream cones and bicycles.  It would make me very happy to see them love to read as much as I do. 
• Animals:  These girls love animals!  They know a lot of animal sounds, including snake, dog, cow, duck, bird, tiger, lion, frog, horse.  During our morning runs with the stroller, we try to make it over to the neighbors' house with horses in the yard.  They are captivated by them.  Then when we get home, they say "neigh!" over and over.  We also talk about all the other animals we see - the birds, the squirrels, the horses, and of course the doggies.  They were not with me when I saw a bear a few weeks ago, but that would have made Piper very happy!  Her bear has become almost as important to her as her green frog lovey. 
• Independence: Both girls would prefer to walk now than to have us hold them.  They ask to walk and then hold their little hands up for us to hold.  Cutest thing ever!  We finally ditched the wagon for walking into the Y.  It takes us awhile, but we make it inside eventually. 
• Eating: Mealtimes can really be a little unpleasant around here.  I honestly have no idea what they are going to eat from day to day.  They love something one day, and then look at it like its vomit the next day.  Piper would really like to eat rice cakes for every meal.  Half their meals end up on the ground.  Every day I find dried smoothie in different spots.  It's exhausting.  
• Buddies: These girls are turning into very different little people, but they sure love each other.  They will hold each others hands and walk around the house.  They speak the same language.  The other day, I watched an exchange where Piper pulled out her play stroller, patted the seat and grunted at Josie.  That was Josie's cue to walk over and sit in it so Piper could push her around.  They make each other giggle, and they completely torment each other.

Here's evidence:

Just for fun

Here are some pics we snapped the other day...

 Just looking cute. 

 Walking around the house holding hands. 

 Hello??  "talking" on the phone.  And fighting over it. 

Giving Kisses

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore… but let there be spaces in your togetherness. And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
-Kahlil Gibran
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Washington Sprint Triathlon

Triathlon number two of the summer was last weekend.  The Washington Sprint Tri, which was held about 45 miles north of here in little Washington, in and along the Pamlico River.  It was a great day and a lot of fun!  A couple of months ago, I managed to convince my good friend McKenzie that she needed to join me for this.  Kenzie is a natural athlete, but it took a little convincing.  I think she had a blast and I'm pretty sure she is hooked now.  I'm so glad I had a buddy to do this one with.

It was fun having Peyton and Davis there to cheer us on.  Kenzie and I unknowingly were twinners with the same outfit. 

Remember my last triathlon??  I think it was pretty foolish bold of me to sign up for an open water swim after that freak out.  But I did a lot of swimming over the past two months and I really felt like I was ready for this.  It was a 750 meter swim and I regularly swim over a mile in the pool without stopping ...

These three pictures pretty much illustrate how I was feeling before the swim.  You can see me getting progressively more nervous.  I think I said a prayer or two that I wouldn't drown. 

Good luck hugs...

And here's Kenzie coming out of the water.  She did great!

And here I am after my swim.  I am smiling, but there wasn't anything pretty about it!  It was slow and painful.  I really would like to do a few more tris next year, but I will need to practice more open water swimming before I get out there again. 

Out of the water and in transition

Out on the bike.  Definitely my favorite part of the triathlon.  That might seem surprising given my history as a runner, but honestly the bike is just the most fun.  I rode really fast and I passed a lot of people.  This bike leg was 13 miles. 

And finally, out on the run, a 5K.  By the time we got out there, the heat index was up there in the high 90s.  The end of July in North Carolina is just going to be hot - there's no getting around it.

And finally, all done.  I'm not sure what is going on with my hat.  I guess I was tired and couldn't quite get it on all the way.

I am continuing my summer of multi-sport training next month with a duathlon on base.  No swimming and I am quite happy about that!

Bye Bye Grandma Bubba

My mom left yesterday after her ten-day visit.  We had so much fun!  The girls miss her already.  She left straight from here to L.A. for my cousin Katie's wedding today.  We are on our own now for the rest of Josh's recovery. 

The rest of the week was busy and fun.  We had some more fun playing outside in the pool.  North Carolina is in the midst of little stretch of relief from the heat.  Temps in the high 80s - I'll take it!  

She bought the girls some little strollers to push their babies around, which they LOVE!  They also like to hang their play purses off the back.  And, for some reason, their babies MUST have hats on their heads.  We wouldn't want them to get cold in mid-July.

We also redid the picture wall she helped me with last time she was here with the new family pictures we had taken. 

Thanks for coming grandma!  We love you and can't wait for your next visit.

p.s. How cute are those pigtails!  

Time with Grandpa (and Bubba)

My dad just left this morning after a great week with us.  My mom is here for another five days.  They have both been a great help, and the girls have loved the extra attention.  Grandma and Grandpa both came to gymnastics on Wednesday and we got some good video of the girls practicing their new skills.

The girls had fun playing with grandpa's hat, shoes, and were very curious about his mustache. 
Grandpa can't wait to have two little golfing granddaughters.  He played golf at Taberna and Carolina Pines while he was visiting. 

We also had some fun playing outside in the pool, and took a trip down to Swansboro to eat at Duck's and walk around by the water.

Josie was a fan of her grilled cheese...

Meanwhile, Josh continues to recover and is missing out on time with the girlies.  Poor dude. 

Thank goodness for more time with Bubba