The Outer Banks

We spent last week in the Outer Banks of NC with my parents. Some days we just hung out at the pool (which, thankfully, was heated) or the ocean (not heated - haha) and other days we took off to see the sights. It was the perfect combination of relaxing and sightseeing.

One of our excursions was to the Wright Brothers Museum and Monument in Kitty Hawk. I had high hopes that the Clark brothers would be inspired by the famous Wright brothers. Two "wrongs" don't make a "right," but two Wrights once made an airplane! As you can see, Roper was completely enthralled bored out of his mind.






We spent a few hours one afternoon touring the Elizabethan Gardens, located adjacent to the Lost Colony, the site of the first English settlement on American soil.












A 19th-century statue of Virginia Dare, the first English child born in America. Virginia was part of the Lost Colony, so certainly there is no accuracy in the statue's portrayal of her. The cararra marble statue lay underwater off the coast of Spain for 2 years, was salvaged from a fire in Massachusetts, and upon its arrival in NC in the 1920s, was "considered so racy that for decades she was tossed back and forth like a hot potato all across the state." I won't post a close up since I like to keep my blog content G-rated.


We stayed in Kitty Hawk, which is at the northern end of the Outer Banks. The southernmost island is Okracoke, which is accessible only by water or air. One day we drove down to Hatteras, which is as far south as you can go on land, then loaded up on the ferry for Okracoke.




Can you say undeveloped? The beach looks strange without any houses, doesn't it?




If you have 4-wheel-drive, you just park right at the edge of the water.












We met some baby ducks on our way into the town of Okracoke. Isn't it sweet how they obediently follow along behind their Mama? Why don't my children follow me around like that?


A very proud group of fisherman were on the ferry with us back to Hatteras. They caught two of these tremendous cobia. I don't make it a habit of posting pictures of people without their permission. Some people don't like their mugs on the world wide web for all to see. Hopefully this fella won't mind since he's holding a big catch!


The sunset on the ferry ride back was breathtaking. Photos can't do it justice.


Other pictures from the week...






So...are yall starting to wonder if I was really on the trip? I'm about to prove it. One day we headed over to Jockey's Ridge State Park in Kill Devil Hills, which is basically a state park with one gi-normous sand dune. It's big. 100 feet tall, to be exact. It's the tallest sand dune on the east coast. Scientists estimate that it contains 30 million tons of sand. It would take about 6 million dump trucks full of sand to make a dune this size. It's necessary to explain all of that because its hard to grasp the size of this thing from the pictures. Anyway...I decided it would be fun to roll down the sand dune. And...it was fun! I ended up covered in sand from head to toe! I just have to reiterate that although you can't tell in the pictures, it was a really steep drop!










Roper was less-than-impressed with his mother's craziness.


I also ran down the sand dune with Mason.


Coming back up was the hard part...


...except for Mason.


Our only group shot from the trip.


The last-but-not-least highlight...on the way back home on Sunday, my Daddy announced that he had a special detour in store for us. Now, with my Daddy, you can almost be certain that a detour will involve some tidbit of Confederate history. Possibly an obscure cemetery where Robert E. Lee's third cousin once removed rests in peace. Don't get me wrong, I always enjoy Daddy's rich-in-history detours...but this detour was even more special.




In case you can't tell, we had an absolutely wonderful time. If you've never had the chance to spend time in the Outer Banks, I highly recommend making the trip! Beauty + History + Beach = Great Vacation!

In Bloom

This time of year is just the best in SC. The days are comfortably warm and everything is green and colorful! I love walking around my yard and finding things in bloom to cut and bring inside.

I noticed that my rhododendron was blooming, so I headed over to check it out. I'll just say that the blooms are much prettier from afar.


Something went to town on the leaves. I realize that we all have to eat, I just wish that little pest had chosen to munch on weeds instead of my rhododendron!




One of my favorite plants is this clematis vine which requires zero maintenance and faithfully blooms each year.


Of course for cutting you just can't beat roses!

Pictures from the Weekend...

I have lots of cute pictures to share from the weekend. Enjoy!

Roper, Alina and Patrick celebrated Patrick's first birthday with bubbles...


After Patrick's party we headed down to the Carolina baseball game. Roper and Mason had a photo op with Cocky...


The party followed by the game were just too much for Roper. He fell asleep on the way back to the shuttle bus.


His nap continued for the bus ride...


We celebrated Sally's birthday Saturday night. Isn't this cake pretty? It tasted as good as it looked. I want to try decorating a cake with fondant soon.






Thanks to Auralee for getting a picture of me and Graem together...it doesn't happen very often because usually I'm on the other side of the lens!

On Parenting

As a mother of young children, I'm always thinking of what I can do to ensure my boys will grow up into godly, respectful, well-rounded individuals. Sometimes I feel like every little decision I make influences their behavior and ultimately their personality! I have found, from conversations with friends, that most everyone puts this sort of pressure on themselves.

I recently finished reading "Parenting Isn't for Cowards" by Dr. James Dobson. One passage has really stuck with me. I'd like to share it because it is both practical and encouraging.

"There's hardly a parent alive who does not have some regrets and painful memories of failures as a mother or a father. Children are infinitely complex...and we cannot be perfect parents any more than we can be perfect human beings. The pressures of living are stressful and we get tired and irritated; we are influenced by our physical bodies and our emotions, which sometimes prevent us from saying the right things and being the model we should be. We don't always handle our children as unemotionally as we wish we had, and it's very common to look back a year or two later and see how wrong we were in the way we approached a problem.

"All of us experience these failures! That's why each of us should get alone with the Creator of parents and children and say: Lord, You know my inadequacies. You know my weaknesses, not only in parenting, but in every area of my life. I did the best I could, but it wasn't good enough. As You broke the fishes and the loaves to feed the five thousand, now take my meager effort and use it to bless my family. Make up for the things I did wrong. Satisfy the needs that I have not satisfied. Wrap Your great arms around my children, and draw them close to You. And be there when they stand at the great crossroads between right and wrong. All I can give is my best, and I've done that. Therefore, I submit to You my children and the job I'm doing as a parent. The outcome now belongs to You."

Whew! What a comfort it is to know that we aren't alone in this great journey of raising children!

I'm a Sucker

I'm such a sucker. I read Erika's post about the Wonderbar and immediately ordered one.

The wording is eerily similar to another product that I came to love in my teens and early 20s.

In the past month of being a 30-something, I've started to notice lines on my forehead and a gray hair (gasp!). The gray hair I'll worry about later...I've convinced myself that I have the same hair as my Aunt Beth (my Daddy's older sis) and she has very, very few gray hairs.

As for my skin...it just doesn't have the same elasticity as it used to. Wonderbar to the rescue!

In the past week of using it, I have to say...it has made my skin very dry. My skin is on the dry side to begin with, which has always been good because dry = fewer breakouts. The downside is that dry = more wrinkles. Not good.

There is a disclaimer that for the first few weeks, your skin goes through a "healing crisis," which can cause dryness.

Straight from the website:
"Ultimately, after this period (the healing crisis) is over, a more youthful, healthy, radiant skin will be revealed. You will be amazed by the results!"

So...I'm sticking with it. After all, pardon my vanity, but don't we all want more youthful, healthy, radiant skin? I'll keep you posted as to whether or not I'm amazed by the results!