Nine years old. A perfect age for party games - especially Minute to Win it party games! We invited Kyle's friends over and challenged them to game after game of physical and mental challenges. There was the candy elevator, kite hat circle run (not the real name of the game, but an accurate description nonetheless!), breakfast scramble, Oreo face off, and a number of others that only resulted in blurry pictures and giggles. Happy Birthday, Kyle! Each year you get older and smarter and you're going to be taller than me in just a few short years, but you'll always be my little guy.
One of the benefits of living in North Carolina is the availability of fresh, local produce. Especially the kind you can pick yourself! We took a trip up to Virginia (about an hour drive) and picked peaches to our heart's content. We then took a short drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway and then stopped to enjoy a picnic lunch and watch bikers on their Harley Davidson motorcycles rumble by. It was a perfect way to celebrate the end of summer and welcome in the fall.
Sean turned two at the beginning of the summer. Lincoln, Eli, Sammy and Shay came over to celebrate his special day. Water guns, stickers, balls, balloons and chocolate cake. Couldn't ask for a more perfect day!
While at the Outer Banks we had the chance to visit the Wright Brothers National Memorial where Orville and Wilbur Wright successfully flew the first manned aircraft. We flew kites, hiked to the memorial and walked the track where the historical flight took place.
Kyle flying a kite made out of a garbage bag
At the memorial
Checking out the track.
What really struck me at the memorial was how many times the brothers failed before they found success. They were numerous setbacks and it was years working in some pretty harsh conditions until they were able to successfully fly their glider. I'm no aviation aficionado, but I was really impressed by their story and thoroughly enjoyed our time at the memorial.
In front of a replica of the historical plane.
(We saw the original at the Air and Space Museum in DC)
After successfully completing the Jr. Ranger program, Kyle was sworn in and given his badge.
What a day! Thank goodness this guy didn't have to drive us home...
We spent a week at the Outer Banks, NC. It was beautiful! The boys loved playing in the sand and the surf and Marc and I enjoyed basking in the sun and listening to the rhythmic sounds of the ocean. I was so worried that I was going to be disappointed. After all, when you grow up in Hawaii you become somewhat of a beach snob. But the Atlantic Ocean won me over. The water was clear and refreshing, (Once you got past the breaking waves, you could see fish and even your feet!), the sand was soft and clean, and the waves weren't bad either. We bought a boogie board and Kyle spent an entire day riding the waves - that's my boy! :)
While it wasn't quite Makapu'u, here's a look at Kyle in action.
I have to admit, I was one proud mama! :)
Like Kyle, Sean loved playing in the ocean and spent hours charging the waves with help from mom and dad. Here's a glimpse of our little beach bum (pun intended).
It was a perfect vacation! There was so much to do at the Outer Banks (in the next few days I'll follow up with more posts on our other adventures) but hands down, my favorite time was spent on the beach.
