Halloween Treats

Here's a peek at this year's Halloween festivities:

Our Annual Spooky Halloween Tree

Checking out pumpkins

Planning their jack-o-lantern designs

Carving...

The end results. Spooooky!

Getting mummified

Sean as Darth Vader

Coming soon... Angry Birds, Ninja version!

Ready to make the rounds

Trick or Treat!

I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!

Hope you all had a safe and happy Halloween!

Happy Birthday, Kyle!

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.

Peach Picking

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.

Happy Birthday, Sean!

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!

Happy Birthday, Little Guy!

Back to School

The requisite first day of school picture.

First in Flight

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...

If you ever find yourself at the Outer Banks, be sure to check out the Wright Brother's National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, NC.

Beach Boys

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.

Wish you were here!

Christmas Recap

Happy New Year! I should've posted before the New Year so our Christmas pictures aren't filed under January 2011. Oh well...should've, could've, would've! It would seem that a good New Year's Resolution for me would be to keep the blog current, but I'm not going to go there. I want to actually achieve my resolutions! :) Here are some of our favorite memories of Christmas 2010.

We had a white Christmas! Snow here in Wisnton Salem is rare, especially this much snow. (I'm told that the last white Christmas was in 1947.) The boys were ecstatic and I was surprisingly happy as well. Kyle and Sean were out in the snow for three days straight, sledding until there was nothing but grass!

After Christmas sledding, Kyle wanted to build a snowman, but Sean had had enough! We compromised and built a quick, mini-snowman. As you can see, Sean wasn't thrilled.

Kyle and I continued our annual tradition of gingerbread house making and Marc and Sean helped us with the tradition of gingerbread house eating.

Kyle sang with the cub scouts at our church talent show. Here is a horribly shaky video of the performance which keeps cutting off the boys' heads. (Their Cub Scout leader's car broke down so she wasn't there and I was attempting to record the performance, help the boys remember their lines and hold a wriggly 18 month old in my lap, all at the same time!) Nonetheless, it's pretty funny and Kyle's part is done within the first 30 seconds.

Finally, I leave you with this peaceful picture of our Christmas tree on Christmas morning. I took it right before the boys came down to open their presents - the calm before the storm.

I hope you had an enjoyable 2010 holiday season and wish you all the best in the New Year!