Road Trip to North Carolina

Last August we drove down to Charlotte, North Carolina and stayed for a few days. Charlotte is where Peter works a lot for his consulting job and he's there enough that the company he works for down there pays for an apartment for him in Charlotte. It's not an ideal situation because it's far from family-friendly, and I can't say that this was a fun trip for me personally, and I didn't take very many pictures, but...the boys had fun!  

We stopped in New Jersey in the town where we lived for the first four years of our marriage. We got lunch from a Chinese place that we used to love. We drove by our old condo and ate lunch in the park across the street where I used to take Christy for walks, and then John when he was born. It was neat to be back in a place that is full of fun and happy memories for us. I should have taken some pictures!

We stopped in Williamsburg, Virginia and spent a fun day at Water Country USA. The last time we were there was in 2015 with Peter's brother's family. 

We had a cabana that looked out onto the woods. One of the things I really like about this area of Virginia is all of the cool things in history that took place there. There could have been soldiers from the Revolutionary War in these very woods over 200 years ago.

I wish I had a crystal ball or some such device that could take a scene and look back into the past and see what happened there. If I were a fiction writer then that would be a fun book to write! 

Fun fact: I lived on an army base in North Carolina when I was a little kid. I think my earliest memories are from there. 

A rare sweet moment caught on camera!

Standing in two states at one time. It ain't the Four Corners, but it's still fun!

It's funny that I'm posting this today because we're headed back down to North Carolina in a few days!

Pretty Things Around the Yard in Summertime

There are butterflies

And bunny rabbits! (Not a great picture, I know. I had to take it quickly from inside before this cute little bunny hopped away!) 

Hydrangeas in full bloom

Roses

Back to the hydrangeas--look at that reflection!

Sunset

Pooltime Fun

One of my favorite things about our new house is that it has a pool. Which is funny because in the past I never wanted a pool. I thought they were dangerous, expensive, and a pain to maintain, plus they take up valuable yard space. These are all valid points, but I'm finding that:

1) they're not nearly as dangerous once your kids are older and can swim well,

2) they are expensive, but--not to sound cheeky about it--if you can afford it by budgeting properly for it, then it's not really a problem (which is not to say that I'm not searching for ways to reduce our sky-high summer electric bills since it's a heated pool!),

3) I hired a pool company to do the majority of the maintenance work for it,

and 4) when the pool is landscaped nicely into the yard and there's still plenty of space for other things, then it doesn't feel like it's taking up important real estate in the yard. In fact, the pool is the prime real estate in the yard.

Problems solved!

It really is fun having a pool in the summertime. As much as I love the ocean beach, there are certain conveniences of having a backyard pool that can't be beat. 

So far, Sam is the one who uses it the most. He's a little fish!

The lush green summertime scenery around the pool warms my heart (literally, ha ha).

I can honestly say that having a pool is a cost of money and time that is totally worth it. 🙌 (Knock on wood!)

Going on this summer's bucket list: Have a few pool parties. Spend more time in and around the pool, including floating under the stars at night with the pool lights on. We also have a dream of getting a projector screen up and having pooltime movie nights. 😍 Also, adding a hot tub, someday, somehow, maybe, hopefully!

The Early Days of August

I gave in and let the boys get up in the middle of the night for the new season of Fortnite. And here they were at about 9:30 that morning, both passed out on their own. That's what happens when you get up in the middle of the night, boys!

I can't remember the last time John took a nap!

Sam at ninja practice later that day (and John behind him on the left). Their naps did them good!  

An impromptu photo shoot with my birthday roses with a shell I kept from the beach.

We returned home on August 2nd. It was nice to have several weeks of summer still left until school started. We're still getting used to that because in Iowa school starts at least a week earlier.

We went to the annual family reunion for my mom's mother's side of the family. It was beautiful weather that day (as opposed to last year, when it rained!).

😍😍😍

Summer decorations in the family room.

(Not as many summer decorations here, just that chalkboard-style picture down on the right.)

There was a morning when it looked like fairies had come during the night and left their magical dust behind on the kitchen window.

In reality it was probably just dust. 😄

The Pretty New Chair

Last summer I bought a new reclining armchair for the living room to replace the broken one. It's comfortable and pretty and it coordinates well with the colors in the room. I bought it online from Wayfair or Joss & Main (I can't remember which) so it required minimal assembly, which Peter took care of. I used the opportunity of the new chair to take some new pictures of the living room and then I updated the Cape house post with them.

It's not every day that you get a new armchair! 😁

July 2019 Randoms

These "randoms" are all from the Cape, which is where we spent all but the first day of the month. 

A Target store was being built on the end of the Cape Cod Mall. Finally, a Target on the Cape! I can't wait!

Surfing at the Inflatable Park

"Might as whale" -- so cute!

"Whalecome"

The whale watch we went on really got me in the mood for whales, I guess! Don't worry, they won't take the place of my beloved owls! 🦉

See?

I love this idea...

My stars and stripes Kate Spade bags 

At the library

I have to admit, I'm a big fan of puns.

I took this survey the day before my birthday. It was the last time I could accurately answer for being in this particular age group. And then it's like, everything above "39 or over" is just old. 😩

The new post-tornado patio table umbrella. It has lights! 

Sam cut his hair. Neither of the boys had ever done that before, so it was a classic childhood/parenting experience that was bound to happen at some point. We went to Supercuts to try to make the best of it. 

Why Sam, why? He had regrets. 😆

I like my swimsuit cover-up

The reclining armchair in the living room broke, so we had to get a new one. The old one sat out on the front porch for a few weeks before I paid our trash company to take it away.

The replacement chair is nice! More pictures to come next week.

Rocco spent a few days with us on his own and that was fun for the boys.

Rocco on the zipline at the Inflatable Park

We spent a nice afternoon at the lake beach in the neighborhood where we used to rent a house.

I'm dying to go to England! Ironically the Cape is about as close as I physically get to that esteemed isle.