Pictures from Peters day

Here are just a few pictures from Peters little family birthday gathering on Saturday. We grilled out hot dogs and hamburgers and had fruit salad and pasta salad. It was nice, just the family and gram and papa and Pooty(Oliver the cat). We are going to be having a little party later on this summer for him and Finn combined at Monkey Joes with church and school friends.

His cake with 8 candles. We got his cake from Dairy Queen and had them put a Transformers Optimus Prime Edible Image on it. He would have preferred Bumblebee, but beggars cant be choosers.His cake was half chocolate and half vanilla with a fudge crunch center.

Peter opening a bunch of Transformer related presents: slotted paper robot figures(you piece them together like those styrofoam planes)

.

And Yes, Transformers UNDERWEAR!!

He also got a Transformers T-shirt with a SONG in it. There is a special button you push on the T-shirt and the Transformers Theme song plays. "Transformers, more than meets the eye. Transformers, robots in disguise. Autobots wage the battle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons" So now he will have his own personal theme music wherever he goes!

Peter licking of the last vestiges of frosting from his candles. I think everyone does that on their birthday. I remember seeing my dad do that from one of his cakes when i was little and I thought it was a pretty cool idea, so I started doing it too. I think it is just one of those things, like turning frosted mini-wheats frosted side up in your bowl. You dont know why, you just do it.

Well Pooty was feeling left out and wanted to open presents too, so he dove into the tissue paper and shredded it to bits, leaving a nice little heaping mess all over the rug.

Finn wanted in on the candle action as well, so he purloined one of Peters candles and sucked off every trace of sugary goodness...and some wax.

Pictures as Promised

This past memorial weekend we had a great time.
Friday night we went to a friends house for a cook out and some games and fun. There was a campfire and smores and all the good stuff in life.





This is Finn roasting his marshmellows. He likes his the way I make mine. Stick them into the flames until they ctach fire. Blow them out and eat. I LOVE the carbon crunchy black residue and burnt sugar. Oh sweet mystery of Life.
There really is nothing better than a flaming marshmellow.


Sunday after church we went out to Francis Beatty Park and had a cook out with my mom and dad. It was HOT HOT HOT. We went for a little hike in the woods and came across this "cave?"
The boys got in and started telling Ghost stories. Finn is so funny when he tells them too. He starts out in a whisper (words in BOLD are shouted)
"Once upon a time there was a DINOSAUR! And he went around and ATE PEOPLE ! MWAH HA HA HA HA!" Peters scary stories usually involve the words "dark and stormy night" and "Transformers".




Here is Peter in the woods, asking if he can just go pee in the bushes instead of walking all the way up to the restrooms. Because I am lazy and did not want to get out of the shade, I let him water the forest.

Finn played so hard he fell asleep within 5 minutes of getting into the car. He was OUT. Of course he popped right awak as it was time to get out of the car and go into the house.
So we all sat on the couch and watched the movie "Underdog".(WORST Villains EVER!)




.So that was a nutshell of my weekend.
Hope you enjoyed the pictures.

The Greatest Place in the World

I have a favorite place.

When I am feeling down and blue, I think of this place. I have been coming here since I was a child. Our first trip was in 1979.

Every summer for 10 days to 2 weeks we would come here.

It wasnt anywhere fancy or tropical, it wasnt a high falutin' resort area.

It was Nags Head North Carolina on the Outer Banks of NC.

I have had the opportunity to travel to many many places both in the US and Abroad, and when someone asks me "Where is your favorite place you have ever traveled to?", my answer is always Nags Head.

Every summer my family would pack into 1 car complete with our summer gear, fishing tackle and poles, rafts, boogie boards etc. When my brothers were old enough to drive we would take 2 cars and caravan. They would be in my moms old Volkswagon Rabbit and I would be stuck in the other car with my folks. After all 15, 16 and 17 year old boys didnt want to be bothered with their much younger sister.

Every summer I would play hard, swim in the ocean, build sandcastles, torture jellyfish, get burned to a crisp, eat crabs and clams and all sorts of seafood, and buy a pursefull of crappy souveniers from the Souvenir shop across the road.

Every year I looked forward to MY place. And every year it never failed to deliver.

My husband and I went there for our honeymoon almost 11 years ago. We stayed in my parents beachhouse and spent days and nights at the beach, touring the lighthouses, fishing, walking in the sand, looking for shells, crabs, starfish and more. We went to the Sand Dune and watched the sunsets, ate fudge and played mini golf. We toured Elizabethan Gardens and the Aquarium. It was a magical time and the perfect place for our newlywed bliss.

Every year we go back for a few days, sometimes a week. We never get tired of it. Nags Head is OUR place, our special family time. The kids love it. We take friends and family, we invite people to share in our love of the Outer Banks.

The Beaches never seem crowded, the weather always seems nice and the sky is always that Carolina Blue you hear about.

I love Nags Head and the outer Banks. I cant image the world without it. In the almost 30 years I have been going to Nags Head, i STILL get the excitement butterflies as we pack up and head out. Oh Nags Head, I love you.