North Carolina (or North Carowina as the boys say)

We have been back for a little over a week and I am already trying to think of ways to get back soon or heck just move down there!  We had the best time in the world!! The weather was great, we ate yummy food, the house we stayed in was perfect for us, and we got to see some really cool stuff.  Plus we got to see some great people we don't get to see very often.

 

Enjoying one of many birthday celebrations

This time we drove, we will not drive again!  It was OK but I think that drive pushed my limits for hours in the car.  The boys were great and even the big boys were pretty good, but thats just a long time in a car!  We left Nashua, NH after picking up the rental van and getting dinner around 7PM and got into our house in North Topsail Beach around mid morning.  

 After all the grown ups showered and got dressed and the boys got dressed we took care of some house keeping stuff like unpacking and buying groceries for the week.  Jack was super tired and cranky so he and I stayed in the house and took a nap while Josh and Adrian took Keaghan to the beach for a bit.  

K fell in the waves, he wasn't very impressed.

 The next day we drove down to Myrtle Beach to spend the day.  The boys had a blast walking the boardwalk and playing in the sand.

They are in a phase where they don't want their picture taken. Haha!

We went on the Sky Wheel, which is definitely the biggest ferris wheel I have ever been on!  The boys loved it and the view of the beach was amazing.  It was a little foggy when we were there but I bet on a nice day you can see forever.

After walking around on the beach, we headed over to the Hard Rock Cafe which was in a separate mall area that I wish we had had more time at, but it was getting late and Myrtle Beach was about 2 hours away from where we were staying so we wanted to get back.  We had a great meal and the boys were given another birthday dessert that was the same size as a grown up dessert! 

When we got back to our house, our good friend and camp family member Sam was there for a visit.  Sam lives in South Carolina and drove a LONG way to come and visit with us. We were so happy to see him and meet his girlfriend.  They crashed on the couch and went to Wilmington with us the next day.

 We went to the Fort Fisher Aquarium outside of Wilmington and the boys had so much fun showing us all the fish and dragging Sam and Sydney around to all the exhibits.

This is the albino alligator that lives at the aquarium. 

This little boy was checking out everything in the tank with the boys, he came running up and wrapped his arms around my legs, looked up and looked absolutely stricken when he realized I was not his mother.  His mom and I got a pretty good laugh out of that one! 

Touching a shark 

Touching a shark 

This is  the last picture we took before we found out about the marathon bombs.

 As we were leaving the aquarium, someone, probably Josh, said "there were bombs exploding at the Boston Marathon.  At first I thought there was no way, that's not possible, how can someone bomb the Boston Marathon?  Then I instantly pulled out my phone to find out what I could and check on friends and family I knew were in Boston and running in the marathon.  I am so happy to say that all of my people were safe at the time, but my heart is still heavy for all the pain and suffering of the victims and their families.  It definitely changed the atmosphere of our vacation with the grown ups constantly checking for updates.

The next day we headed back into Wilmington for lunch and a visit to the USS North Carolina. We had lunch at the Cotton Exchange.  The Cotton Exchange used to be the building where cotton was bought and traded off the plantations to be taken back up north and turned into cloth.  Now they have turned the building into an outdoor mall with restaurants and shops.  It was cool to see, especially considering its a lot like the building I work in.  Its possible that cotton came from the Cotton Exchange in Wilmington up to the textile mill that houses my school once upon a time.  We ate lunch at a hot dog place called Scoops.  Josh and Adrian had hot dogs wrapped in bacon!  Then we all had an ice cream before heading to the battleship.

Sailor Jack, he was cruising all around the battleship!

SO excited to be on the ship 

That night I made ice cream cone cupcakes for their birthday and tucked two three year olds into bed for the last time.

 

The next morning we headed out to Fayetteville to visit with a former student and friend, Andrea. We were hoping to go to the Special Ops museum, but because of the sequester it was closed.  So we opted for a second choice and headed to the Cape Fear Botanical Garden.  It was a super nice day out and the boys had a great time hanging out in the gardens.  There was a lot to see and explore. 

After that little adventure we headed back to Andrea's house, which is in Autryville.   Autryville is a town about the size of a neighborhood up here.  There is a siren for the volunteer fire department that can be heard through the whole town (speaking from experience,  the alarm went off while we were there).  We had a cook out with Andrea and her grand parents and then the ice cream truck made a special visit just for the boys. 

 On our last day, Jack and I finally made it down to the beach.  The rest of the boys came with us and we had so much fun.  I got to stick my toes in the water and part of me almost wanted to head back to the house to get bathing suits.  It was about as warm as the ocean gets up here in the middle of the summer.

Jack had his turn falling in the waves.  He was running away from the waves and ended up falling face first in the waves. 

Last stop on the way out of town! 

We had a great time hanging out with each other, taking turns preparing meals and cleaning up, sitting on the porch listening to the helicopters flying overhead (Camp Lejeune is super close and they do trainings over the beach).
I was sad to head home, but there was a light at the end of the tunnel.  Josh and I had the immense pleasure of attending the wedding of two friends that Friday night.  We were exhausted but so glad to have been invited and able to go!

Next time, we fly!