Intercoastal Waterway
Category: Wife
For her birthday, CDF wanted to go on a day trip as a family. She picked Tryon palace since we had never been there and the gardens were supposed to be in bloom. It turned out to be a great day to visit, the sun was out and the temperature cool, but not cold.
Tryon Palace
Girls in the Gate
In the Gate House
We purchased the garden pass, so we spent most of our time walking the paths. The girls really enjoyed exploring the more formal gardens with their walls and bricked paths. CDF took a lot of pictures of the flowers.
Going into the Gardens
Sharing secrets
The garden pass also included the Kitchen Office, where the servants used to be quartered and most of the cooking for the Governor was done. We had almost a private tour of the office, kitchen, laundry, and bedrooms. Probably the most interesting part was talking to the guide in the kitchen. She was cooking lunch in the wood fireplace, an actual sausage and rice dish that would have been cooked back in the 18th century. She told us about what the people would eat, and how the servants at the mansion were better fed, and better educated, than most of the town folk. A lot of the people of that time wanted to have their sons and daughters hired by the governor.
From CDF:
For [jModule’s] Father’s day we had a very low key type of day. We all attended church together and that evening we took a stroll at Wrightsville Beach. It was so nice & the girls thoroughly enjoyed it. We did not take our suits, but wished we had once we got there. The water was so calm & it was high tide.
I love the picture of Clo close-up with how the sunlight is hitting her face. And Mo — the picture says it all — she was having a BLAST!
Take care! Come enjoy the beach for those of you that live inland!!
[CDF]
Behind the Dunes
Walking at High Tide
Having a Blast
Contemplating Her Next Move
Categories
Ninth Wedding Anniversary
CDF and I celebrated 9 years of being married today. As far as celebrations go it was simple but reminiscent of the days when we were dating. We took some fast food and had a picnic at the beach and then walked up to the inlet between Wrightsville Beach and Figure Eight Island.
This picture reminded CDF of a song by Sixpence None the Richer, with the line “you and the moon are a beautiful sight to me…”
You and the Moon
Close to the inlet there were nesting grounds for shorebirds. As we got close a couple of them took off and appeared to be buzzing us, flying close as if to warn us to stay away. So we stayed close to where the waves came up.
Near the Inlet
On the way back we spotted a sand sculpture. CDF said it must be a lobster, but I thought it looked more like a crawfish.
Crawfish?
The other day CDF sent this email about the girls:
I was in my room for a bit too long this afternoon apparently. My youngest child had decided to color on the living room wall in a corner she likes to hide in. I have very pale green walls & she her color of choice was purple. It was my fault for letting her have a crayon in the first place & not seeing the future that she will one day do this. So, I couldn’t get that upset, though I did pop her hand & tell her that what she has done is not good.
I then grabbed a magic eraser & sat down to do the cleaning. My oldest stood over me & asked if that had baking soda in it. I said no. “Well, you need baking soda, Momma. Baking soda works. You should use baking soda. Do we having baking soda?” I got a little irritated at my 4 1/2 year old domestic goddess telling me what I needed to use when what I had was doing just fine! The crayon came off the wall without taking my paint too!
As I was telling my husband about what happened, he made the remark, “She remembers. That’s good.” I had no clue what he was talking about…who remembered what?! Apparently, my quiet, nothing bothers him husband had found my now domestic goddess coloring on her walls during nap time one day. And he dampened a washcloth & sprinkled baking soda over it & made her clean the walls.
I have laughed so hard over the fact that he thought to do this & never told me about it!! He dealt with it & it was over. But that my oldest remembers how to clean crayon off the wall is wonderful. Now, I don’t mind her standing over my shoulder telling me what to use. She may know something I don’t!!! Laughing
Categories
Her 30th Birthday
We celebrated CDF’s birthday over the weekend. I took the day off Friday so we could spend time together. In the morning we went biking around town after walking MD to preschool. After lunch we went to the Arboretum in Wilmington to walk around the gardens and take pictures. From Wilmington we went to Jacksonville to drop off the girls at my parents house (they were going to spend the night) and to go canoing.
In the Arboretum’s Garden
CDF had never been out in a canoe before, but she has wanted to try it for a number of years now. So finally this Friday we got in a canoe. She was a little nervous about tipping over, or just meeting wildlife that could be in the river, but we ended up having a really good time. We saw some waterfowl, a few turtles, and water bugs, but otherwise had the creek to ourselves. We didn’t go very far, just past the curve that goes around the apartments on the other side of Henderson Drive. When we got back it was time to go to dinner at Chili’s.
On Saturday we had a party at our house. We invited around 20 friends and had a combination cook-out and pot-luck dinner in the back yard. For dessert I made a Peanut Butter Silk Cake for the birthday cake, and someone else brought banana pudding (one of CDF’s favorites).
Playing Together
Update for April 26th: we had a party on Saturday afternoon and invited family and a number of CDF’s friends over for a potluck/cook-out in the back yard.
The Birthday Cook-out
When we got home from church, I spotted a snake in the driveway. It was sunning itself near the double gate. I pulled up slowly and got out to see what it was. Our dog was so happy we were home, that she didn’t spot it until I started poking at it. Unfortunately that scared it under my car, where additional poking sent it scrambling into a wheel to hide.
At that point, CDF was “trapped” in the car, since she wasn’t about to walk to the house with even a small chance of crossing paths with a snake. So I ended up carrying her from the car to the porch! I’m sure we were a sight. 🙂
After I got them in the house, I checked on the snake again. It has come out of the wheel and was resting on the driveway. So I was able to shoe it out and direct it into the woods. As best I could tell it was a Redbelly Water Snake (more pictures), harmless, but not good pets.
This morning CDF sent a series of instant messages about playing with a educational game that uses bears to teach basic math.
(09:59:31 AM) z: CE has some bears & MD has added & subtracted bears
(09:59:55 AM) z: she was excited to learn that 5=+2=7 and 3+4=7 too!
(10:00:10 AM) z: the same with 3+3=6 & 2+4=6
(10:00:23 AM) z: and taking away bears was something too
(10:00:36 AM) z: Math! You gotta love it
The bears are laid out on cards to form a math problem and then MD counts each set individually and as a whole to figure out the answer. She said that MD had to count the bears a couple of times before she would believe that different amounts can add up to the same total.
I’m certainly glad she is having fun learning.
We took a bunch of pictures over the Christmas holiday. These are mostly of CE who was quite pleased to pose — as long as she got to see afterwards. MD wasn’t feeling well as she was still recovering from a stomach “flu.”
CDF and CE at Dadu’s
CE’s Grin
Looking off
MD was Sick