Jimmy's Family Reunion....

When we found out that the rest of Jimmy’s immediate family would be vacationing together at the Seahorse, a wonderful 1950’s pink motor lodge at Jacksonville Beach, we knew we had to join them. Granted, the beach in Florida in August is broiling hot and has to be avoided during the middle of the day, but we managed to have a great time. We’d spend each morning on the beach then the pool, hang out inside during the afternoon, then head back out for a 2nd round each evening. It was great getting to meet our two new nephews Joseph and Jack and see the rest of the munchkins. There were a lot of good restaurants within a block and a fantastic organic market, so we were able to continue our vacation eating and drinking frenzy. Thanks Debbie for organizing this!

Dear Old Friends...

We were so thrilled when we learned that the Warwicks (best friends from San Diego who now live in Florida) could swing through Cary for 2 nights on their trek up north. The girls enjoyed swimming with Brett, Jr. and we enjoyed catching up with Sharon and Brett. Sharon was especially a good sport when we dragged her to a BBQ restaurant for lunch (she’s a vegetarian, so her only option was an exciting iceberg lettuce salad since even the beans there were cooked in meat). We helped make up for it by taking her out to Goodberry’s for frozen custard. They hung out with us until it was time to head to the airport for our flight to Jacksonville, Florida to see Jimmy’s family. A great close to a great time in North Carolina.

Time to Get Wet & Muddy...

The girls missed the hash that crept up a creek with bamboo and low lying branches (we joked that we’d been transported to Vietnam) which left me scratching from chigger bites, but they didn’t miss the chance to get wet and muddy. While Jimmy and I visited with our Cary next door neighbors, the girls spent the afternoon playing in the creek behind our house. We were all impressed with the bridge that the Atkins had built and with the offer to let our muddy midgets shower in their house.

Art in NC...

We were quite interested to see if our appreciation of the NC Museum of Art in Raleigh would have changed due to our increased exposure to fine art around Europe. While I think we all have become pickier about what we like, we’re still really impressed with this museum. We especially enjoyed seeing Devorah Sperber’s “After the Mona Lisa 2” which is made from 5,184 spools of thread. As you can see, the image is hanging upside down, but when you look through the clear acrylic sphere it is righted as shown. We also enjoyed going to the First Friday gallery walk in downtown Raleigh with some friends. The girls especially had fun dancing in the streets.

Non-Traditional B’day Parties...

One of our family traditions is to have non-traditional b’day parties. For Veronica’s first few years, she and I shared our parties featuring such activities as wine and beer tasting. Eventually she outgrew those and started having her own parties. However, we’ve never hosted the average kiddie party where a bunch of kids are dropped at our house for a set number of hours to do a set activity, because we’ve always invited the entire family. Not only do I not deal well with schedules, but as the manipulative parent that I am, I’ve always thought it important for me to be friends with the parents of the girls’ friends. I acknowledge that I don’t always play well with other adults, so it isn’t always easy to find friends that mesh with the entire family. Through perseverance this strategy has worked well for us and has led to a lot of fun family parties with diverse themes such as swimming, gem mining, and canoeing. As you can see, not only did the kids mesh for her 10th party, but the parents did, too.

Surprise, Veronica!

To help make up for the fact that we’d be missing Veronica’s 10th b’day later in August, we decided to surprise her with a party at Bond Lake in Cary with her best friends. Despite the high temperatures and humidity, the early morning wasn’t too hot and we were able to find some shade by the lake. We rented several paddle boats and canoes. In addition to hanging out with her friends, Veronica especially enjoyed giving canoeing lessons.

Playtime in NC...

The girls were very excited about spending 3 nights at their best buddies Rachel and Ben’s house. We also enjoyed spending a night there catching up with close friends Erika and Michael. Most of the weekend we enjoyed the serenity of shopping and hashing without kids. Later in the week, while Jimmy worked around our old house that we’re now renting out, the girls and I had plenty of time to play.
In addition to going to the pool with Veronica’s first playmate Addison and in the Sparano’s neighborhood, we also went to Raleigh’s natural science museum. Here you see the girls with a cool dinosaur and friends Lisa & Cooper Beebe and Jeanette & Sophie Selvaggi. The girls also got to sleep over at the Beebe’s house. As much as they enjoyed playing with Cooper, they were really there to play with their favorite dog, Sugar. Thanks to Erika, the girls also got to visit their teachers and to have lunch with some of their friends from their old school.