Alex's New Ride

We ordered and received our new 2 baby stroller! I decided on the Joovy Caboose because it allows Alex to stand or sit (strapped in!) and accommadates infant carriers. And, it isn't as big and bulky, wide or long as the 'traditional' double strollers. I am very excited, and love it in person too. (The directions did say no tools needed, but I did end up hammering on the rear axel a bit.)

Today we took care of our playgroup friend Seamus and so we got to try out the new ride! Both boys seemed to enjoy the ride and I thought it handled well. Here they are after a long day of playgrouping. (so no smiles, just tired faces!)

Hey Cuz!

After our beach adventure, we drove back to Durham to visit with Alex's cousin, Ryan. The boys had met once before, about 8 months ago. Wow, they have both grown so much! It took a fair amount of nap juggling, but we had some fun adventures. We went to the Museum of Life & Science. It is a wonderful hands on museum for kids of all ages. There is a drum garden, barnyard, butterfly house, wind garden, bears, wolves and nerdy exhibits too!

The next day was more low key with a short trip to the neighborhood park for swinging and sliding. I took along some bubbles and we made a friend at the playground. He was more interested in the bubbles than Alex or Ryan. Oh well, at least someone appreciated them!

tunnel vision

Finally, a trip to Durham Bulls Athletic Park for some baseball. The Bulls aren't very good, but hey, we're used to rooting for bad teams so it all worked out. More family just happened to be passing through the area that evening, so we had a chance to visit with some of the Florida relations too.

Our final planned adventure had to be cancelled. Sadly, our other NC friends were sick and couldn't come out to play. We hope they are feeling better and are really sorry we missed them.

We had so much fun on our trip and are looking forward to another visit! Your coast or Ours?!

**We have more pictures in our online album. If you didn't get the emailed link, let me know and I can add you!

Beach Boy

After a long day of travelling across the country by bus, plane and car, we finally made it to Wilmington, NC and Wrightsville Beach. A quick change of clothing and careful applications of sunscreen followed and then we were off to check out the Atlantic Ocean. Alex checked out the sand but soon made a bee line for the water.

As the waves came in and splashed him, he laughed like crazy and when they would go back out, he pointed to them until they came back. He's only been walking for a few weeks so he had a little trouble at first adjusting to the sloping beach and the shifting sands but it didn't take him long. We spent a couple of hours playing on the beach and in the surf before going back in to enjoy dinner and a beach sunset. The next day was our only full day of beach time and we rented an umbrella and beach chairs. It was so relaxing to walk in the water a bit, dig holes, sit in the shade of the umbrella, and most of all, nap on the beach. Alex took his bucket out and collected some shells. He really had the beachcombing thing down. Of course his method involved collecting other people's buckets! So, we made some friends along the way. On our last day, we got up early for a beach stroll and then Phil and Alex went swimming. Alex liked the warm water and splashing. We will definately be taking him to the beach more. Just more proof of his California lifestyle!

Zoo. Take 2

We finally received our membership packet and headed straight out to the zoo. Here's why I love the zoo. First there are lots of different strollers to inspect and stroller pushers to interrogate. I think I found our new 2 baby ride, but a little more research is needed. Second, as I was trying to purchase skyride tickets the girl asked me if I was pregnant. Validation to me that I don't just look fat! But I wasn't able to go on the ride, so Phil and Alex took off...2 minutes into the ride, Alex was asleep. I hope Phil enjoyed the spectacular view! It was worth the $2 for Alex's nap.

Oh yeah, there were some animals there too! The gibbons were showing off their swinging and singing talents. Alex really enjoyed petting the goats and visiting his old friend Tarantula.

To cap the day off, there was a carosel ride and the little train ride around the zoo.