St. Patrick's Day Parade

St. Patrick's Day was this past Thursday, but we celebrated on Saturday by going to the parade in uptown Charlotte. Marc and Sabrina met us there, and we met up with some other neighbors for a bit once the parade was over. It was really cool to see all of the parade participants and their crazy attire.

The parade started at 11am, which it was right at Luke and Olivia's nap time. We were hoping they would fall asleep for a little bit in the stroller, but all of the noise and activity kept them wide awake. Dan and I haven't been a parade in well, never, so it was fun for all of us to go together. The weather was nice, if not hot, and the parade lasted until after 12:15. We were starting to get hungry and the babies needed a nap, so we grabbed some Bojangles and headed to The Green, a really cool outdoor area that has lots of sculptures and art pieces. They were having a festival and live music, and it was the perfect spot for an afternoon picnic. Luke and Olivia napped during our 25 minute walk, and Dan and I were able to eat while they napped some more. Bonus! They had such a fun time playing under the trees until it was time for us to leave, well after 4pm. We thought they would nap on the way home, but they rallied (Luke took a 20 min nap once we got home) and fell asleep a little early. They were worn out from the day. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

First Boat Ride

This past Friday night, we got together with our good friends Sabrina and Marc for an impromptu cookout and boat ride. Luke and Olivia have never been on a boat, so we weren't sure how they would like it. We decided to take them out after dinner for just a few minutes. That way if they didn't like it, we could come back to their house easily. Luckily, they loved it! Luke especially loved going faster and feeling the breeze on his face. His smile was priceless. It was a perfect evening and the sunset was just beautiful.

It was lots of fun and we look forward to many more boat rides this summer. Check out Marc and Sabrina's trusty boat companions, Molly and Ella.

15 Month Pics

After my all day photography class, we decided to try to put some of my brief knowledge to the test and see if we could take some 15 mth pics of the babies. We just hit the walking trails in our neighborhood and hoped for the best. I still have LOTS to learn about lighting, flash, exposure, etc, but we got some cute shots nonetheless. Most of them haven't been edited too extensively, so just imagine how great they would look with some fancy software edits =). I had to compress the images so they would upload, so some of the quality is lost.

Friends from Atlanta

This past weekend, our friends Joni, Mark and 15 month old Charlotte came to visit from Atlanta and we had SUCH a fun time. They arrived Friday afternoon and the babies started playing together almost instantly. Eveyone shared their toys nicely and got along very well.

Saturday was a very busy day. The guys, along with Mark's brother Brad and friend Marc, went to the driving range while us girls stayed behind with our little ones. After lunch, we loaded up the cars and headed for Discovery Place Kids for the afternoon. Just as we were pulling into the parking deck, a nice lady informed us that they were closed because of a water main break. Uh, oh...plan B. We decided to go to nearby Birkdale Village to walk around for a bit and let the babies play in the grassy area. The guys went to a local pub to watch the UNC game in OT while we let the Luke, Olivia and Charlotte play in the grass. The babies had some much fun "talking" to the people as they strolled past while they munched on some cheerios. Around 5pm, we headed for home so we could get ready for dinner. Joni made us homemade chicken pot pies-what a treat for us! Playtime, bathtime, and bedtime and then it was time to watch some basketball. Too bad NCSU didn't make it past the first round, but that's another story...

Sunday we went to brunch at the Knife and Fork and then to the park for a bit to enjoy the beautiful weather. Then sadly it was time for them to head for home. We had a great time and look forward to Joni visting with Charlotte sometime when Dan is in Japan.

On the road again

Well, it looks like Dan's travel schedule is ramping back up again. He is off to Philadelphia next week for a few days and then the inevitable...back to Japan. He is going to do a 2 week gone, 4 week home rotation indefinitely, but probably for at least 6 months. The good news is the weather is getting warmer so Luke, Olivia and I can venture outdoors more often. It is also easier (in certain ways!) now that they are walking. But we'll still miss him lots. We will be sure to make the most of our family time when he is home, especially on the weekends. Now, time to plan some fun things for the spring/summer...