Early Summer Trip to the East Coast - Part II

Nancy and Brian had a prior work commitment to attend on Saturday, which worked out great for us to drive down to Aunt Carol and Uncle Jeff's house (opposite side of Charlotte)! The boys had a blast! Brock played with Andrew & Evan's (my cousins, Aunt Carol & Uncle Jeff's sons) legos.... possibly slightly destroying a red pirate ship...sorry Evan! And Kade had a ball with the VCR door flap!

We also celebrated Kade's birthday a little early too. Uh oh... this was like a practice round - now he's going to KNOW what to do with that smash cake next week!!

Looks a bit unsure...

Sly little grin like he knows this is a special treat!

Oh yeah! Give me more!!

 Thank you Aunt Carol and Uncle Jeff for a wonderful visit and tasty dinner! Thank you to Ara for letting Kade borrow your bed - he had a fabulous 2.5 hour nap there! ;)

Then it was back to Uncle Brian and Aunt Nancy's house.... and Riley and Chase! I adore that my boys are animal lovers! It's okay Brock, we'll still love you if you're a cat person. ;)

And boy, the foosball table was a hit! Who knew you could play by yourself for an hour plus?? ;)

 More fun to play with Uncle Brian though!

Picture taken by Brock and the ONLY picture of Aunt Nancy, so sorry Aunt Nancy - this is what I have to work with ;) 

One evening, we attempted to enjoy some outdoor time. Kade was NOT a fan of the scratchy grass! 

Hi Mom, yes, I refuse to have BOTH legs touch this green crap!

Ahhh.... so much better!

 Brock and Riley reveled in the backyard chasing each other.

Alas, the weekend was over and it was time to board the plane for Nashville!

Tom and Blaine waiting for our flight - Brock was in awe of big cousin Blaine's height! 

We were greeted at BNA by almost the entire family! So nice to have all these helpers!  

 We came at the best time - there was a lull in the humidity and it was gorgeous while we were there! Brock and Kade explored every inch of Grammy & Grandpa's house - showing just how un-baby-proofed their house was! Good thing there were several adults and two teenagers always on hand to grab a crawling Kade!

 Grandpa treated us all to a day at Nashville Shores. Thank you! This place was a hit with everyone! I definitely have two little water babies! Swimming lessons start back home in less than two weeks - hope the weather gets a bit warmer for that (currently 64 for a high today!).

Blaine and Reagan were so excited to show Brock and Kade all the cool spots!

Brock is in most of the pictures in the background - just too busy to stop and pose!

 LOVED splashing!

 I thought it was cute when I put Brock to bed that evening, he wanted to ask me about "Daddy's sister" and if we could come back and play at the water park again - But ONLY (and he was very adamant about this) if we went with Blaine and Reagan. :)

Aunt Brandi telling Brock he can't swim so far out there! My little sensitive guy is a little too brave in the water!

After some awesome naps for the two littlest cousins (and one bigger cousin), it was time for snack! I'm so glad that Barbara and Tom were able to enjoy some time with their Seattle grandchildren. It's the little things like this that I'm sure they savored - watching little 11 month old Kade pick up strawberries with his chunky little fingers. :)

The family decided on Cracker Barrel for dinner - "Eason, party of 8 and a highchair!"

These horses were fascinating - Kade tried catching them as they galloped away. So sweet - Grandpa and Grammy ended up gifting one for us to take home!

Blaine had just come from TWO baseball games, that unfortunately we missed due to naps. The crowd was hungry - but so cute all lined up! :)

 Late night after dinner, and after packing for the trip home the following day; it was time for Brock to say his goodnights. He climbed right up on Grandpa's lap and laid like this for quite some time. So sweet.

Quick trip in Nashville before our flight home through Chicago, but it was a really nice visit to see everyone. I know Brent appreciates that I added a stop to my trip to see his family. Thank you so much for welcoming us in to your home and allowing the three of us to commandeer your bedroom!

I'm sure it was wonderful for everyone we visited, but I know it was even more special for Brock (Kade too, in a way). Just seeing his face light up while playing with his Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and being reminded you are "Daddy's/Momma's Momma" and "Daddy's/Momma's Daddy" was totally worth all the traveling to Raleigh, Charlotte, and Nashville.

....Just too bad I just couldn't get tickets to the Grand Ole Opry that night to see Carrie Underwood..... next time! ;)

Early Summer Trip to the East Coast - Part I

 In one short month from our trip to Connecticut, I braved the cross-country flight again.... except solo this time. Note to self - I need a little more time in between trips next time. It was mostly okay.... Kade is just an entirely different baby than Brock was - he does NOT sit still. Brock is a wild three year old, but can busy himself with his tablet and stickers and activities. The only thing Kade wanted, was to stand up on my legs the entire trip and look at all the people behind us! Also, poor Brock has been getting nose bleeds and got a doozy of one on the airplane. Not fun at all when he doesn't want the tissues up by his face!
But, the airplane ride is only for a finite amount of time and we arrived and all was well again!

On our first full day in North Carolina, Grandma treated us to a visit to the Museum of Life & Science in Durham. I haven't been there in over 20 years, but we (my mother and I) all had fun memories of that place!

Brock loved exploring the museum. He really liked "the clouds part".

Brock enjoyed building with Grandma!

I had heard from friends the outside area is really nice and we all had to agree!

Brock loved the butterfly house (I really was surprised he let me put the butterfly on his finger!) and even pointed out all the butterflies to Kade!

Both boys especially loved the dinosaur walk. Brock kept asking if they were going to talk. My little sensitive guy does not like to be scared.

After naps in the car and dropping Grandma at home, we ran over to Helen's to see her and Jill. Only the boys this time, Alexandra was off to a birthday party!

SUPER cute picture of the boys - Kade and Lucas - 5 days apart.

It was nice to see Brock and Ryan playing together. It's moments like these where I get sad we don't live here anymore. It would be so sweet to see our children all playing together all the time!

Ryan (4), Brock (3), Nathan (23 mos)
Kade (11 mos), Lucas (11 mos)

The following day we met Papa for brunch at "The Egg and I"; cute little place in Cary. Then we let Brock burn off some steam at JumpStreet - an indoor trampoline park nearby.

 So cute - he loved it!

We stopped in at Starbucks next door before saying goodbye to Papa. We'll see you next month on the west coast!

 The rest of our Raleigh stop was spent hanging out with Grandma and Uncle David..... and a lot of eating. :) We also stopped in to visit Beck, Andrew & Will, but alas, no pictures! :( We need to document how tall all these boys are getting! Next time!! Thanks for letting us play with all your toys Andrew & Will!

Working on that spoon skill! 

Beat the drum, It's Fun! 

Had to pose with our new pajamas! Thank you Grandma!

Kade and Brock loved swinging on the bench and watching all the cars go by. It's okay we only cleaned it on the last night there. ;)

It was a little more humid there than Seattle!

On Friday, we started our trek southwest to Charlotte via Greensboro.

 We stopped at the Greensboro Science Center which is a zoo, aquarium, and museum! It was hot and humid. It was disgusting outside. After walking all the way to see the tigers, we all ran back in to the air conditioning. I don't know how we'll ever manage North Carolina summers if we move back!!!

Awesome turtles!

I love how Kade sees these animals and is pointing to the lemurs!!

Back in the air conditioned aquarium section and much happier!

The boys and I in a bubble

 Brock followed Uncle David around the entire week. I think David kept busy for the four days he was with my children and it helped him stay out of trouble. They're so much work (for a 30 year old "bachelor" who has never babysat in his life), you can't think about anything else!

Finally, we met up with Uncle Brian in Lexington for a fantastic barbecue meal at Lexington Barbecue! I say finally because we had a little trouble with the actual location of this one.... Anyway, it was good and glad my mother suggested it.

Man those hush puppies look good right now!!

 Both my boys devoured their meals! (Well, Brock needed a little push with a bit of ketchup on his pork...) But Kade ate A LOT. He loved that barbecue and when I didn't notice he had finished his plate, he started grabbing for my plate wanting more!

After dinner, we said our goodbyes to David and my mom and loaded up Brian's car, headed for Charlotte!