NC Trip

We took a trip to North Carolina a few weeks ago to visit our families.  I was originally planning on taking the boys on my own but Brian decided at the last minute to drive with us.  He stayed in Cary with his parents and worked from there so he didn't have to take any time off.

We drove all day Saturday, had dinner with Brian's parents, and left Brian in Cary while the boys and I continued on to Wilmington.  Our first stop was my mom's house.  We drove through a terrible storm with tons of lightning and then crazy rain but eventually made it.

Day 1:

We headed to Wrightsville Beach first thing in the morning.  It was an overcast day but that also meant it wasn't blazing hot which was nice.

We spent 5 hours at the beach before leaving so Gray could nap.

The big boys were much more confident in the waves this year and really enjoyed their Boogie Boards.

We have collected a million beach toys over the years!

Day 2:

There were storms scattered around on Tuesday so we decided to hold off on going to the beach in the morning.  Instead we went to Airlie Gardens after some rain ended and walked around for a couple of hours.  The summer exhibit was called "Imagine" and the boys enjoyed searching the garden for all the sculptures.

Carter had just finished his photography camp and was excited to practice what he'd learned.

I let Rylan use my old point and shoot camera and he took a lot of photos too.

That meant I was limited to taking pictures with my phone the entire trip - but luckily it has a pretty good camera.

After studying the radar, we decided we'd try to fit in a couple of hours of beach time after lunch.  We went to Kure Beach this time since there is free parking there which would be nice if we had to leave right away.  The waves were much bigger that day and it was a completely different experience for the boys.  I was constantly watching the radar and we left just in time before another thunderstorm came through.

After dinner that night we took the boys to Hugh MacRae park to play on the new playground (and I got to run a few miles).

Day 3:

We woke up to more rain in the morning.  So we headed to Krispy Kreme for doughnuts!

We then went to the Cape Fear Museum for a few hours since the rain seemed to be sticking around.

Though the radar didn't look awesome, we headed to Wrightsville Beach after the museum.  There were a couple of light sprinkles, but the bad storms missed us and we were able to get in three or four hours of beach time.

Gray was really brave and enjoyed playing in the water (even after getting knocked down a few times).

He also wanted to get buried like his brothers.

That evening the rain cleared out enough and we headed down to Fort Fisher so the boys could take some pictures with their cameras.

The boys weren't supposed to get wet (only feet were allowed to get wet) but that didn't stop any of them from "accidentally" getting caught by a few waves.

Little man was a dancing machine!

It was a gorgeous evening.

We also went to the actual fort and walked the loop around it.  We learned a lot about the second battle at Fort Fisher at the Cape Fear Museum earlier in the day so it was neat seeing the actual place so soon.

Day 4:

Finally, a sunny day!  We headed to the beach early and spent about 6 hours there!

The tide was super low when we arrived and there was a pool of water before the waves that stretched a few hundred yards that the boys loved playing in.

The water eventually crossed over the sand but then the big boys rode their Boogie Boards down the beach in the pool water that now had a current.

I didn't take many pictures that day but it was great to finally have a day that was warm and felt like a beach day.

That evening we went to Hugh MacRae park again to play for an hour before bed.

Day 5:

On Thursday morning we packed up our stuff and headed to my dad's house for a couple of days.  After breakfast we headed downtown and visited the North Carolina Battleship.  We've visited the ship with the big boys a couple of times before but this was Gray's first time there.

There are lots of areas inside the boat to explore and you go up and down lots of ladders.

We even saw one of the alligators that hangs out around the battleship.  I've never seen one before but remember always hearing that there were some here when I was a kid.

With the clear skies came the heat.  We hung out with my dad at his house in the middle of the day when it was super hot and then headed to the beach in the late afternoon before dinner.

Day 6:

Jan had been traveling and got back home overnight.  After breakfast, we went to the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher.  The aquarium is small but has some good exhibits.

Again, with it so hot, we hung out at the house during the middle of the day and then headed to the beach in the late afternoon.  I attempted to take a picture with Gray but this is the best I got :)

Day 7: 

On Saturday morning we packed up again and drove to Cary to stay with Brian's parents for a couple of days.  I didn't take any pictures that day but we went out to lunch and took the boys to the neighborhood pool in the afternoon.  The pool was warm, huge, and had a slide and diving board so the boys had a great time.

Day 8:

I wanted to get in a run so we went to Apex Community Park and Brian hung with the boys while I ran.  There is an awesome new ninja warrior course there that just opened and the boys had so much fun (even if it was ridiculously hot and humid already).

It was crazy hot on Sunday (102F, I think, before factoring in the humidity).  Brian had gotten tickets for all of us to go to the Holly Springs Salamanders baseball game that evening but the heat had finally developed into some intense thunderstorms.  We decided to go to the stadium even though the storms seemed about to hit.  Somehow they broke around us and four innings were played before the rain began.

Brian got front row seats right behind the plate and it was fun watching the pitches come in.  Plus the it was $1 hot dog night :)

We stuck around during the rain delay in hopes they would start back up.

They played fun music and we all danced, Rylan got his picture with the mascot, and the teams had a dance off.

Unfortunately the game resumed for only one out so it could reach 4 1/2 innings (and thus be counted as a finished game) and then they called it.  We still had fun and really enjoyed the brand new stadium.

The next morning we packed up for the last time and headed home.  We had a great trip to North Carolina!