I finally got to cash in on my Valentine's gift from Jake when I flew to NM for a long weekend. The flight into El Paso was long and I was ever so anxious to get to those babies, but I met a nice guy that I spent the whole second flight talking to... so that helped the time pass. Courtney and I made the long trek from El Paso to Carlsbad and got to spill our guts the whole way - I loved catching up and sharing so much with her. When we got to the house, the kids were already asleep, but I did get to peek at them :)
Bright and early the next morning I heard my door knob turn - low and behold I see little Lily hugging her pooey and staring at me. I said "come and see me!" and she jumped on the bed and let me smother her with hugs and kisses. For the first time, I didn't have to start at square one with her. Then Colton came running in; he was a bit more distant but still let me love on him a little bit. We had a yummy breakfast and did puzzles while watching Buzz and Woody, just relaxing with my babies was so much fun. I had lots of help the whole weekend with my hair and makeup -- Lily was very in to helping and exploring all the big girl things I brought in my suit case. We went out for a fun lunch at Sonic, hit the grocery store and then came home and played outside until dinner. I kept blowing bubbles and there was just enough wind to carry them all over the yard - the babies were fascinated and chased them as hard as they could. If they caught one, they'd jump up and down with such excitement... it was an epic activity.
That night Courtney made AMAZING homemade carne asada, salsa and pico. We feasted on the freshness and it makes me salivate just thinking about it. The babies went to bed and the grown ups had some wine and watched a movie.
The next day we got up and headed down the road to the Carlsbad Caverns. I, of course, came unprepared and had to chose between flip flops and super sucky flats to make a 2 hour track 800 feet below ground. Oh well, it could have been worse. We started walking down into the cavern and the temperature dropped dramatically within like 10 feet, and the smell from all the bat dookey was terrible. Courtney looked like she was going to throw up or pass out from holding her breath, but she got ahold of herself after a while.
Lily was the leader of the group more or less... she headed the front of the line with a flashlight alllll the way down. She was looking for the bears - the "brown ones" as she said, even though I told her the only bears in the caverns were of the purple, hotdog eating variety.
Luckily, we didn't run into them because they were all either "sleeping or hiding," said the Lilybug. At one point during the hike she farted and it was soooo funny because all she did was yell out, "whoops! excuse me :)" Colton was so clumsy that we couldn't really let him walk on his own - the whole track was down hill and he would have just hit the ground and rolled to the bottom. I felt bad because Courtney and Justin kept passing him back and forth - he's a rock!
Luckily, we didn't run into them because they were all either "sleeping or hiding," said the Lilybug. At one point during the hike she farted and it was soooo funny because all she did was yell out, "whoops! excuse me :)" Colton was so clumsy that we couldn't really let him walk on his own - the whole track was down hill and he would have just hit the ground and rolled to the bottom. I felt bad because Courtney and Justin kept passing him back and forth - he's a rock!
We had a terrible and overpriced lunch at the cafe and then got the kids some miner hats, which they LOVED. I wanted to start singing HIIII-HOOOOO!
After hopping in the car, Lily and I began to snack on some left over Corn Nuts, and she just got herself and COlton tickled to DEATH over the "cruuuuuuuuuunchy" sound they made in your mouth. Courtney and I were almost in tears at their silliness. The tiniest things can make them laugh for hours. We got home and played outside a little bit more, then made cookies together. I think the kids ate more dough that actual cookies in the end, but it was so much fun to have them help out and look at everything with such curiosity.
THe following weekend my Mom and Dad came down from Michigan for a weekend visit. We had a fun time out Thursday night to dinner and around Goldsboro. Friday (still feeling stick from the strep and ear infection I had been blessed with earlier in the week) I decided to take the day off and take my parents in to Raleigh. We had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and shopped around the mall for a bit; then we went over to Whole Foods where they treated Jake and I to all sorts of yummy, fresh and organic groceries. When we got home, Darren drove up from Clinton and we had a BBQ at our place. Yum yum - steaks, chicken, veggies, corn on the cob and angel food cake for dessert. Of course, let's not forget the case of glass-bottled Coke Jake picked up from Sam's. Such a treat!
After hopping in the car, Lily and I began to snack on some left over Corn Nuts, and she just got herself and COlton tickled to DEATH over the "cruuuuuuuuuunchy" sound they made in your mouth. Courtney and I were almost in tears at their silliness. The tiniest things can make them laugh for hours. We got home and played outside a little bit more, then made cookies together. I think the kids ate more dough that actual cookies in the end, but it was so much fun to have them help out and look at everything with such curiosity.
THe following weekend my Mom and Dad came down from Michigan for a weekend visit. We had a fun time out Thursday night to dinner and around Goldsboro. Friday (still feeling stick from the strep and ear infection I had been blessed with earlier in the week) I decided to take the day off and take my parents in to Raleigh. We had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and shopped around the mall for a bit; then we went over to Whole Foods where they treated Jake and I to all sorts of yummy, fresh and organic groceries. When we got home, Darren drove up from Clinton and we had a BBQ at our place. Yum yum - steaks, chicken, veggies, corn on the cob and angel food cake for dessert. Of course, let's not forget the case of glass-bottled Coke Jake picked up from Sam's. Such a treat!
The next day we all shoved into a car and drove out to Southport, a little town right on the coast. Our first stop was for lunch, at this little hole in the wall place called the Yacht Basin Provision Company. The atmosphere was amazing - we walked in to find a freakishly friendly staff in an overly crowded yet open kitchen, a menu with barely a dozen items on it, and a giant patio with tables right on top of the old rickety pier. Mom, Dad and Darren all order the special crab cake and grilled shrimp platter, while Jake and I got the crab cake sandwiches. SWEET JESUS THEY WERE THE BEST THINGS I HAD HAD IN MY LIFE - my thighs are quivering just thinking about it two weeks later. Just imagine: a fresh, lump crab cake, toped with house-made tarter sauce and an obnoxiously yet perfectly toasted bun; fresh lettuce, tomato and onion and french fries. THANK YOU GOD!
We sat so content, listening to the steel drum music playing over the speakers, enjoying to cool ocean breeze that brought the smell of salt and summer freedom right to our table. Needless to say, we'll definitely be going back sometime this summer to binge again. What a gem of a spot!
We then took the ferry out to the NC Aquarium, which I wasn't crazy pumped for to start with, but it turned out to be something I really enjoyed. They had some great displays/exhibits and it was nice to just walk around at our leisure and be silly with one another.
We took the ferry back to the port and then set out to find a bistro on the marina that had been recommended to us by the folks at the Provision Co. Again, we had a fantastic culinary experience with fresh foccacia bread and oil/herbs to dip in... JUMBO JUMBO shrimp and yummy house-made ravioli...
and of course, CRAZY desserts like cannoli and coconut and pineapple cake. No one fought or bickered, every one was laughing and it was just such a gift to have my family there with me. The only bad thing: we missed Courtney Lauren. It just didn't feel 100% complete without her.
We then took the ferry out to the NC Aquarium, which I wasn't crazy pumped for to start with, but it turned out to be something I really enjoyed. They had some great displays/exhibits and it was nice to just walk around at our leisure and be silly with one another.
We took the ferry back to the port and then set out to find a bistro on the marina that had been recommended to us by the folks at the Provision Co. Again, we had a fantastic culinary experience with fresh foccacia bread and oil/herbs to dip in... JUMBO JUMBO shrimp and yummy house-made ravioli...
and of course, CRAZY desserts like cannoli and coconut and pineapple cake. No one fought or bickered, every one was laughing and it was just such a gift to have my family there with me. The only bad thing: we missed Courtney Lauren. It just didn't feel 100% complete without her.
After the long drive home, we all went to bed because we were dead tired. Mom and Dad left early the morning and we spent the day recovering from and exciting weekend. This week we only have 4 days, and then come Thursday evening we're off to Miami for our honeymoon cruise :) Here's me sending up a prayer that it goes by fast... Lord knows we need a break.
Tonight we're going out to an early bday dinner with friends for Jake's 26th - tomorrow we'll be going to a Durham Bulls baseball game which we're really excited for! Pictures to come <3
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