Pirates and Planets

This weekend, we visited the Schiele Natural History Museum in Gastonia with the Weltz Family. Not only did we get to enjoy a special pirate exhibit, but the planetarium as well!

The boys loved dressing up like Pirates...

and Gill and I had a fun reenacting as well!

The big guys loved steering the Pirate Ship with Daddy

and racing to hoist the Jolly Roger with Preston.

After Pirates, we visited the Planetarium. It was the first time the kids had such an "out of this world" experience. Patrick and Finnegan loved the special time with Daddy, but Sullivan made it known very early into the show that he was NOT interested, so he and I waited in the lobby while everyone explored the galaxies.

Then we headed outside to the Nature Trails

and enjoyed a picnic lunch.

Who knew Pirates and Planets could be such a winning combination?

Harbour Town Lighthouse

During our trip to Hilton Head, we visited Harbour Town.

The boys spotted the Lighthouse at the edge of the water and said they wanted to go up.

We decided it would be a great adventure, 90 feet to the top!

I strapped Sully in the Bjorn, and up we went.

The climb was not an easy one, but Patrick and Finnegan were troopers!

When we got to the top, the views were amazing and the boys were so proud of themselves!

The walk back down was much easier, but we all stopped to rest, and enjoy some ice cream,

after our adventure to the top of the lighthouse.

The Bananas, The Milk and The Italian

During our visit to Hilton Head, Finnegan spent some quality time with Uncle Paolo.

It was rest time, and Finny wanted to make a smoothie.

Being a good sport, Paolo offered to help.

8 bananas, 1/2 Gallon of Milk and 7 cups of smoothies later -

Gill and Paolo had eaten their weight of "Finnegan's Famous Best Smoothie EVER".

Finn had a blast with Paolo, he was so kind and patient with him.

And, in typical male fashion, they bonded over food!

Wordless Wednesday

Pop Pop's Par 70

This weekend, we went to Hilton Head Island to celebrate Pop Pop's 70th Birthday.

Nana and PopPop met us on Saturday morning at The Flying Biscuit

before we headed on the road

We all got settled in Hilton Head and then hit the pool for an afternoon dip

On Sunday morning we headed to the beach.

I brought new construction vehicles for the Patrick and Finnegan and they were a hit!

In true form, they loved building at the construction site,

but kept going to the water to wash their hands and keep them clean - love it!

Patrick also used his train to make "train tracks" in the sand.

Our Crew posed for some pictures....

and Paolo and Gill doted on Sully!

When we returned from the beach it was time for PopPop's Birthday Dinner!

The table was set...

including custom placemats, personalized tee-shirt favors and a putting green cake.

Ready to party!

Patrick LOVED Nana's delicious linguine...

and Finnegan could NOT resist the cake.

Seriously, before we could sing "Happy Birthday", we turned around to find Finnegan's face in the cake! Luckily, Pop Pop was a great sport and thoroughly enjoyed the surprise!

It was a great celebration - Happy Birthday, Pop Pop!

Flashback Friday

This past weekend, we gave Sullivan his jumperoo and he absolutely LOVES it!

Here is a look back at his Big Brothers' first jumps:

Finnegan bouncing for his first time: December 2007

Patrick has his first jump - December 2007

Wilderness

This morning, the boys and I experienced all sorts of wilderness...

First, we found a hairy "Mountain Man", aka Uncle Brendan, on our couch...

and, once the boys recovered from the fright of The Mountain Man,

we explored the Greenway with Isabella, Jenna and Melissa.

Finn helped Isabella collect "nature" while Patrick watched

(he didn't want to get his hands dirty)

The kids ran and explored...

held hands...

and stopped for a snack.

And, then we went to Starbucks, cause that was enough Wilderness for one day!

R2D2

This afternoon, a cute little fellow arrived in the mail.

He was sent from Grandma Peggy,

although Patrick and Finnegan told me he came from "outer space on his rocket ship."

Knowing nothing of the Jedi (and good thing, cause neither do I),

R2D2 became their new robot from another planet.

The boys worked together and played with their robot and playdough for over an hour

(which in toddler time is about 4 days)

They can't wait to show Daddy their new robot tomorrow,

and with an added treat of Uncle Brendan being here -

I'm sure the playtime will be Out of This World!

Thank you, Grandma Peggy!