Wilmington Vacation

Wilmington Beach

We spent last weekend at Wilmington Beach- a couple hours away from home. It was so nice and relaxing and it was much needed for Devin who has been working on a huge project at NC State for the past several weeks. I taped up a blanket and stuck it around Cambry's car seat to keep her head from flopping around when she slept. It worked great! Cambry found a few more things to help keep her head up - a shoe and a water bottle.

It was refreshing to see that Cambry still likes the beach and the ocean. She played in there until she literally couldn't stand any more. It was so much fun for all of us.

FAIL: I picked up this life jacket up at a garage sale and it was way too big- it probably would've strangled her more than preserved her life. We'll have to wait a few more years for it to fit her.

So sad that our only beach family photo I have sweet beach dreads. What can you do though? Cambry and Devin are cute enough to make up for it.

Fort Fisher Aquarium

They had this mist to make it EVEN MORE humid in 1/3 of the aquarium that messed up our camera for awhile, so all the pictures of the alligators, jelly fish, petting zoo etc. didn't turn out. Bummer. I was really impressed though with the variety of animal life that was here.

Cambry was so fascinated with the fish swimming by. She seemed so confused when she'd hit the glass and couldn't touch them. It was so entertaining to watch.

There was a "diving show" that I was really excited about and was certain we were going to see the sharks eat. Huge crowds gathered around the big glass to watch. It turned out to be a glorified "clean the tank's glass from the inside show". Haha.

We had a delightful time and are excited to come back again.

Carolina Beach

There are a few things beach towns can get away with that no other place could- like painting your house bright magenta or sky blue- and it all seems to work.

Devin and Cambry discussing the philosophies of water

What a handsome Beau I've married

Historic Down Town Wilmington

Tea time

How cute are horse drawn trolleys?

I adored this romantic little boardwalk. Not only was I loving the lamp posts, but I loved all the riverside shops, cafes, river boats and the nice cool breeze that softened the blow of humidity.

She is so angelic

We were driving into town and made Devin stop at these beautiful old plantation homes. I"m so in love with the old Southern look and am so glad that they upkeep these houses.

Love these columns and big wrap around porches. Seriously- southern architects got it right!

I had to throw this in- it was so humid and Cambry kept drinking so much and just kept retaining more and more water. Her face is so bloated here!

This Baptist church is already really tall, but it doesn't have any grounds so literally the front door is about 10 feet away from the corner to make its presence even more commanding. I love it.

I know I'm a nerd because I love clocks too.

haha. little kid in a candy shop

Cambry's first ice cream mustache. If she's anything like her father, it definitely will not be her last. Bless them.

Last time on the beach this trip. It's a sad parting every time.

USS North Carolina Battleship

This is a WWII Battleship that was an important war piece, especially after so many ships were destroyed in Pearl Harbor. It's now retired in Wilmington.

Right before we walk onto the ramp... Devin is antsy with anticipation!

We walk onto the ramp and I'm trying to get Cambry's little sun hat out of the backpack. My brand new phone comes out with it and falls right in between the up and down ramp to get onto the ship! It's like a 3 inch gap and drops 30 feet into the mud and rocks! I go back inside and ask the employees how I get down there and they tell me I can't go down there because that's where the alligators stay. ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDING ME?? A 19 year old employee that has huge mutton chops tells me to wait a minute. He comes back 5 minutes later covered in mud and holding my phone that has a giant mound of mud on it as well. He tells us that he went darting around down below just trying not to get too close to an alligator. Neither he or my phone have any traces of alligator bites! He cleans it up, and it works just fine - just has a few scratches on the screen protector. MY HERO!

If you look really close you can see a giant 12-14 foot alligator on the left and a smaller 8 foot one on the right.

20 minutes later... all aboard!!

Squatting down prego style isn't the prettiest, but these guns sure were cool.

Sleeping with Claustrophobia?? The beds were stacked 3 high and several deep. I have new respect for the men who served on this ship.

There were dozens and dozens of ladders going up and down to different compartments of the ship and was really exciting to explore it.

Seriously, this ship is so massive!

Check our our big guns!

I'm sad this picture is blury, but we were in the process of descending down into the engine rooms. The way Devin's face lit up in the candy store was nothing compared to this.

Cambry was a little nervous about being below deck and resorted to sucking her thumb.

Devin checking out the Low Pressure Turbine (a big part of the engine). The light on the glass is actually the glow radiating from Devin as he is figuring out how it works. Visiting this ship was Devin's favorite part of the trip- by far.

Camera Clean up

A couple months ago at stake conference the Temple President invited everyone to bring their kids onto the grounds and walk around with them. I soon found that the temple grounds is about the only place that has GOOD, non-nasty/prickly grass. We live 10 minutes away from the Raleigh Temple, so we come once in awhile and take a gander around the grounds. I think it does more for me than her. I'm amazed at how calm and peaceful I feel after being here for 20 minutes.

A couple weeks ago Devin's uncle Kent that lives in Atlanta was on business not too far from us and we spent the afternoon with him. He is such a great guy- it's the first time I'd met him and was so impressed with how personable he is. (sidenote: no walk is complete for Cambry without holding a giant leaf).
Now that Cambry's an independent walker, she is 100% independent with one exception... If she wants to go off-roading, she'll hold on to ONE finger.

Date night at the Temple

Cambry dances to everything- music, appliances, waterfalls/fountains- in this case it's the dishwasher. It reminds me of the kid in "August Rush" that hears the music all around him.

Provident Living

I've had a desire to be more self sufficient and less dependent on stores to sustain my family. In the past I've thought of all the things I want to do- plant a garden and can all excess, create my own greeting cards, make my own clothes, make every meal from scratch, etc. I give up quickly since I get exhausted just thinking about all the things I should do.

I decided to stop overwhelming myself and take some baby steps. For almost a month now we haven't had cold cereal in our house. For an Airhart, this is a BIG DEAL, since this is not only what you eat for breakfast, but it's a comfort food. Once a week I take an evening and make my grandma's recipe of whole wheat blender pancakes/waffles (the real deal with raw wheat kernels) and stick them in the freezer. In the morning we pop them in the toaster and top it with applesauce. A batch lasts 4 days so the other days we trade off between oatmeal, brown rice cereal, and omelets. Not only is it nice to be saving $$, but my body feels SOO much better! It's also very satisfying to provide a healthy start for Devin and Cambry.

uh, I pulled this picture off of allrecipes.com since I rarely try to make food aesthetically pleasing for photos, but you get the point.

New Throne

Cambry grew out of her infant car seat, so we got her the toddler front facing one. Instead of looking like a "fat guy in a little coat" she looks so dwarf-like in the car. She loves seeing more of what's going on though.

Cambry's favorite game is this Cat and Mouse game she plays with Devin. She's always carrying around a stuffed animal or an article of clothing when she's trotting around the house. She loves her daddy.

Memorial Day

On Memorial Day we celebrated by cooling off at the pool, unfortunately we didn't take our camera to that. In the evening we went to Bond Park and grilled up some shish kabobs and hot dogs with some of our friends. We've had some record highs for May, and it is HOT and HUMID! Last week Cambry also decided she wanted to be an independent walker, and hasn't stopped. At the barbecue her whole head was drenched with sweat and her cheeks were cherry red because despite it being 92 degrees and 90 percent humidity (at 6pm!) she couldn't seem to hold still for more than 3 seconds. She is such a happy girl when she's busy. I took her little sun dress off hoping to cool her down.

Devin was extra manly and slaved over the grill most of the evening. What a trooper he was...I wasn't really good about taking pictures. I'm still learning the art of keeping an eye on Cambry on the go and having an eye for photo opps.

Here are some of our favorite people in Cary. We've been really fortunate to make really good friends here. Even though it was extra hot, things always seem so much more tolerable when you're in good company.
I splashed this little rascal a lot in the drinking fountain and she turned into a big sticky, sweaty mess with a very full diaper from drinking fountain run off. She ended up being the white trash baby that just walked around in nothing but her diaper. She's cute white trash though.
Random Pic: For the past month or so, I've been taking Cambry outside for walks after her morning nap and let her walk and explore. Since it's too hot outside, I now take her indoors to big warehouse stores such as Target, Walmart, Bed Bath and Beyond, REI, etc and let her be the guide. Here she is at Lowes patting the row of carpet samples. She is so curious- she loves these adventures (and also takes REALLY good afternoon naps after one of these outings). She seems to be most interested in standing where other people are already standing, things wrapped in plastic, metal objects that make a lot of noise when you drop them, and shiny things.