Beach Hike

Hiking Hatteras Island from Robert Caldwell on Vimeo.

We drove up to the outer banks Friday afternoon and camped that evening at a nice little $20 a night place that ended up being free because no one ever came around to collect the $ and there was no where to leave it. We walked down to the beach that night by the light of our headlamps and had fun watching ghost crabs scurry across the beach. There were alot of them! (thanks for the reminder and the awesome video Rob!)

At 1:00 am there was a crazy 15 minute storm that blew the tent over with us in it and broke one of the tent poles. What a way to wake up!! I could not stop laughing. We decided there was no way to sleep well with a broken tent and so we packed it up and "slept" in the good old van. We were all awake and uncomfortable around 6am and so we made breakfast and started on our way. We hiked 6 miles along the banks from Hatteras to Avon and enjoyed taking our time and exploring a bit. We had a great time hunting for treasures and enjoying the sun and the ocean air. A large stretch of the beach we had totally to ourselves and the other parts were mostly empty except for a few fisherman. We finished the hike around noon, stopped at the local dairy queen and headed back home. It was a fun little one day get away and the kids had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa Winters. Thanks!! :)

What's goin on

Well I finally finished painting Parker's room, after 3 coats. Whew. I had done racing stripes when he was younger and that was really a pain to sand down and prime over. I recommend never painting racing stripes unless you want them to stay there forever. We found some sweet finds on Craigslist with the loft bunk and the bookshelf to the right. Parker is loving his new Star Wars room and loves to put legos together on his desk :)



Jumping onto pillows like every child with a bunk bed must do

Stake Day of Service Project that Greg organized at Urban Ministries of Durham. Had a great bunch of folks and arteeests working on this outdoor wall mural symbolizing hope and several other smaller logo murals. Urban Ministries is a non-profit group providing food, clothing, shelter, rehabilitation and education for the needy. The Mural is not quite finished yet.



Finding a surprise when we were watering the ferns



Doesn't he age well?



Pics taken on the Company Mill Trail in Umstead. Great little family hike from the Harrison entrance.

Updates

Well, I am not going to be on the TV show after all which is a little bit of a bummer and quite a relief at the same time. My friend Cheryl will still be on but they decided to take a different angle and just use her very entertaining chef husband to help her which I totally understand. I think I should use this as encouragement to go ahead and finish some projects going on at my own house (like painting Parker's room) but it is not as much fun to paint your own house now is it? ;)

We pulled the plug on Meadow's passie this week (I know, I know, it's about time) and as I have nightmare flashbacks of staying up past midnight with a wailing Parker for seriously two weeks, I am pleasantly surprised and holding my breath as we are now on day 2 of no passie with Meadow and she walks around saying "I'm a big girl now, passies are for babies." I am thinking this might be too good to be true but I will remain optimistic. : ) We went to Target today and she got to pick out a big girl prize. She chose "Once upon a Wedding Belle" or Belle in a beautiful wedding gown. Go big girl Meadow!! :)

I am 22! Really I am...inside

I know why the caged bird sings. Because the children picked him from the store for their Mother for Mother's day. He sings quite lovely even if he is mechanical :)

The Karate Kids. Greg took them to a karate demo at the Mall on Saturday where they both chopped a board in half with their bare hands and were really excited about it.

Food Allergy Awareness Week May 10-16

Founded in 1991, the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) is the world leader in information about food allergy, a potentially fatal condition that afflicts approximately 12 million Americans, or one out of every 25, and is rapidly increasing in prevalence. A nonprofit organization based in Fairfax, Va., FAAN is dedicated to increasing public awareness, providing advocacy and education, and advancing research on behalf of all those affected by food allergies and anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction.

Until there is a cure, education is the key.



Be a PAL: Protect A Life™ From Food Allergies is an educational awareness program designed to help parents and educators teach students what food allergies are and how to help their friends who have food allergies.

The PAL program teaches five simple steps kids can take to keep their classmates safe:

1. Food allergies are serious. Don’t make jokes about them.
2. Don’t share food with friends who have food allergies.
3. Wash your hands after eating.
4. Ask what your friends are allergic to, and help them avoid it.
5. If a friend who has food allergies becomes ill, get help immediately!

A PAL Hero is someone whose actions help prevent a serious allergic reaction, or even save a life.

Bring the PAL program to your school today! Make a classroom presentation, provide information for school health fairs, or take advantage of other opportunities to spread awareness.

Click here for printable brochure

Some Exciting News

I am not pregnant. lol. Isn't that what everyone thought?

A good friend of mine applied to be on a TV show called Home Made Simple on TLC. This time around they are focusing on friends helping friends complete projects around the house. They came and interviewed us together and then interviewed her with her family and we all must have done alright because they got selected! I am excited to get to help her complete projects around the house like sewing curtains or painting or planting or something like that. Maybe I will learn some mad new skills too! Regardless, it will be so fun ; ) It is filming in Cary the weekend of the 15th, but I don't know when it will air yet.

A special story about Cheryl is that I think I prayed her into my life. When we met I only had Parker who was about 18 months and I was going through an "I am a lonely Mom and need to get out and meet other Mom's with kids the same age as mine" phase and I expressed this to my Heavenly Father and I met Cheryl that very day at Bond Park in Cary. She and her husband were moving into the area and didn't know very many people. She was with her son Max who was also 18 months and we both had on sweats or something like that and were hiding our greasy hair under baseball caps and we have been friends ever since. lol :) We were also pregnant with our second children together and they were born a week apart. She has been a blessing in my life and I know that God loves us and answers our prayers. I also have to say now that I feel surrounded by wonderful women and friends in all stages of life including my family and I am so grateful for that and for all of you. :D


And I have no pictures of the two of us together, only our kids...but here is Cheryl with My Mother-in-law/Greg's Mom Debbie :)

Burnt butter frosting

First I have to say Happy Birthday to my beeeeautiful Mom!!!



This post is in honor of her. There are so many wonderful things about my Mom that I don't know where to begin and listing them all would just feel trite so It will have to suffice to say that she is wonderful. It is true. That being said, she makes the best frosting I have ever tasted called Burnt Butter Frosting. I know that her Mom used to make it too. I also know that it doesn't sound very appetizing but it IS. To us it is best a quarter of an inch thick on a warm spice cake. Lol. One of the best combinations known to man and my birthday cake of request since I can remember. Here is the recipe (although we never really measure the powdered sugar or milk because eyeballing it seems to work just fine) :

1/2 cup butter
4 cups confectioners' sugar
4 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS
Place the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the butter is a nice tan color. If it gets dark brown or black you have allowed it to burn too long. When butter has been "burned" remove the saucepan from the heat.
Slowly mix in confectioners' sugar. Beat on high speed of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the milk a tablespoon at a time until desired spreading consistency is achieved. Use frosting immediately, as this frosting will set up quickly.

You can also add vanilla if you like, but not necessary. Enjoy. Thanks Mom for being wonderful you!

Pickin' and Grinnin'

Parker's class went strawberry picking today at Buckwheat Farms in Apex. He is no longer allergic to strawberries (yeay!) and although I cannot get him to eat one, he did enjoy picking them with his class. :) It was a nice little farm with beautiful strawberries and the classic old dog named Copper that lays around in the dirt. There were also horse, sheep and peacocks for the children to enjoy and a nice picnic area with tables.