Happy---the Pomeranian

On our way home from the beach trip, the bus made a stop at a gas station right outside of Raleigh. As Shelly and I stood in line for a restroom break, I had the idea to get off the bus and have John come pick us up. 

Sounds odd, but our plans for that evening were to arrive home from the trip at about 8:00 and then get back in the car to drive the hour and a half trip back to Raleigh. We were going there on Friday night for Lily's final volleyball tournament on Saturday morning. So, avoiding that long drive home and return trip sounded appealing. 

After checking with the teachers and getting our bags we left the bus and friends behind and set out on our adventure. 

I looked up a cab company and arranged to have them pick us up at the Burger King next to the gas station. After checking on the cost of the cab ride, I let the driver know I was short on cash and she offered to take me to an ATM to get the remainder of the money.

We hung out at the BK and waited for the cab driver to arrive. As I scanned the restaurant, I was feeling slightly uneasy about our whereabouts. I tried to be sure that I didn't let that show because this adventure wasn't too appealing to Shelly. She was a bit concerned about it all (understandably). 

Our cab arrived and I instantly felt better about the situation. The driver happily took our bags and helped us into the cab. Inside the cab we found the cutest little dog. Happy, the Pomeranian, was sitting up front and happily watching us. Once we told the cab driver it was ok, she let Happy come to the back to see us. That sweet little dog made our trip so fun and she relieved Shelly's fears. Happy was a rescue dog who had found the perfect owner. 

The sweet cab driver got us to the hotel and would only accept the $32 in cash that I had. As opposed to taking us to an ATM for the remaining $13. I took her card and am sending her the remainder of the fare. She made a crazy situation better by bringing her Happy-ness into our life that day.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Volleyball Palooza!

An all volleyball post for today!!! 

Lily had her last JO volleyball tournament for the season on Saturday in Raleigh.  She had such a good experience on the team this year. It really helped her improve her skills and build her confidence. So proud of her for overcoming a previously not-so great situation and getting back out there!!!

JO team preparing for play

Perfecting that serve

On Wednesday Lily’s school volleyball team had their first game. She’s a starter this season and that puts a smile on all of our faces. This is such great group of girls and we are all eager to watch them play!

Team Huddle

Happy volleyball player

Ready for action

Enjoying the game

Post game huddle

The Beach Field Trip

Shelly and I and her classmates went on an overnight field trip to Beaufort last week. We had such a fun time together and did so many things. We went to the town of Beaufort. We took a double decker bus tour and a boat cruise. We toured the NC maritime museum. We checked out Ft. Macon, toured the NC Aquarium, and went to the Tryon Palace. We had dinner at the White Oak River Bistro and it was delicious. We also had lunch at the Sanitary Restaurant. It sat right on the water and the weather was so beautiful. A great time was had by all. 

On the boat cruise

Good friends

At Ft. Macon

The NC Aquarium

My sweet travelling companion

At the river otter display

Kissing the frog 

On the streets of Beaufort

At the Sanitary Restaurant

A sunny and happy ending to our trip

Stayed tuned to what happened at the end of our field trip!!!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

A big huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY goes out to my pop! Hope you have a terrific day. Wish we were there to celebrate with you. Thanks for always being there for us. We love you!

Field Trip Bag

Shelly and I are headed to the beaches of North Carolina with her 4th grade class for an overnight field trip. And that means I need to prepare my field trip bag. 

A few things I always like to have on hand:

• Lip balm
• Hand lotion
• Hand sanitizer
• Band aids
• Chewing gum
• Kleenex
• Portable phone charger
• Earphones
• iPad
• Iphone
• Dollar Store rain ponchos
• Snacks
• Grocery bags for trash
• Iphone/iPad charger
• Small wristlet 

Many times I also add in my big camera but thought I'd just go with the iphone for this trip. Keeps the bag feeling a bit lighter. 

I plan to use the small wristlet for my iPhone, a credit card, cash, and ID when we go to some of the museums and shopping areas. 

Those Dollar Store ponchos are easier to have on hand than a big rain jacket and they're handy when the temps are a little warmer and you don't need the jacket for warmth (we're expecting 64* days). 

It's always good to have hand sanitizer with all of the kids you come in contact with. 

I'm eager to have my portable phone charger so that I can whip it out when the phone or iPad get low. I downloaded a book that I plan to read on the trip. 

Once we've eaten some of our snacks, it's nice to have a small bag along for trash. The bag is also nice to have if we need it for any wet clothing. 

Yummy snacks 

We leave at 5:30 AM and we get to our hotel around 9:00 PM. So, it will help to have a full bag of tricks for our 16 hour day.  And, then we'll fill it back up for the second day of fun! Plenty of pictures to come from our beach adventures. 

Crepes

Growing up in Virginia Beach there was a restaurant named Le Crepe and it was one of my favorite places to go for a meal. When I was about 13 I learned how to make crepes and I've been preparing them ever since. 

Frequently, I will have a hankering for them and jump up and make them. They are quick and so easy AND so yummy.

The batter is runny and smooth

Pour batter into a small pan and swirl around the pan until it is all covered

Heat for about a minute on a medium heat

Flip and heat for another minute

I stack the finished crepes on a plate with pieces of wax paper separating them

For this crepe, I just spread a little sour cream

Then I added some red raspberry jelly

And then just roll them up!

These crepes can be made with a sweet or a savory filling. There are so many options for crepe fillings. The recipe below is the one I use and the cheese filling is really tasty. Try them and enjoy!!!

Cape Lookout Lighthouse

Shelly has a project for her 4th grade class. We had a snow day on Friday so we took advantage of the time and got started on it. 

She is creating a model of the Cape Lookout lighthouse. Shelly got some help from daddy on the black diamonds (actually they are checkers, according to our research). We used a variety of craft supplies to create the grass (corrugated green board), the beach (burlap fabric), and the water (scrapbook paper). And then we remembered that we had a bucket full of shells. So, we added a few of those to the project.

My favorite part of the lighthouse is the addition of the flameless tea light on the top of the lighthouse. The cup lifts off and she can turn the tea light on and off. 




Love it! Pretty pleased with our snow day project.

Frozen

The title of this post does not refer to the movie with the same name. It refers to the ridiculous weather that we had on Thursday and Friday. 

The meteorologists said that we had a chance of rain/freezing rain when they reported the weather on Thursday morning. But, suddenly, by Thursday afternoon they were beginning to think that the freezing rain might be more intense. 

The freezing rain began around 5:00 on Thursday evening. Then came the sleet. School was cancelled for Friday at around 9:00 PM and the sleet came down heavy all night. When we woke up on Friday morning there was a nice blanket of snow all over and ice was still falling from the sky. And then it turned into snow! The snow kept coming for about three hours. By the time it was all over we had about an inch of ice with about five inches of snow packed on top. 

Driveway was plowed out by our neighbor!

In the early afternoon, school was cancelled for Saturday. Yes, Saturday---our makeup day for a previous snow day. And, at about 3:00 we ventured out. John had his shovel in the back of the car. It came in handy when we stopped to help a young girl who's car was stuck get into her neighborhood and also get a mail lady back on track to deliver the mail. 

We successfully made it to Target and the grocery store. And, we stopped for a little Mexican dinner. Bad weather won't keep us down!

Today our temperatures soared to a balmy 65*! Seriously! Crazy NC weather!

To conclude this blog entry, I would just like to say--- "Winter, we are done with you! We get it. You are cold, windy, wet, strong, and inconvenient. Now send your kinder, gentler sister our way. Spring we're ready for you!"

Sunday morning after the temps went into the 60s on Saturday!!!!