Aquarium at Fort Fisher

After our ferry boat ride, we headed over to the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher. While the kids had a great time here, they both deemed (separately) that the ferry boat ride was the best part of the day! The aquarium was a lot more than I expected though. It was really nice and I think the kids really enjoyed it too.

The water feature in front of the aquarium…

The really cool box turtle exhibit. I think they need one of these in the mall! They built it between the benches and the window and they just roam free in that area. The kids loved seeing them up close!

Hello, Mr. Alligator!!

Lucas by the big tank. Wonder what he was thinking standing in front of that huge window?

All 4 kids in the bubble window of the big tank…

Fish kisses…blugh!

Those are some big fish!

There is nothing better than watching young eyes discover things for the first time.

There’s even fun in the gift shop!

The outdoor exhibits were pretty cool too. Mr. Frog was a big hit.

Ferry Ride

On Tuesday, we took the ferry boat from Southport to Fort Fisher to visit the aquarium. This was both our boys first trip on a ferry boat. They both really enjoyed riding on the boat!

Have you ever tried to get 4 children to look at the same camera at the same time? I’ve decided it’s impossible! But they’re cute anyway!!

Whoa! It sure is windy on a ferry boat!

The best part about a ferry boat ride is feeding the sea gulls. As always the sea gulls were happy to eat our cheese curls! They were almost too brave!!

Crabbing

That’s right…I said crabbing. If you’ve never been you need to go. It’s pretty simple too. Just tie a piece of nasty meat (turkey neck in our case) to the end of a string, drop it in the water and wait. When the crab bites you slowly pull in the line and scoop it with a net. A little less intense than how they do it on “Deadliest Catch”, but fun none the less!

The littlest ones came along the first day we went. This trip was cut short by a thunderstorm though.

The supervisors…

The help…they were very busy trying to find a parking place for the wagon.

The storm that cut our visit to the crab dock short. It’s pretty though isn’t it?

Trip #2 – we had better luck. Only the big kids came today. The little ones stayed at home to keep an eye on Brian.

Boppa and Nana came down to the dock and Boppa made the kids their own lines with rocks on them to throw in the water. Rocks on the end of a rope…who would have know that would be fun for hours?

Aunta and I caught 5 crabs in a half hour. The kids caught the same rocks 100 times in a half hour. They won, so they got to ride the golf cart back to the house. Poor Aunta and I had to walk!

Geocaching on the Island

There are a lot of geocaches on Oak Island. The ones closest to the house are near the big Oak Island Bridge. We did a little “off-roading” and ended up with a really cool adventure and found 3 geocaches in the process

Isaac is excited about hunting for treasures!

Hunting treasure under the bridge…

I never knew the view from under a bridge could be so beautiful!

Gangsters (there’s graffiti behind them on the support column). Funny what asking them their age can turn into!

A Week at the Beach

What do you do when the forecast says “hurricane”? We go to the beach!! Brian and I have both been swamped and stressed at work, so we decided a week off was in order. We packed up and headed to Oak Island to spend a week with Aunta, Uncle Mark, Madeline and Audrey. It has been a great week and we have been very busy having all kinds of fun.

This post will be one in a series highlighting what all we’ve done this week on Oak Island. No place to start like the fun in the sand. The weather, despite the looming forecast, has been great!

Fun at the beach…

“I don’t see a hurricane out there!”

We even made a trek to swim in the waterway down by the “point” (the end of Oak Island down by Holden Beach). The water had no waves but there was a small current. The kids enjoyed watching and chasing their toys as they floated toward the ocean.

Madeline and Isaac must have run in and out of the water doing their “Baywatch” impression 100 times!

Audrey was content to hang out in the shallow water, and soon after this picture Lucas took a nap!

Back to the ocean side where Daddy digs us a great little swimming hole everyday. We stay until it washes back into the ocean.

Can you guess what Lucas likes to eat at the beach?

Wonder what these two are pondering?

Headed to the water with Daddy…

Nana and Boppa came down to visit for a few days too. They went out on the beach with us today.

Truck Treasures

I have responsibilty for 6 buildings at work, so I carry things around in my truck a lot during the work week. When we get home in the afternoons, Isaac has started checking the front seat for new exciting things to play with. He typically finds safety glasses to try on, but over the last few weeks he’s hit the jackpot!

This week’s treasure: Mommy’s hard hat

In the words of Isaac, “that’s not right!”

A few weeks back: Giant Orange Cones

These boys are destined to grow up with a mindset of “safety first”.

On the Move

Isaac's life as he knew it is officially over! Lucas has started to crawl. He's been pulling up for weeks just to stand and look around. Now he's figured out how to get those knees moving and he's caught on fast. Much to Isaac's (and Mommy & Daddy's) dismay, he is now EVERYWHERE and into EVERYTHING.


His favorite place is Isaac's room where all the cool toys are, but he's also taken to Wripley's dog bowls where he got his first experience of the words "off limits". It's too bad I don't have a video of that little pout session!

Lucas is enjoying his new found freedom and all the cool stuff he can now get his hands on!

Lucas 7 Months

Lucas is now 7 months old, and month #7 has been a busy one! He now weighs 19 pounds 7 ounces. He is crawling and into everything (post on this soon to follow). Last week he cut his first tooth and the second was soon to follow. It’s almost all the way through now. He eats everything!! Today he even tried some small pieces of hotdog. He’s also gotten quite vocal…no words yet…but jibber jabbers like he’s got something really important to say.

He’s always on the go…easier now to put the sticker on my back!

Practicing for Halloween!!