Dinosaur Playground

Well, with it so hot and steamy here we just can't get outside much so we have been on the hunt for all fun things inside. Last week Mimi and I took Zane to a place called Dinosaur Playground. Check out Zane having a great time playing in all the soft tunnels and checking out new toys!

(Much to our dismay, his favorite toy became this plastic, ugly walkie talkie!)

Sweet snoozes with Great-Aunt Rae

Fun in the sun with good friends

Upon our return from the mountains we immediately got a call from Beth & Dexter with an invitation to go hang at the beach. For the Moms this took a lot of convincing ourselves that we needed to get out to the beach but maybe it won't be so bad if we get there by 8:30am. Well... it wasn't so bad! We had a good time and the sun was not too treacherous (the nice shade hut we scored helped big time)! This was Zane's first time really playing on the beach and he had a great time. He loved just crawling around in the sand and finding little treasures.
(Also, check out his new swim shirt that Great-Nana and Great Grandpa Jim sent us. It is great! It has UV protection! Since this family is so darn fair we have decided that we are going to get Zane used to wearing a swim shirt all the time when at the beach or pool. It helps us out with sun worries and keeps his skin like a baby's, just like it should be!)

"What did you find, Dude?"


"Hey, Man!"


"Surfs up! Well, not really."


"Look! My reflection looks like an alien!"

North Carolina: Sapphire

Mountain Road Naps

After such a great visit with Ben and Rachael we headed to Sapphire to hang with Zane's Gramps and Grandma Beth. We took a beautiful hike to a wonderful waterfall with Gramps and went to a really cool playground where Zane of course got to swing but also crawled through some tubes. We also played some more bocce! We just love that stuff!

The bocce court was right next to the croquet field so Zane had fun crawling around the croquet field.

Gramps is so fun!

Paul and I took a short kayak ride on the lake behind their house while Zane hung out and had some Gramps and Grandma time. It was a very relaxing way to end the trip!

North Carolina: Boone

"Let me tell you a little somethin' about Boone."

It has taken way too long to get these pics posted but hopefully when you all see how many pics I post of this trip you will understand why it was such a daunting and time consuming project. I just kept going to bed instead! So, sorry to those folks who may think that it is too many pics but I know a lot out there who will love every last one of them.

To those who don't know...

A little over a week ago we got back from a wonderful 11 day trip to North Carolina. The first half we spent with my brother, Ben and his girlfriend Rachael in Boone. Then we spent the last half in Sapphire with Paul's dad and Beth. We flew in and out of Charlotte so it gave us a chance to spend one night with some good friends of ours, Aya & Brian.

BOONE

We had such a good time in Boone with Zane's Uncle Ben (if any out there do not know... this is the Benjamin of Benjamin Zane's namesake) and Aunt Rachael. We kicked back and relaxed in the fresh air, beautiful soft grass and good company. We played lots of yard games (horseshoes and bocce), ate fantastic food prepared by Ben and Rachael along with food from a couple super great restaurants, took a couple hikes and saw two concerts.

Snoozin' on the plane... of course he didn't fall asleep until we only had about 15 minutes left of the flight!

Ben had a open house at his work showing off some of their timber framing work. It was great to see him in his work element again and this time they had some great stuff on display. Zane was so proud of his Uncle!

We spent so much time in his yard because we just aren't used to being able to let Zane crawl around in the grass. It was so soft and nice... so very unlike our grass in Florida! AND Aunt Rachael had BUBBLES!!

Zane taking a moment to listen to the mountains. I think they really spoke to him.

Zane & Aunt Rachael having hallway races!

Zane went to his first concert while we were there! On the Friday night we were there we went to see a great band called Old Crow Medicine Show and it was quite a show indeed! They were so much fun. Zane slept during the first half and the second he was up and we had to wander around a bit to keep him occupied. He really did great. The applause sometimes got a little overwhelming but he got through it.

The next night Ben, Rachael and Paul went to see Bruce Hornsby and loved it. Zane and I hung back took a hike and caught up on some rest.

"Hello! Anybody there?"

We did a little cruisin' of some shops in old Boone and Zane got a first class ride from his Uncle Ben. He fell fast asleep and looked so sweet!

"What are you trying to do to me?"

Uncle Ben & Aunt Rachael teaching the game of bocce to little Zane-Man.

Kid juggling AND horseshoes!

"Chow time!"

Hike time!

This is actually the view if you just walk a couple miles up the mountain from Ben's house. It is amazing. We wish we had a view like this to hike to right out our back door! What a great after dinner hike! "LUCKY!"

Uncle Ben showing Zane what the Tour de France is all about!

More fun outdoor good times.

Awwwwww!

Awwwww!

And, my very favorite photo from the Boone trip...

Ben would often want to sit in the backseat of the car with Zane. The car seat that we rented was horrible and did not support Zane's head at all when he fell asleep so Ben became his reliable support. This photo just pulls at all of my heart strings... Uncle Benjamin's hand holding up my little Benjamin!

We had such a good time! We miss you two SO much!

Now, here are a few... GIGGLES!!!!!

That is just the first half of our trip! Sapphire photos to follow...