Friday, June 28, 2013

Our 2013 OBX Adventures: Pirates and Putt-Putt


Everyone was delighted to end our busy June with a vacation at the Outer Banks.  We stayed in the Southern Shores again this year, right below Duck, which gave us a nice vantage point to enjoy activities up and down OBX. The best part is always arriving at our destination and the girls' first expressions when they reach the beach.  Here is Ellie jumping up and down in delight at her first glimpse of the waves. 



She loved playing in the sand, although liked destructing the sand castles rather than building them for the most part.


Evie was also thrilled to be back on the beach.  She went straight for the waves and to playing her favorite game with Dad, "Walk, Jump, Float, Run!" She had a special friend this year in Peck the inflatable toucan, hence the adding of "Float" to the game from last year.  We went to the beach and enjoyed the sun, sand and waves every day.



It was also a vacation of many, many miniature golf outings.  Our first on Saturday was Professor Hacker's Treasure Golf, where we got to ride a train car up to the start of the course.



Ellie is ready and rearing to go!  Although going through the tunnel was a little scary, she carried her plastic club and purple golf ball with pride.



Halfway through the course, though, Ellie was a little disappointed that people weren't more appreciative when she picked up their balls and put them in the hole for them.  By the time we got to the pirate ship, she was pretty much done for the evening. 



The girls check out Professor Hacker before saying goodbye. Till next year, Professor!


The tour of mini golf continued the next day with Mutiny Bay - looks like Dad got put in the stocks.  Wonder what he could have done to get in trouble?



Ack, et tu, Mommy and Ellie?  Is there no justice in the world of pirates?


Evie does her best grumpy face (which Ellie later adopted) in protest.


Dad's first hole-in-one of the night!  The second would occur due to the ideal placement of Ellie's foot next to one of the holes.



Evie also got an amazing hole-in-one!  Hooray! Our future little Michelle Wie.



After some Dairy Queen blizzards and an Orange Julius that had Daddy going down memory lane (and a quick game of Dance Dance Revolution in the arcade), we found a new playground that was quite a find! The girls were all smiles despite the blustery wind while swinging, climbing on the pirate ship, and going down the slide.



Captain Ellie steers us toward safety. Unfortunately, the playground's namesake, Theodora Burr, was not as lucky when pirates commandeered her ship, alas.



Evie sports her new tropical sunglasses (a Dollar Store find) and bathing suit before we hit the beach the next day. 



On Tuesday morning we headed to Manteo to undertake a Pirates Adventure on the High Seas. Pirates Enchanting Evie and Elegant Ellie don their pirate garb and get ready to sneak onto the ship. 


"Arg!" Evie yells while Ellie looks on at the motley crew.



The pirate life for me!



Maybe not for me!


Halfway through the trip the pirates were attacked by Pirate Pete, but the water cannons kept them safe.


The young mateys followed the map to find treasure buried at sea - X marked the spot!



Ellie and Evie admire their bounty --jeweled rings and gold bouillon, oh my!  A successful day at sea!




That night, we enjoyed the playground and town hall area of Duck, rolling around and racing with Daddy.  This is a great picture of how Ellie likes to do everything her big sister does.



Ellie hangs on tight to Daddy who was the "finish line" for Evie... unfortunately the finish line kept moving and Evie had to chase it around the park.



We all enjoy a beautiful sunset before calling it a night.



The next day we checked out the Outer Banks Wildlife Center where Mommy and Ellie practiced their bear growling next to the real thing.



Then it was off to the crabbing class where Evie read off her answers to the "Crab Libs" exercise, causing a lot of giggles.  Unfortunately, the crabs were too smart for us and just ate the turkey heads off our lines without getting caught!  Sneaky crabs.



On the way back from Corolla we made another stop at a miniature golf course, where Ellie made Daddy use the plastic putter and took his club for a change.



On our final day, we headed down to Nagshead to see the Bodie Lighthouse.  We couldn't go up (Ellie was too young), but we explored the bay before heading back home.


It was really windy - a storm was brewing!  Would we make it back to the car in time?



Yikes, check out those clouds!  Luckily, we did make it before the sky opened up!  Overall, it was a fantastic week with lots of relaxing times and great memories! 


Sunday, June 16, 2013

Dash for Dad... and Daughters Too


It was another Father's Day for the record books as the girls and their wonderful Daddy ran our sixth (!)  Dash for Dad.  The girls proudly display their numbers and get ready to cheer on Daddy on his special day.


Turn your frown upside down, Ellie! Mommy will help you open up your yogurt bar.


 Ah, the happy smiles come out when she finally gets the bar open!  Now she's ready to rock!


Opa and Ba get into the group picture. Afterwards, Evie laid down on the grass to do some "exercises" - her version of stretching out her legs.


 After the 4-milers had taken off, it was time for the 1-mile walk/run.  Ba encouraged Evie to go to the beginning of the line and then start running.  Of course, we all thought she would run for about 100 yards and then walk the rest of the way... but then, she kept running!  Finally, Mommy had to catch up to her.


Evie ended up running the whole way with Mommy, except for quick moments where she walked for a couple of seconds as she "lost her breath."  Whew, Mommy was not expecting that much exercise.

Evie gives Daddy a high five when he finished the race. Daddy came in 9th this year out of 1000 or so runners.  They had a new thing this year where you would stop to get a tie at the 1-mile mark and then you would get back into the race.  


Evie shows off her strawberry smoothie smile and pink mustache - she could not get enough of those smoothie samples.

Opa carries Evie on a victory lap to the parking lot!  Go Foelsche-McDonald team! 



Then we went to Ba and Opa's house for a delicious lobster roll feast.  After our meal, Evie helped distribute all the gifts, including her paper plate suncatcher to Opa.    



Daddy gives a goofy smile as he opens his treasure trove of gifts and cards.
 

To end the night, we went to a nice Chinese restaurant to celebrate second cousin Kevin's high school graduation. Evie and Ellie had a good time playing with chopsticks and play-doh, and Ellie especially loved the shrimp balls - she couldn't get enough!
 

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Marc's first entry in the Old Town Throw Down


This Saturday Daddy participated in the grilling competition called the Old Town Throw Down (OTTD for short).  It was a perfect night for relaxing with many friends although Daddy was not really relaxing until the competition was over.  But the girls had a great time playing with many of their preschool classmates, including Caroline, who was the official photographer of the evening.  Evie got a laugh of Mommy and Caroline taking pictures of each other. 


The girls enjoyed playing with bubbles, rainbow chalk, and some other toys.  
 

Evie pushed little sis Ellie around the alley. 
 

Daddy takes a break at his grilling station. He made some delicious sweet chili wings, but the real hit of the night was his caramelized pears for dessert...
 

...loved especially by the girls! Well, they actually avoided the pears and instead licked every last drop of the ice cream.  What a great night! 


Sunday, June 2, 2013

In the world of princes and dragons...


It was Evie's big dance recital this weekend, where she and her classmates in the "Dragons" class had a wonderful performance!  Evie sported a very serious expression during the whole song - Mommy told her to imagine everyone in their underwear if she got nervous, but maybe that didn't help much.


The girls end the song in their picture pose.  


So serious, our ballerina! 

There's her cracking a smile!  Must be because she's standing by her close friend Addison.  

Ba and Opa got some prime seats in the center, front row.  Ellie enjoyed the first half of the recital but then fell asleep during the last half, missing Evie unfortunately.  But she awoke for the curtain call. 

Daddy showers our sweetheart in roses, who is a little dazed by the sun after the stage lights. 


A video of the first half of the performance - Evie is all the way to the right behind one girl but we get a better shot as we go along.