Kayaking in the Bay

We rented kayaks today to check out the bay. We stopped at a few different sandbars during our time out to look for shells or other sea creatures and simply play in the water. After three hours we had two very tired children and a rather tired mom too.

Taking it Easy

Today was another day simply dedicated to having fun in the sun. Here are some random pictures from the day.

Elsie's Treat

Since Alstan got a special treat of being able to watch sharks being fed, mom took Elsie to get her nails painted. There was plenty of time to spare between when mom and Elsie finished viewing the aquarium and when Alstan's special tour finished up, so this seemed to be the perfect solution.

North Carolina Aquarium

We visited the North Carolina Aquarium today. Dad, Alstan and Aunt Nette purchased extra behind the scene passes. They were given a tour of how the animals were cared for and were able to touch some. They were also able to help feed the fish and watch the Sharks being fed. 

Mom and Elsie walked through the regular part of the aquarium until Elsie got bored. (Not terribly long after they started)

Too Much Fun in the Sun

Alstan's first word out of his mouth this morning was "beach?" That pretty much summed up our day.

The day was spent bodyboarding, playing in the sand, swimming and relaxing. What a perfect vacation day!

There was a local 1mile, 5k and 10k run on the beach in the evening, so Elsie was able to participate in her very first race. Dad ran with Elsie, but Alstan, Aunt Nette and mom ran as well.

At the end of the day four out of six of us had some sign of being in the sun too much... oops! No one got burned too bad though, so that was good.

We Made it to the Ocean!

Hiking the Appalachian Trail

Today we spent some time hiking the Appalachian Trail. It took us a while to find the actual trail. We started by following a non-established trail up the hillside. Then we turned around and just started walking to enjoy the environment, when we came upon the real trail. We would have liked to have spent more time on the actual trail, but it was quite a cool experience regardless. 

Hiking in the Smokies

We spent the day in Cade's Cove today. We drove the Cade's Cove loop and then hiked out to Abram's Falls.

This picture was taken seconds before Alstan stepped back too far and backward somersaulted into the field.

It was a 2.5 mile hike in to see this waterfall. The kids did great on the way in, but needed a little help on the way out.

We saw a number of cabins built by the early settlers and even a couple of bears. We tried to take photos of the bears but they didn't turn out.

Morning #2

Here we are traveling to the Smoky Mountains for our second day. It may have been the really long car ride yesterday or not sleeping in as long as we would have liked today, but it seems that first day energy is gone.

Start of Our Family Trip

We're off! It is 4:30 in the morning and we are starting our first leg of the trip. We had hoped that Alstan and Elsie would have stayed asleep, but there was just too much excitement in the air. Hopefully they will still sleep a fair amount as we drive.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Yes, dad's cake is a bit of an egg shape. The kids really wanted to make him a football cake, and that was the only somewhat football shaped baking dish mom had. They thought it was perfect!

Memorial Day Weekend

Here are some photos from Memorial Day weekend at Grandma and Grandpa Zielicke's. Alstan and Elsie were so excited about feeding the baby calf with a bottle. They talked about it for days afterward. It is a bit hard to tell but in the fourth picture Alstan was getting a ride in the milk truck.