Pyramid of Shame

Lest you think Nick is reading and writing and not having any fun,

(which is actually his idea of fun)

here's a glimpse into his world.

Just about every day, they have a paper due 5:30 that they deliver to Mark in his study.  

When it's late, he gives them a hard time.   

He has started a tradition that has come to be known as the Pyramid of Shame.  

When an intern is running late to bring a paper, Mark and the other 6 interns make a human pyramid and yell insults at the guy coming in.  

You'll see...

NC State Fair

We went to the NC State fair last night, for what will most likely be our last time.

It was Emmaline's first time at the fair, though!

It was such a fun night!

We started out with cotton candy,

it was Emmaline's first time, and she was ok with it.

She left more in her cupholders than she ate.

I think it was too sticky for her; she takes after her daddy.

This was not posed; it is a live-action shot.

Thankfully, this one was posed.

But what's up with Hudson's grandma-hand-on-the-hip?

I had some roasted corn; it was sooooo good!

I shared my funnel cake with Emmaline, but we couldn't even finish it!

Then the boys had a candy apple; they did a good job sharing...

after a few "youbettershareorelse" glares from us.

Nick is anti-fair but has been a good sport and has found that he likes the ham biscuits...

but of course he got one that was loaded with fat scraps.

The boys shared a lemonade, and the rest of us just had bottled water that I brought.

Little grabbing action going on!

Nick brought his best friend along, of course.

Carnies!

The boys rode 3 rides...the carousel, a serpent roller coaster, and helicopters.

The roller coaster was a hit!!

We may have to make a trip back to Raleigh next October!   

A Fearrington Adventure

Today was Daddy Day. While Allison iced some cookies at home, we visited Great Harvest for some breakfast goodies and then hit the road for a day trip to Fearrington Place, just beyond Chapel Hill. The boys listened to Daniel's new children CD while Emmaline gazed out the window looking sassy.

First stop, the Belted Galloway cows. The boys called them by their scientific name: "Oreo" cows. Emmaline tried to communicate with them by making a strange "moo" sound the entire time we stood by the fence.

Notice the electrically-charged barbed wire near Hudson's waist. Fearrington is fun. But no one ever said Fearrington was safe. It's an adventure. (or in Elijah-speak, a "re-venture.")

We walked over to see the Barn and relaxed a bit in the shade.

Hudson found some "balls" that were made out of "sticks."

Emmaline was fascinated by the metal gate near the entrance to the garden. She opened and closed it and made that "moo" noise again.

Cows are everywhere at Fearrington. We even found one hiding in the garden.

We went to the Belted Goat deli for some lunch. The menu options were home-made ice cream or a spinach summer salad with gorgonzola. We went with the ice cream.

Elijah enjoyed his chocolate cone.

Hudson also went with a chocolate cone...

... that we quickly transferred to a cup.

Emmaline went with a cup of vanilla.

The Belted Goat has lots of decorations in beautiful Tennessee orange.

They also roast some tasty coffee. Elijah said the roaster was "one of those Curious George machines with a smiley face on it." Can you see it?

Daddy Day was a blast.

Welcome Home

This past week our super fun small group decided to make signs

 and head to the airport instead of talking about Bonhoffer...

Judging by our enthusiasm and silly signs (which was an inside joke),

you would have thought we were picking up someone who had been overseas for several years.

Doesn't Brad look so embarrassed to be seen with us!?

But who were we waiting for!?

Three of our pastors!

Ok, so we really went to surprise Nick but we got a 3 for 1 deal.

They had been in Chicago for The Gospel Coalition conference, and they were so surprised to see us!

Thank you, Taylor, for coming to stay with the sleeping babies while we went to pick them up!

Happy Birthday, Nick!

Today, we are celebrating Nick's 32nd birthday!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Nick. Ever. It's currently my iPhone wallpaper.

Ok, back to the regularly scheduled program...

We are celebrating on Nick's day off!

That makes it even better.

We kicked off the day with donut holes and he opened his present.

He doesn't do breakfast, so I figured we'd do something the kids like.

I found these adorable birthday placemats at Kohl's for $1 each!

They're vinyl, so they're great for kids.

He got one present from us.

That's what happens when you have a birthday right after Christmas.

We sang...

and he blew out the candle...

And actually ate the donut hole.

A miracle!

Then Hudson told him to "open up your coffee mug present!"
HA. Whoops.

He wanted a travel coffee mug from Global Village.

So I lugged the kids down to Hillsborough Avenue one morning and parked on the road

and walked down the street.

Anything for you, my love.

If you know where it is, you know it's not the easiest with kids.

I only say this in light of what happened later...

He also got a bunch of drawings from the kids. This one was his favorite from Elijah.

It's a picture of Jesus' baptism.

It's Jesus, John the Baptist, water, sun and a dove.

No more than 20 minutes after he opened his mug, Hudson was asking him how to open it and accidentally dropped it. It slid across the floor and the handle broke off.

Yeah, there's a gaping hole.

So if we clean it, water will get in between the metal and the plastic layers.

Awesome.

And as if that wasn't enough, Emmaline found it yesterday before I even wrapped it,

and chewed off the grip pad on the bottom of the mug so it doesn't even sit evenly on the table.

Oh yes, she did.

So the one gift we gave him is probably going to end up in the trash.

Nick insists that he is going to duct tape the hole.

We got a lot of laughs out of it.

At least we have a date coming up to look forward to!

Let's hope nothing breaks on the date...

We love you, Sweetie!

Love,

Queen Elizabeth

Prince Jack Rabbit

Prince Spring Pig

Princess Sweet Precious