End of Summer 2017 Adventures and an Eclipse

During the month of August, we continued with our weekend and weekday trips to the pool. There were a few weekends that were not unbearably hot and we spent a day at a park or museum. We also made it to a concert in the park that's adjacent to our neighborhood. The big event and travel for us in August was taking a long weekend to go see the eclipse of 2017 in Greenville, SC! Rose also started soccer in August. Rose turned 3.5 in August and Zoe approached her 2nd birthday. Both girls grew like weeds all summer and it's been fun to have them be more self-sufficient and be able to communicate.

Zoe's eating her favorite peanut butter crackers at the pool

Zoe smiles when she wants to.
She loves to see the camera herself.

Rose and Zoe are running in Bond Park. 

One of the many concerts we have listened to at the ampitheatre in the park

Lunch time at Pullen Park in Raleigh,
after going on the carousel and train and before heading home.

The first of back-to-back birthday parties at an indoor playground.

To see the Eclipse in Greenville, we spent the weekend at my parent's place in the mountains of Western NC. On Saturday we made our way to a Renaissance Festival at a farm after going to a farmers' market. The girls enjoyed getting their face (Rose) and arm (Zoe) painted, seeing the costumes, and playing on the slides and in the creek. Rose also enjoyed feeding some goats. We spent the middle part of the day driving the Blue Ridge Parkway while the girls napped and ended our day with dinner and music in Asheville.

Rose's Hello Kitty face paint

Zoe getting her arm painted

On Sunday, we made our way to Charlotte (2 hours away) to get my brother at the airport. Instead of going straight back to the cabin after lunch, we decided to walk around a small museum, called Discovery Place Nature for a little bit. The exhibits were just right for the girls and it was nice to be in a small museum with the short amount of time we had before the girls would need a nap.

Spending a few hours at a museum in Charlotte where Zoe's a bug:

Monday was Eclipse day! I was really nervous about finding a place to go to see the eclipse, especially as we left Tryon for Greenville around mid-day. We had to pack everything (including Darwin) and it was a hot August Day. I was cranky with the heat and with the stress of packing what we needed to be accessible. Thankfully, we found a science/technology elementary school that was hosting a watching party through Facebook. We headed straight there and found some shade by 1p or so. In the hour or two before complete darkness, the girls enjoyed the splash pad, we ate some moon pies, we watched the moon change through our viewing glasses and through a shadow box, and we listened to some of the music from the DJ. I was most grateful for shade and bathrooms. Even just sitting in the shade I was sweating! 

Rose was really into the Eclipse, which made it more exciting for us. She did a great job looking through her glasses - which were ridiculously hard to purchase before the event. I was grateful for a friend who got some in the week leading up to our trip. The elementary school staff were giving them out at the viewing party, but we would have waited in a long line in the heat to get them.

Rose and Zoe had learned about the eclipse at school, and Rose kept giving us updates on what she saw. Zoe was more interested in maintaining her schedule, which should have included lunch and a nap. She managed to stay engaged with all the excitement despite being a bit "hangry".

The full eclipse was pretty amazing. In the few minutes just before it turned to dusk, our surroundings looked "chalky" with a tinge of almost grey. The temperature was noticeably cooler for the few minutes of complete elipse and for some of the minutes before and after. During the total eclipse, the stars came out, we could see the ring around the moon, we could hear crickets, and it looked like dusk at 2:30pm. It was so cool and an experience I hope to never forget. As we left Greenville for Raleigh, we started making plans to visit upstate NY/Burlington for the 2024 eclipse!

Because we hadn't eaten a good lunch and we didn't really know where to go in Greenville, post-eclipse was a bit of a disaster. We waited too long to be seated at a restaurant and ultimately gave up after almost 45 minutes because the girls were getting too cranky. We knew it would take a long time to get home as well. We had enough snacks that held everyone over as we slowly made our way home, and the girls napped. The four-hour trip took about 6-7 hours with a stop for dinner near Charlotte. It was close to midnight before we arrived home. Thankfully, the girls slept for most of the ride after dinner.

Finding food and shade at an Elementary school Eclipse viewing party in Greenville, SC

Rose would check on the sun's progress often during the hour we watched

It was difficult to capture the eclipse in a camera. I didn't bother trying to get the ring.

A glimpse of the total eclipse from Greenville, SC on August 21, 2017

Because we traveled to see the Eclipse, Rose missed the first soccer game of her career. While soccer runs in our veins, an eclipse is a pretty rare and memorable event worth missing soccer to see. Rose made up for it by being an attentive participant in the practice and scoring two goals in her game that followed the practice session. That first game we attended was pretty chaotic. Kids were picking up the ball all the time and clearly didn't know what to do. We were proud of Rose's ability to pay attention and participate. There were a few games after that first one where the other team was aggressive and we struggled through those with Rose. I'll admit, it is challenging to tell your child not to take things from people or push or hit and then try to teach them to be aggressive in sports.  

Rose's first soccer practice, held for 30 minutes before her first 30 minute game.
We missed the first week because of the Eclipse, so she had to wait for a shirt.

Rose scores a goal in her first soccer game

I finally captured some video footage of Zoe talking and singing. If she notices she's being recorded, she immediately runs to grab the camera. I'm surprised she let me take video of her singing. We did have a few outtakes before capturing this longer video. The teachers at Zoe's school say that her Spanish is very good. It's amazing to me that she can switch between English and Spanish so easily. I love getting to learn the songs she sings at school and I'm also glad that Rose is my translator. While I can speak and understand Spanish, understanding toddler Spanish without context is sometimes difficult. Rose often translates for us because she knows the songs, expressions, and/or words that Zoe has picked up at school.

Lots of singing at bedtime

Stay tuned for Miss Zoe's 2nd Birthday and more September updates!

July Adventures

July in North Carolina is dog-breath weather, so we try to plan a trip north during the month. This year, we made our way up to upstate New York to visit family for July 4th week. The girls had a great time playing with their cousins, especially Isabella who is just about 3 years older than Rose. Rose adores her cousin and Zoe wants to be part of the action too.

As usual, we left overnight, between 1-2am. This time we decided to pop into NYC to visit with friends who were about to move to California. We made such good time that we were in Manhattan by 9-9:30am. With time to kill, Colin walked around the highline with the girls and we found a playground for the girls to stretch their legs. I'll admit it wasn't the best experience for me. Darwin wasn't allowed on the highline or in the playground, so one of us had to hang out with him. It wasn't too hot, but it was humid and we didn't want to leave him in the car.

On the Highline before Darwin and I got kicked out

Girls playing in lower Manhattan

After a somewhat chaotic lunch, we made our way upstate to the Albany area. The girls took their much-needed naps and I drove part of the way so Colin could rest. We are always pretty tired when we arrive on these 12 hour driving trips. We don't want to just drive through on the way up and often make a stop or two to stretch our legs and/or explore. 

After a good night's sleep, we were ready for the week's adventures. We started the week off with a trip to Lake George on Colin's parent's boat. The girls enjoyed it except when Isabella and Rose bumped heads. Thankfully, that was towards the end of the day. Zoe in her usual fashion took a nice nap on the boat after lunch. The day was beautiful and we enjoyed some lunch and swimming off the docks of one of the islands in the lake.

A couple days later, we were back at the lake with the whole family to enjoy July 4th. We spent a few hours at the "beach." Maybe I'm spoiled having grown up in RI, but most of the beaches I've been to on lakes are just not really my kind of beaches. I enjoy taking the boat on the lake, anchoring, and swimming in the lake. But, there is something about walking into the lake from the beach that just doesn't appeal to me. The girls had fun swimming in the lake on July 4th and I enjoyed taking a kayak out on the water.

Because the fireworks are always late and we didn't really know the set up for viewing them in person, we decided to let Rose stay up to watch them on the TV. She seemed to enjoy watching them and we didn't have to worry about traffic, parking, and how loud they might be.

Lunch spot on one of the islands in Lake George, NY

The three Miller girl cousins in their July 4th attire at Lake George

The other highlights of the week included a cousins trip to the town pool and the girl cousins having a movie night at Aunt Karen's house. The weather was very nice most of the week, but the pool was a bit too cold for me. Even the girls didn't last too long in the water. Everyone was pretty excited when the ice cream truck came. 

Zoe is our very messy eater

You can tell Rose loved her ice cream

The Miller ladies making silly faces

We all enjoyed movie night at Aunt Karen's house. The girls had a nice set up on the papasan cushion with some snacks. At one point they were all on the cushion, but I think they lost interest in the movie towards the end. I can't remember now, but I think they watched Frozen, which they've seen too many times. We decided we'd have to watch Moana the next time. I got to go "shopping" in Aunt Karen's closet and found almost a whole new wardrobe. Woohoo! Thanks Aunt Karen!!

Girls watching Frozen during movie night at Aunt Karen's

I addition to visiting family, we wated to take a family trip somewhere we've never been. We decided to head up to Quebec City for a night towards the end of the week in NY. I really wanted to go for 2 nights, but it just would have been too much. We left the house around 4am Thursday morning and arrived in Quebec City by 8am (after a stop or two). It was too early to check in to the hotel, but they did let us park the car in the garage so we didn't have to worry about meters or parking. I usually spend lots of time researching places we are going, but I hadn't had time to look into Quebec City beyond asking people for suggestions and researching a hotel. I knew a few main tourist sights to see, but figured we could just walk around and explore. 

We really struggled navigating the city on that first day. Yelp was our go-to for food and the first place we went didn't accept credit cards so we had to move on. We found another pastry shop and had our first chocolate filled danish of the two days. As we walked towards the more downtown area, we also managed to get cash from an ATM so we could be prepared for another cash-only food venue. Our biggest mistake came when I thought we should explore the touristy hotel Chateau Frontenac. Navigating narrow streets with a double stroller was a challenge and it was uphill the entire way. We also happened to be there during the start of a 10-day music festival, so some areas were blocked off. And, to top it off, there was a lot of construction. When we finally made it close to the top of the hill (the Chateau), Zoe had fallen asleep and Rose was getting pretty cranky. I can't even remember what we had for lunch - it obviously was not nearly as memorable as the hills and frustrating construction detours. As we walked from the Chateau up the hill to the Citadel, Rose also fell asleep. Poor Colin pushed both sleeping girls (think "dead weight") up the grassy hill because we couldn't find any paved paths, only to find the Citadel blocked off for construction (which we didn't realize at the time).

This was the tipping point for us both. It was after lunch at this point so we decided to make our way back to the hotel so we could check in, ditch the stroller, get some quality maps, and try exploring again. Going back to the hotel was so much easier because it was downhill and we went directly back (instead of trying to find sites to see along the way). As we arrived the girls woke up and we got checked in. While the morning had been tiring for us, it was good the girls slept because they were in much better spirits for the afternoon. 

After walking uphill for what felt like hours, we reached the top.

Rose and Zoe enjoyed riding uphill. I guess it was comfortable enough for them.

We set out again, this time with the two backpack carriers and a small bag with diapers and a few changes of clothes for the girls. We decided to take the bus to the lower downtown area. Though the bus also had issues getting us to the destination, we weren't hot, sweaty, and tired during the process. Since we were having a relatively early dinner, we made our way to Cochon Dingue Champlain, a restaurant that came highly reviewed by Yelp and a Canadian friend. The food was just okay, but perhaps we didn't order the best items on the menu. We did get to sit outside and enjoy the evening.

After dinner, we took a boat ride across the St. Lawrence River to Levis on the commuter ferry. I accidentally gave the operator my roundtrip tickets and we had to get assistance from the staff before we got off to be sure we could get back on to come back. Thankfully we did get on the return boat and arrived safely back in Quebec. From the boat we could see this elevator car that traveled from the lower part of the city to the upper part. We made our way over to the elevator, called the Funiculare, and decided to take a ride up to where whe had been earlier. 

The Chateau Frontenac and Quebec City from the St. Lawrence River

Trying to get a picture of the girls on the boat

We made our way back to the hotel from the upper city at a more leisurely pace and both girls eventually ended up in the backpacks. We came across a couple of the concert stages as we walked back and got to hear some of the music. If we had not been up since 4am, I might have considered staying out a little longer, but we were all pretty tired. 

Thankfully, both girls fell asleep pretty easily. I had requested a room with 2 beds, but they only had a room with one bed and a pack n play. I was surprised at how excited Rose was to sleep in the pack and pay we brought and it was good that each girl slept well in their respective cribs.

The second day in Quebec City was overcast and raining early in the day. With a better idea of the city's layout, we set out on foot again without the stroller after breakfast in the hotel. We made our way first to the Citadel, which we found out was completely closed for renovations. From this area we were able to walk along the extension areas of the Citadel - first to the riverview and then along the giant wall. The girls enjoyed checking out all the "tunnels," the cannons, and all the sights that interest toddlers.

Trying to get a family photo with Rose not wanting to cooperate

A sweet photo of the girls exploring Quebec City

Checking out the cannons and the wall leading to the Citdel

We left Quebec City after lunch so the girls could nap on the drive back to the US and made our way to the Vermont border to cross. We had planned to meet up with some of my college friends before we got stuck at the border for almost 2 hours. The girls woke up near the start of those two hours and I was grateful we had brought pastries from Quebec back with us. Even before we dug into the pastries, the girls were doing surprisingly well for how long they were confined in their seats. We managed to get to Burlington, Vermont much later than planned. Colin grabbed burritos at the food truck next door to the brewery where we met my friends. The girls preferred eating the popcorn at the brewery. We just had to go with the flow. When you have toddlers who are going to be out past their bedtime and are eating way later than their dinner should have been after they just had some pastries at dinner time, you do whatever you can to maintain peace including allowing the watching of electronic devices. It obviously ended up being a very quick and rushed get-together, but it was still nice to see my friends. We got the girls in their pajamas and drove the two hours back to New York, arriving after midnight. 

We basically just had one day (Saturday) to recover before driving back home, and of course I/we planned a birthday gathering for Colin on that final day. I surprised Colin by inviting his friends and was glad that a few were able to come. Colin's not a big fan of celebrating his birthday, but I know he enjoyed getting to see some friends. When we visit family, it's always difficult to fit in some time with others. We did plan the birthday early enough so we could try to get to bed at a reasonable time. Of course we can never get to bed before 10p, which makes 1am come too quickly.

Somehow we usually manage to have a good ride home. Our goal is to get south of DC before our first stop. On the ideal trip, we make it to Richmond, VA where there is a Whole Foods in a residential/commercial mixed complex. We have breakfast, change the girls out of pajamas, and go play on the playground for a little bit before getting back in the car to drive the 3 hours home. We've made it home by 1-2p before even with the stop. On the way home, the girls are so tired from all the fun that they usually will sleep most of the mid-late morning. 

Girls are passed out in their carseats during the drive home to NC

While the end of the trip was busy and hectic, the first half was relatively relaxing. Overall, we had a nice time with our friends and family and enjoyed exploring a new city. The girls did get a stamp on their passport thanks to the border patrol agent at the New York crossing going to Quebec. The Vermont agent said they don't stamp the passport for land crossings, so they only got one.

The rest of July was relatively uneventful. We spent most of our weekends going to the pool to stay cool. We also celebrated two birthdays - my mom's mid-month and Colin's towards the end of the month.

Colin gets serenaded by his ladies for his birthday

Stay tuned for August updates, which included lots more trips to the pool and going to school birthday parties. 

June 2017 Update

It seems unbelievable that the summer has come and gone. In reviewing the pictures and videos from June, July and August, I'd have to say that I see such big changes in Zoe. She has fully transformed to a toddler this summer. In looking at some of these pictures and videos from early June, she is so much older and more mature just 3 months later.

Zoe at 21 months

I'll start with a brief recap of June. During the month, the weather was relatively cool for that time of year. We were able to enjoy a lot of time outdoors before the oppressive heat of summer. The pool was delayed a few weeks in opening, so we had to wait until June to start our weekends of swimming. This year, both Rose and Zoe could play in the water with minimal assistance. Without a floatie, Zoe could touch the kiddie area of the pool only near the steps. Thankfully, she would keep her floatie on most of the time.

Thursday nights in June were all about listening to live music at one of the outdoor shopping plazas/movie theater. The area would be blocked off to cars and they would often have a "bounce house," face painting, bubbles, cotton candy, and sometimes popcorn. What more could a kid ask for? On one occasion, a chiropractor advertising his business brought dress-up props. Rose was in her element.

Rose with her face painted and props 3 yrs 4 months

We managed a trip to the beach in June before the pool opened. My favorite part of the day is around dinner, when everyone leaves and you have the beach mostly to yourselves. 

With the nice weather, we made our usual day trips to either Pullen Park or the Durham Museum of Life & Sciences. With the Durham museum now open Sunday mornings, it's a great time to go with not many crowds. We've been going about once a month all summer, mainly because I'm obsessed with seeing the 4 wolf pups (born in April) grow. We've been lucky to catch a glimpse of them every time we go, though they aren't the easiest to catch on video or pictures. The museum has hired a biologist to talk about the wolves, and they do an amazing job providing updates on their blog and Facebook page.

Girls swinging at Pullen Park with daddy

To wrap up the month and as part of a visit with my parents, we drove about an hour west of the Raleigh area to check out a berry festival at a farm the last weekend of the month. We picked blackberries and blueberries, got to enjoy some sweet ice cream treats, rode the tractor, and had a nice outing with my parents. It was a very nice wrap up to a month filled with many local activities, and in preparation for a long week of travel to start the month of July.

Family picture at Millstone Creek Orchard

Rose rocking on the porch at Millstone Creek Orchard

Spring 2015 Fun with Miss Rose

North Carolina weather went from cold/cool winter to warm/hot summer in a matter of weeks. We had the dreaded pollen infestation for most of April, much to my allergy dismay, but once that cleared, we've all been out and about as much as possible.

Here's a photo recap of our most recent adventures.

May in North Carolina means Strawberry season...

Rose preferred eating strawberries to putting them in the basket

Mommy picked the strawberries, and daddy made sure Rose didn't eat the stems

Miss Rose loves to drive and we can't leave a place without letting her test the steering wheel

May temperatures in the 80s means it's time for water activities...

Miss Rose loves the pool

Rose loves the water and the sand, but isn't too keen on the waves

With visitors in town, we decided to check out a Zoo for rescued animals (the Aloha Safari Zoo)...

Miss Rose wanted to feed the pigs, but was too scared to let them take food from her hand

Rose is not all that impressed with the bear (in the background) or the tigers (out of photo view)
She was also afraid of the fast-moving giraffe that liked to get up-close-and-personal with people

The slow-moving turtle is more her style

An All-American 4th of July

Stay tuned until next week for a "tour of the northeast" recap from last weekend.  For now, I leave you with our July 4th holiday.

After a lazy morning of sleeping in and catching up on e-mail and the world wide web, we found ourselves beating the heat at the Oxxford Hunt 4th of July Pool Party!

A crowded pool complete with a DJ and the "cha-cha slide!"

With friends visiting, we decided to check out the Durham Bulls minor league baseball game, which was followed by a very good fireworks display. Despite our "standing room" tickets, we were lucky to find seats near 3rd base for the first half of the game. But, as the evening came to a close, we were kicked out when everyone found their seats for the fireworks display. Thankfully, it was already the 7th inning when we moved to the outfield to enjoy the show.

 Watching the 7th and 8th innings from way back in the outfield

One of the many wonderful fireworks

It was late when we got home, and after being off for 6 days, it was definitely a struggle to get back into the mindset of returning to work.

What did you do for July 4th this year?

Exceeding expectations and keeping costs low in Fort Lauderdale

The stars were in perfect alignment to allow Colin and I the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful 4-day weekend in Ft. Lauderdale this past weekend.  Colin's conference was scheduled to end at the same time my flight was scheduled to arrive, which came a day after I submitted a substantial grant application for the state of North Carolina.

As we always do when we travel without Darwin, we bid for a hotel on Priceline a few weeks leading up to our trip.  I knew that my chances of getting a low price were better as we got closer to the day of arrival, so I didn't stress when we hadn't won a bid a week before my scheduled arrival.  Sure enough, 4-5 days before our trip, my $72 bid was accepted by the four star Hyatt Pier 66. While I did select "beach front" properties, the Hyatt is located about a mile from the beach, so I was slightly disappointed that it was not right on the beach.  I also got very nervous when I read some of the most recent negative hotel reviews, even though the hotel was listed as 4 stars.  The only review that came back consistent was that the pool was really nice.

With low expectations, we checked in. The woman at the front desk was very nice and changed our room reservation from 2 double beds to 1 king (Priceline only asks for the number of people and you can't control the room assignment unless you work with the front desk staff).  She also asked of our preference for proximity to the pool.  When we asked for nice, quiet room, she said we would enjoy our room on the intercoastal waterway, which was also very close to the pool.

Our room was not at all disappointing and the hotel far exceeded my expectations (which, as I said, were pretty low).  I didn't take any pictures of the room, because it was pretty standard for most hotels (king size bed with lots of pillows, tv, dresser, refrigerator, closet, large bathroom). There wasn't any extraordinary furniture worth blogging about.  One of the things I enjoyed the most about the hotel was the balcony.  The boats on the intercoastal were so large, we both dreamed of a day when we could own and use one ourselves!

A relaxing breakfast our first morning

The best part of the hotel was, in fact, the pool.  There were technically 3 pools - a small jacuzzi that could easily fit 8-10 people, a large "S" shaped pool ranging from 3-6' deep, and a smaller "t" shaped pool.  We spent most of our time at the largest pool, which had a waterfall near the deeper end.  The hotel was clearly not crowded, so we did relax at the pool more than we usually do on a beach vacation. I couldn't help but be relaxed while laying in the shade and took a rather long snooze after a filling lunch one afternoon.  We didn't use the jacuzzi because the water was too warm for June in Florida.  But, we did enjoy some night swimming to cool ourselves down before bed one evening.

 Relaxing by the pool

There's the waterfall!

Ending the day with a dip in the nicely lit pool

I would say our hotel was a bargain!  Although it wasn't on the beach, they did provide a complimentary shuttle to and from the beach every hour.  There was no complimentary breakfast, be we prefer our healthier options to most continental breakfasts anyway.  Parking was the major hotel expense, since they charged $21/day.  Our first reaction was to find a place to park near the hotel overnight, but that proved too challenging. Thankfully, we got a great deal on our rental car (also on Priceline) for $26 for 2 days.  Adding $21 for 1 night that we parked in the hotel wasn't too bad.

To break down our expenses, we paid $255 for my flight (Colin's was paid for by work, and I missed an opportunity to get a sub $200 fare), $251 for the hotel (using a Priceline bid of $72/nt + taxes), $26 for a rental car for 2 days, and $21 to park 1 night.  The grand total (minus food and adventures - which will be detailed in another post) came out to $553 for a 4 day/3 night vacation. We are pretty good at keeping food costs low by mixing up buying food in a grocery store and going out too eat.  This is when it's helpful to have a car or be within walking distance of a grocery store.  The estimate of our food costs is $150 for the 10 total meals, which included four meals and a dessert in a restaurant and 4 grocery store meals.  Two of our meals included leftovers we kept in the refrigerator and these were the only meals that were duplicated.  The most outrageous food cost we incurred was the $12 for 1 small and 1 large ice cream from Marble Slab and I will be the first to admit it was not even good!!

Other than the ice cream, I'd say we were able to enjoy a wonderful vacation at minimal cost.  Stay tuned for the next post about exploring the area!

How do you save money when you travel?