Historic Oakwood Cemetery

I drove around the Oakwood historic district near downtown Raleigh one day (lots of interesting architectural styles and homes with pretty gardens). I stopped at the Oakwood Cemetery to take a closer look at some blossoming trees. Nearly 1,500 Confederate soldiers are buried there, along with many prominent political figures.

neighborhood blossoms.

One of the first signs of spring (back in early March) were all of the blossoming Bradford Pear trees in the area. We had several on our street and a few in our yard. The big white blossoms looked stunning against the bright blue sky. It has been so fun to see our yard come alive for the first time.

 Signs of spring in our front yard.

I had to celebrate spring with roasted asparagus, caramelized onion and goat cheese pizza. Yum.

zip line!

Our backyard was just asking for a zip line. Ben installed it one Saturday evening and after some trial and error (like going WAY too fast and running into the tree) he finally got it just right. We hung it pretty low so at least the girls could get on and off unassisted. But it's just high enough for Ben and I to ride too. As long as we don't gain all that weight back!

These photos aren't the best since it was getting dark and my iphone was starting to act up (finally had to upgrade my phone which is good since I rarely take out my real camera anymore). But the zip line has definitely been a huge hit. I'm excited for the next backyard project, whatever that may be...

the land of cotton.

We spent a fun Saturday afternoon at the Historic Oak View County Park. It's a 19th-century farmstead where cotton was the primary crop. There are lots of fun exhibits, historic buildings, and a great play area for the kids. They even provided us with some apples so we could feed the goats.

biggest loser contest

Ben and I participated in another weight loss contest this year. My cousin put together a "Biggest Loser" contest and it was a great motivator for us. The top prize was $750! Unfortunately we didn't win the big money, but we did exceed our weight loss goals (I lost 27 pounds and Ben lost 26 pounds during the ten weeks) and most importantly, we felt SO much better with a much healthier diet and regular exercise. We really emphasized vegetables, eliminated desserts, cut down on portion sizes, didn't eat after dinner, avoided going out to eat and mindless snacking, and put our treadmill to good use. Just being aware of the calorie content of many foods is shocking enough to make you want to avoid them, especially when you know how long it took you to work off that many calories with exercise.

We celebrated the end of the contest with a delicious lunch at La Farm Bakery. Baked goods are my weakness so I've been trying to enjoy them (and all things) in moderation now. It's amazing what a difference a few changes in your diet can make. (Just don't get me started on the ridiculous gluten-free craze.)

an evening at the playground.

Raulston Arboretum

I took the boys to check out the JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University one beautiful spring day last month. The blossoms were just beginning to appear and we enjoyed a picnic in a grove of blooming magnolia trees.