fairy garden

I finally got around to downloading the photos from my camera and came across some photos of the girls creating their fairy garden a few months ago. I gave them five little fairy houses for Christmas and they had fun setting them up in a corner of the backyard. We set up some stumps for the houses and the girls found some moss and transplanted it to the garden.

North Carolina Botanical Garden

We took a walk at the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill Sunday afternoon between General Conference sessions. They had a small children's garden with a little fairy garden and you could write down questions and leave them for the fairies. I didn't realize that Amelia had done this, and included our address, until a few weeks later when she received a card in the mail from a fairy at the NC Botanical Garden. Amelia had asked what her tooth fairy's name is and apparently it's "Susie Joy Flower." She was pretty thrilled about getting a personal letter from the garden fairy.

vacation fail.

We planned a Spring Break finale to South Carolina. We were going to hit Myrtle Beach first for some ocean and pool time and then head to Charleston. We drove to Myrtle Beach Friday afternoon and the trip took longer than planned. We finally arrived at our hotel at 6 p.m. and decided to delay dinner and get right to the pools. The kids had a perfect view of the pools from our balcony and could not wait to get down there. The outdoor pools were heated and the kids loved the lazy river. After spending some time at the indoor pool, we ordered pizza and went to bed. Oliver and Simon both had a rough night and kept us up most the night. We were enjoying the sunrise when Elsa woke up and said she didn't feel well. And then threw up.

So that was it. We packed up and headed home. But not before forcing Elsa to walk out to the beach with us so we could at least feel the sand and water before we left. So our trip was cut short and we didn't make it to Charleston. Elsa had a pretty miserable drive home and mostly slept the next two days. Traveling with kids. Always an adventure, never a vacation.

Our two minutes on the beach.

Poor Elsa.

Duke Gardens

I took the girls and Simon to the Duke Gardens one day during Spring Break. Oliver was still not feeling well and stayed home and slept while Ben worked.

We stopped at a local biscuit and donut place in Durham called Rise and loaded up on treats to enjoy in the garden. There were lots of blossoming cherry trees and the first signs of spring flowers. It had changed quite a bit since our last visit in early March.

Elsa demonstrates her "I'm so tired and hot and refuse to move" stance. 

We have been loving the beautiful spring weather and hanging out in our yard on these perfect spring evenings (no humidity and mosquitoes).

Testing out the new grill!

First backyard cook out of the year.

It's best to keep this kid's mess outside.