14 years!

Our anniversary was on Saturday, June 3, (14 years!) and we took advantage of having a Saturday anniversary and planned a full day adventure. We had our babysitter come from 9-5 and we headed out for some kayaking and biking. We started at Boulted Bread and picked up some delicious pastries before heading to Robertson Millpond Preserve. Such a fabulous hidden gem! It was less than 30 minutes away and turned out to be the coolest place to paddle around. (We bought a second kayak the previous day as an anniversary gift to ourselves.) The millpond is a blackwater cypress swamp and it was so pretty as we paddled around, and quiet! We only heard the sound of different birds and wildlife and pretty much had the swamp to ourselves. It was nice and shady too. It was so fun to explore the swamp together.

After kayaking, we headed to the Neuse River Trail and rode about 13 miles. It was a pretty hot afternoon but the breeze on the bikes felt good, and there is lots of shade on the pretty Neuse River trail (and so many beautiful crepe myrtles and magnolias in bloom). We stopped at the Farmers Market before finally heading home. I loved getting to spend the whole day with Ben. It was relaxing and fun and filled with uninterrupted conversation. It was great to be outdoors all day too and enjoy so many pretty sights together.

Ruby helping Ben clean the kayaks. She doesn't leave his side.

Lemurpalooza + RDU Observation Park

The Duke Lemur Center had their annual Lemurpalooza event so we took advantage of the chance to check out the Center. They have the largest concentration of lemurs outside of Madagascar. The kids have a special love for lemurs so they had fun watching them and seeing all the different kinds. We had picked up Ben from the airport on our way there (he was returning from a work trip) and had to stop at the airport to get his car on the way home. We stopped at the RDU Observation Park to catch the sunset and play around a bit. It was a fun family night.

Cape Fear Botanical Garden

I drove down to Fayetteville one day with Ruby and Simon to check out the Cape Fear Botanical Garden. I was pleasantly surprised to find it much bigger than I thought and it was a beautiful walk around the grounds. The day lilies were in full bloom and the kids had fun in the children's garden. We were the only people around which was nice.

Catching fireflies!

Such a magical part of summer. We love having so many fireflies in our yard.