farm animal days

I took the boys to the annual NC State Farm Animal Days. The NC State farm land is pretty close to our house and we pass by it all the time so it was fun to finally get a close-up look. They had farm animals to see, tractors to ride, and free ice cream from the NC State dairy. It was super crowded but the boys didn't seem to mind. Except when it came to waiting in lines to sit on the tractors. But ice cream at 10 a.m. makes everything okay.

azalea gardens

The WRAL Azalea Gardens are one of my favorite hidden spots in Raleigh. Simon and I wandered around there one morning when the azaleas were at their peak and it was beautiful. I followed Simon around while he chased bees and attempted to do somersaults in the path.

The news helicopter landed on the roof and then took off again while we were there. Simon loved watching it. 

 This mile-high wisteria we spotted on the way home was so pretty.

random april.

The kids have had hours of fun with this cardboard market stand we picked up at Ikea. The girls made a bunch of paper food to sell and everyone fought over the cash register.

Experimenting with biscuit recipes. This one from King Arthur Flour was a winner.

Pretty scene from one of my long Saturday morning runs. Love all the great trails around here.

spring in Old Salem

I took the kids to Winston-Salem for a quick day trip back in April. We walked around Old Salem and saw lots of beautiful trees and flowers blooming. We watched the puppet show there and then headed to the children's museum for the afternoon.

I had read somewhere that Winston-Salem had the only remaining shell-shaped gas station (this was built in the 1930s) and we found it!