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This trip to North Carolina I have been lucky. I have gotten to play more golf than I have in a long time.

The last time we were here, we finally found a babysitter that I trusted to watch the kids. She is a nanny a few days a week and we made plans to have her come here on her days off from her other job. It has been so nice. This is the first trip here in a long time that feels like a vacation for me, too.

Scott was here this past weekend. We got to play golf together on both Friday and Saturday, which hasn’t happened in a long time. This has been a really nice trip!

Sunday we took the kids over to the little practice area at the end of the driving range. It is the perfect place for the kids, and we can walk there from the house. Nora got her first taste of the golf course. We gave her a little club and she played with the golf balls. She liked playing on the putting green and trying to throw the ball into the hole.

It was amazing to see the progress Emma has made in her golf swing. A few months and a few golf clinics made a huge difference in her ability. The last time we were here she hit balls a few times. She would swing a couple of times, miss the ball quite often, and then sit in the golf cart and draw on the score card. This time it was like watching a different little girl. Her swing looked great, and she was making perfect contact with the ball. She hardly ever missed and she was getting most of her shots in the air. It was cute to see how proud of herself she was. She just kept hitting ball after ball and she was having fun doing it.

Ian got a little jealous of her progress. He hit balls for a little bit, but got frustrated when Emma was hitting the ball farther than him. He didn’t want to hit balls and ended up running around chasing bugs. Scott spent a little time with him, giving him some one on one attention, and Ian really enjoyed that. It helped get him motivated to hit a few more balls.

I am so happy that we are all able to spend time together here in North Carolina. This is such a perfect place for the kids to grow up playing golf.

I just got the kids all in bed and it is just before 7pm. It is so nice to have a little peace and quiet.

We are in North Carolina again. We got here on Thursday night, and we plan to stay for 2 weeks. Scott came with us on Thursday, but left last night to go to work in Denver. He’ll be back again next weekend.

The weather is beautiful here and we have all enjoyed a little bit more summer. The kids spent most of today and yesterday playing outside. They rode bikes, blew bubbles, and just enjoyed being outside. It was fun to see them playing and having a great time together. Even Nora got in on the action and rode her tricycle and “helped” with the bubbles. Her helping involved spilling most of them on the deck and then playing in them.

I am glad that they were having fun, but since we have been here they have all been so LOUD. Emma has been especially loud. I don’t know if it is just because this house is louder or what is going on with her. Every little disagreement or issue sends her into a screaming fit. I have tried talking to her a number of times. I remind her to use her words and talk things out. I show her what kind of a voice to use and ask her not to yell. She seems to get it, and then the next minute, more yelling.

Hopefully tomorrow she will be a little quieter Either way, I am looking forward to tomorrow. We have a babysitter coming and my mom and I are going to go out to lunch and do a little shopping in Southern Pines. I am looking forward to a little grown up time, and hopefully no yelling!

Here are a few of the pictures from our beach photo shoot. I was able to tweak them in PhotoShop, and I ended up feeling pretty good about them.

We have been staying at Wrightsville Beach for the past few days. The kids have been loving the beach and the pool. They are all at a really great age for the beach. Nora loves to just run around and play. She stays pretty close, and entertains herself digging in the sand for quite awhile. Emma and Ian have spent hours making dribble castles with Nana. Ian can entertain himself for hours with just a stick. He has been playing karate for most of the trip. None of them are overly brave, which is nice, so they stay in the shallowest of water. This is a great beach–big wide sandy beach with pretty small waves. It is perfect for kids!

Last night we went to dinner at an outdoor restaurant. The food was mediocre and the service was extremely slow, but the views were fantastic. We went just before sunset and the lighting was amazing. I was dying to take some pictures, but I didn’t have my camera. I decided that I would take the kids out on the beach the next night to take some photos. I scoped out a place just up the beach from our hotel.

We left the beach a little early, got everyone bathed, into their cute new outfits, and off we went. I found an awesome spot. The sand was great, it was a bit elevated, so the ocean was nice in the background, and there was some nice sea oats growing there. Despite the great setting, the whole thing was sort of a flop. We got there a little too early, so the sun was still a little to high in the sky. It was also just over my shoulder so the it was always in the kids eyes. I couldn’t get them to look at the camera because it was so bright. And something was going wrong with the white balance. I am not sure why, but when I zoomed in, the colors came out too red. When I zoomed out with all the same settings the color balance looked fine. I’ll have to do some research and see what I can do next time to improve. By the time the sun was getting to a better place, the kids were totally done. I wish I had another night so we could do it again. At least I learned a few things

I took about 600 photos. So, I’ll have to spend some time going through them. I am sure I can process a few and make them look decent. Hopefully I’ll have some worthy of posting in a few days!

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Today was a really nice day! I finally found a babysitter here that I am happy with. She is a nanny for another family 3 days a week, and she has been great with the kids. I had her come today so that I could go play golf with my mom and dad. The times that the 3 of us get to play golf are few and far between.

We played 18 holes on the North Course. I played from the middle tees. I didn’t play all that well. Playing from the middle tees really puts more stress on my short game–the weakest part of my game. Still I had a fun time playing. I got to try out my new fairway woods. Last week I went over to Pinehurst to get fitted for a new driver. It was so cool to hit balls and see the results on the launch monitor. I could tell that the guy that pro that was fitting me was impressed with me. I made me feel good. It made me feel like I was still a player.

The morning started out cold. But by the middle of the round the sun started to come out, and it turned into a beautiful day. I really enjoyed just being out there. I enjoyed the company of my mom and dad. On the 18th hole, I hit my drive and then walked back to my cart. My dad was sitting there next to the tee. He looked over at me and gave me one of the best compliments I have ever received. He said “Kerry, you are the perfect daughter. If I could have picked from all the daughters out there, I couldn’t have picked anyone better than you.” I could feel my whole face light up as I smiled. It made me feel so good. I had been thinking recently that my dad didn’t compliment me as much as he used to. Before I had kids he was always making me feel good, telling me I looked pretty or that he liked my outfits. Since I had kids he just doesn’t do that like he used to. But this compliment was so much better than any compliment about my looks.

Today I felt really lucky to have my parents. We are so lucky to all have each other. My kids are so lucky to have them so involved with their lives. My mom adores Emma. My dad told me the other day that when they are together they talk to each other like friends. I thought that was so cute. My dad loves to take Ian out onto the golf course. They are golf buddies. Nora is growing and blossoming and I can see her carving out her own little niche. I am really thankful for all the time we are able to share together.

Red Cardinal

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Another Red-bellied Woodpecker

Look at that bee!

Can you tell I am excited about Spring?

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It is raining here again. Blech. It has been raining for the last week. I know that they are in a drought here, and they really need it. I am thankful to be here, and not at home where it is still SNOWING! Still, I am ready for a little more sunshine!

One good thing about the rain is that I have had tons of time to work out. They finished construction of the fitness center here at Forest Creek. It turned out so nice, just like everything else they do here. It is like a regular gym, just a little smaller. I have been wanting to start a cardio program for months, to start to get in shape for mountain biking. I still remember the burning lungs and legs from the beginning of last season. I am trying to avoid that as much as possible!

I have been riding the elliptical trainer about 4-5 times per week. Last week I met with a trainer and had my body fat percentage and BMI tested and had an evaluation. I was really happy with it. I can’t remember the last time I had my body fat tested, but it was surely before I had any kids. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it was 18%. I guess all the running and exercising my dad made me do as a kid really did have an effect. He used to say that if we built a base of muscle then, it would benefit us our whole lives. I don’t know if he was right, or if I just have a genetic predisposition to it, but I have been pretty fit my whole life.

The trainer also gave me a strength training routine to start. It is a lot of flexibility and core strenghtening exercises. It uses very simple free weights, so I could really do it anywhere. I did part of it with him the other day, just to get a feel for the different exercises. It didn’t feel very hard, and I didn’t think I was really getting a lot out of it. Today I know that it was working. I am so sore and stiff I can hardly walk My butt and thighs are so sore.

It makes me feel good when I work out. Now I just need to commit to doing it when I get home too, not just on vacation!