One thing we miss about Utah is Grandma Gloria planning all of our fun holidays. Since we now live in North Carolina it’s become our responsibility to make sure Lilly (Karen) doesn’t miss out on any of those fun activities. So, for Easter I got a few things from the grocery store to put together an Easter basket and egg hunt. Turned out that Lilly enjoyed it more then we thought.

Easter Weekend

Since Deere gave us Good Friday off for Easter Karen and I decided to head to the beach for the weekend. A vendor of mine, who’s lived in North Carolina his whole life, recommended that we visit two nice family beaches in Wilmington called Wrightsville Beach and Topsail Island. Wilmington is in the Southeast corner of the state where the climate is a little more like Orlando than it is like Charlotte. They have palm trees there and Spanish moss hanging in the hardwoods.

The distance is only about 220 miles one way but it’s through a hundred little cities and takes more like 4 hours to get there. On the way home we decided to take the interstate back which was about 100 miles further but we still got home in the same 4 hours it took us to get out there.

On our way to the beach we stopped into one those cities I mentioned to feed Lilly and get lunch at Bo jangles, the South’s version of KFC. Once we finished our lunch we got back on the road and pulled into Wilmington Beach around 1:30 in the afternoon.

We decided to see if we could check into our condo early but when we got there we discovered that the pool pump was broken and the water was all dirty. So, we asked to cancel our reservation and went down the street to the Hilton Beach Resort; which turned out to be much nicer place for about 10 bucks less so we were happy to have the upgrade.

As soon as we settled in, we dressed Lilly in her bathing suit, strapped on her sandals and headed down to the beach. Everyone that saw her at the beach kept commenting on her cute bathing suit and sandals. Once we put our stuff down in the sand we walked with Lilly down to the water and dipped her feet into the ocean. I don’t know how much she liked it but Karen and I had so much fun.

Karen bought Lilly an inflatable pool toy and we were dying to try it out. So, after a couple of hours on the beach we moved it to the pool. It was so cute, the inflatable allowed Lilly to float around in the pool. In fact, she liked it so much that she just sat back in the inflatable and enjoyed a nice lounge in the pool.

After the pool we cleaned up and went into town for some local seafood. Once we finished eating we went back to the beach as the sun was setting and walk along the shoreline.

The next morning we ate Easter brunch at the resort’s restaurant which had large south facing windows that overlooked the ocean; it was a very picturesque breakfast. After breakfast we went up to topsail beach to spend some time playing in the sand and to take some photos. Once we saw everything we wanted to there, we went back into Wilmington and toured the battleship USS North Carolina.

The tour was really fun, interesting and entertaining. The first 10 minutes of the tour was a video about the battleship which showed actual battle footage of the ship while it was at sea in WWII. After the video, we boarded the ship and took a self-guided tour that allowed us to enter the bridge, walk the deck and go even below where we toured the engine room, sailor quarters and infirmary. After the battleship tour it was starting to get late so we feed Lilly, gassed up and headed for home.



Our weekend out was so much fun, we saw a lot of things that we knew the family would just love to experience, Karen and I kept saying oh Gracie would love this or Steve and Emily would think this is so cool. So, I decided to put together a short video clip to visually share our vacation with all of you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHgYzY_SPOY&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

P.S. When I saw this aligator and instantly thought of Jack, he would have died of excitement if he was with us when we stopped in at this place.

That tornado was hungry.

Impressive eye witness accounts of last weeks extreme weather.

1:07 - "Hambuger, Fries and Drink!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkTCWR-tn6w&feature

Easter Pictures

A quick update…The tornado didn’t get us. Thank goodness. We did get a lot of rain and some winds. There was a bad hail storm about 30 miles away with hail the size of baseballs. Also, some trees fall down but nothing too close to home. We have been told that Huntersville usually misses the bad weather. However, to keep everyone at ease with our safety, there is a tornado warning siren just down the street and we have a really sturdy bathtub.

Tyson and I are still waiting for the apartment to flood though. We seem to get water damage at least once a year.

We had Lilly’s Easter pictures taken last weekend. I’ll have a link for everyone a little later. Here are some for now.

Getting ready for Easter in the South. Part II

Getting ready for Easter in the South.

A Day in the Life of Lillian Louise

A Day in the Life of Lillian Louise
At 4 Months and 3 weeks

My name is Lillian Louise Harris. My Mommy and Daddy call me Lilly, Lilly Pad, Stinky Face (only from Daddy), and Snuggle Bug. My favorite time of day is waking up in the morning and seeing Mommy come get me. It makes me smile and wiggle with joy. I can’t wait to start the day with my family.

I start the day by eating breakfast and taking a long nap. Sometimes I insist on sleeping on Mommy during the morning nap. This makes her have to juggle me and the laptop while she works. Sometimes I am a good girl and sleep on the couch next to her.



After I wake up from my nap I eat again and then spend about an hour sitting on Mommy’s lap while she works. Mommy wouldn’t be able to finish her work without me helping her type on the computer and make comments during her conference calls. After all, I am an expert on Respiratory Therapy and how the program should be ran at Independence University.

When Mommy is done with work she gets me dressed in my cute girly clothes and we play together. It doesn’t matter what time she puts me in my clothes I always make sure to poop all over myself right after she does so she has to dress me in another outfit.

Some of my favorite toys are my bouncy chair, my play mate play gym, and my jumpy saucer. During my play time we read books and sign songs. My favorite song is ‘10 Little Monkeys’. We also have dreaded tummy time during play time. It is the worst part of my day. The only good thing about tummy time is that my dog, Herbert, comes and plays with me. He brings me toys and licks my face. He can’t seem to figure out that I don’t know how to throw yet. But he is a good doggy and lets me pull his ears.

After I get done playing I take a quick power nap. I have to make sure to get all my naps in or I get ornery. Sometimes my Mommy lets me take my power naps on her bed. She will sit next to me and hold my hand and read a book until I fall asleep. The bed is my favorite place to sleep but I don’t get to sleep there often so I take full advantage of it whenever I do.

Lunch time comes after I wake up. I get cereal for lunch and I love it. I can’t get enough and Mommy is way too slow. I try to make her go faster by holding her hand and lunging for the spoon whenever I can. I am a good eater and Mommy calls me ‘her little piggy’. I can’t wait until I get to start eating fruit and veggies.

After lunch it’s time for Mommy to clean the house and start dinner. While she cleans and makes dinner I sit in my Bumbo Chair and give her instructions on what she needs to do. When she makes dinner I insist she let me help by stirring the food and by holding all utensils or anything else she is touching.

About the time when dinner is ready Daddy comes home! I love it when Daddy comes home. I’ll sit and give him goo-ga-ly eyes until he comes and picks me up. We spend the night together as a family hanging out or sometimes running errands. I am fantastic at running errands. I usually fall asleep in the car. Once we are at our destination I am good in the grocery cart and I am nice to everyone. People always tell me I am the cutest baby they have ever seen. If we have to run an errand with me in my stroller I get a little naughty because I would rather be held then having to sit in the stroller.

Right before bed time Mommy puts me in the bath. Bath time is another one of my favorite times of the day. I enjoy splashing in the water and talking to myself. It is the time of day I reflect back and think about what makes me happy. I like to eat my bath toys and the rag. After that I get in my pajamas, get lotion on, take my vitamins, eat one more time, and then go to bed. I am a really good sleeper. Every once in a while I wake up and my Mommy or Daddy have to run in and give me my binky so I can fall back to sleep.



On the weekends I spend time exploring North Carolina with my Mommy and Daddy. We are having a lot of fun figuring out what this state has to offer. We also go to church on Sundays. I am usually good for half of the time at church and then naughty for the other half. I am preparing my Mom and Dad for when I get really naughty.

Overall I think that I am a really good baby. I like to smile and giggle. I love cuddling and having adventures. Although sometimes I have a really bad temper and I am very strong willed I think that my Mom and Dad got really lucky having such an easy baby...and a beautiful one.

Birthday

Thank you for all of your birthday wishes. I had a nice birthday. Tyson took me to a great restaurant called 131 Main. The food was amazing. Tyson also made me a yummy cheese cake. My presents included a brand new purse and a new book. I am excited to get both.

I wanted to share this picture. If anyone had any questions about who Lilly looks most like (me or Tyson) just take a look....