Visitors

Our long awaited visitors finally made it down here to good ol' NC. Auntie Liz and the all boys came for the week and we had a blast! With all the going here and there's we managed to squeeze in another trip to Duke Gardens and the Museum of Life and Science (since the boys hadn't been).

(there's a dragonfly on that there flower)

Lots o' lily pads....

....giant ones too...

...I love them, think they are so pretty.

Jack and Kathy taking a break on the bench...it was a hottt day!

Dru...following the rest of 'em that zipped up ahead.

Another bridge...somehow I missed this one the three previous times I've been there?

Kathy and Beepa

They painted the white bridge red to go more with the oriental gardens surrounding it.

Can't get enough of that bamboo ☺

Traditional Japanese house....

....nakey feet please☺

The boys on yet another bridge.

Beepa taking full advantage of what little breeze we had while strolling into the pergola.

Step Gardens...

...peekin' in on the poison dart frogs again...

...love these lil' guys....and more butterflies...

While they visited we also painted gourdes...mine took a lil' longer but I finished! I painted one for myself this time...just needs a sealant and it's good to go....

...all three sides ☺

Had SO much fun! Can't wait 'til they visit again!

St. Patrick's Day

Today is St. Patrick's Day, as well as Auntie Liz's birthday! And with all the green and clovers you see here and there, it got me thinking, how did this really all start, there must of been something before all the green beer?

"According to History.com, Patrick was actually born in Britain. At 16, he was taken prisoner “by a group of Irish raiders” who took him across the sea to Ireland. There, he spent six years in captivity. Apparently, it was then that he turned to religion as a means of fighting off fear and loneliness.
Eventually, Patrick escaped. Guided by a voice he believed to be God’s, Patrick walked 200 miles to the Irish coast. Back in Britain, he trained to be a priest for 15 years. Patrick then returned to Ireland with two goals — “to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish.”
Patrick was successful in his goals, perhaps largely due to his incorporating traditional Irish symbols into Christianity. For example, many believe he came up with the Celtic cross. According to legend, he wanted to incorporate an Irish symbol (the sun) onto the Cross “so that veneration of the symbol would seem more natural to the Irish.” The site Catholic.org explains that Patrick also used a three-leafed shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish (other sites call this another myth).
St. Patrick died on March 17, 461 “after years of living in poverty, traveling, and enduring much suffering.” " Seems pretty far off from what the holiday has now become.

Well...Happy St. Patty's Day!!

And a big ol' Happy Birthday to Auntie Liz!!!

Sad day

Sad to say that Auntie Liz flew back to NH yesterday. I'm bummed, miss her already!! Had a great visit while she was here though. Lots of fun was had!! :-)

Copperhead

Day 3 of Auntie Liz's visit, at my parents house: After we all arrive back from the Farmer's Market in Greensboro. All of us girls go out on the deck, to relax and create jewelery. Auntie Liz lugged several pounds of beads with her all the way from NH, so we thought we better make the most of this opportunity. :-) We are all picking out what we like best and begin creating away, when Beepa decides its time she went allll the way to her house, just a hop skip and a jump away...to start some deviled eggs. We bid her farewell and about a minute later we hear a faint little voice "Psssttt...I see the snake."

"What!!??" we yell.

"I see the snake." she whispers again and is pointing down at the garden.

We all drop what we are doing, run the dogs in the house, grab cameras and book it over there! Dad of course was the first to arrive on the scene, and the snake got away, was just able to squeeze back under the patio area. But dad was on a mission and wasn't going to let the snake get away again, as he did once before. So boards start flying back up and the water hose and rakes come back out. Spent quite awhile trying to "drown" the snake out.

When that wasn't working it was decided that more boards had to be pulled up...
Eventually the snake showed itself and it was caught. He wasn't too pleased with us. And we weren't too pleased with having to catch him. But with everyone and the animals...a poisoness, stubborn snake...just don't mix well, its one of those unfortunate things. Hopefully there won't be anymore, two is enough if you ask me. This one was later "released" back into the woods, in a manner of speaking. It was very pretty though.

Auntie's Liz's Visit!

Well, Thursday my Auntie Liz arrived safely for her 6 day visit!! So freakin' excited she is here! We had a big sleep over at our house, Mom, Beepa, Auntie Liz, Cortney, and the dogs. :-) Spent most of the day at the South Point mall, didn't even get to see half of it, cuz they were spending so much time shopping in Sears and Macy's of all places, hehe. However Friday was much more fun, we went to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. We went and saw the butterfly pavilion, and saw them release new tropical butterflies!! It's this HUGE greenhouse full of tropical plants, birds and butterflies. We also saw other stuff like bears and creepy crawly insects, didn't get a chance to see all there was their either, we were on a time crunch. It was so much fun though, even had some of the butterflies land right on us! Unfortunately, with all the rushing around before we left the house, I forgot my camera!!! I was not too pleased with myself. I will just have to go again with Michael some time, so he can see and I can take pictures. (Mike had to work, he has been working alot lately.) We really enjoyed the museum, so many things to look at and discover. I will be spending the weekend at my parents, and we will be going here and there and doing more exploring!

I sneaked some pictures that Auntie Liz was able to take, cuz unlike me, she remembered to bring her camera :-)Ahhh, tarantula!! And yah, that would be mom, trying to "pet" the lil guy through the glass. :-)

This Owl butterfly took turns landing on all of us, hitchin' a ride throughout the greenhouse.

We were too busy lookin' at these Huge spiders hanging from the ceiling to realize...but soon I discovered, there was NO GLASS separating us from them!! Freaked us all out. To quote Cortney, "That was a total Harry Potter moment!" Same kinda incident that happened in Harry Potter, only this was a spider, not a snake, hehe.

I don't even remember what these are called...but I instantly recognized them, from "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom"! When Willie first left her room and went into the temple, with all the bugs...she eventually gets a light, and turns her hand over, to discover this lil guy in the palm of her hand!!! eek! (Yes, I watch too much Indiana Jones)

Another Visitor

So freakin' excited, my one and only, Auntie Liz comes to visit in exactly a week!!!! Can't wait!! Yipee!