NC Carlsons

Hanging Rock Camping Trip

2010-05-16T09:20:00.002-04:00

We hiked to the top of Hanging Rock - a spectacular view of the valley below.

As always, the girls had their bikes ready to go. This was Adelle's first foray out of the cul de sac on her big bike w/ free wheel and hand brakes. She handled it very well.

Cutler just doing what he does - exploring and being handsome.

Hiking with friends up to the top of Hanging Rock.

Daddy and his kiddos at the top of Hanging Rock. It was only a mile hike, but the trail went almost straight up. No complaints from the girls at all, and Cutler loves riding in the backpack.

2010-05-16T08:45:00.002-04:00

The kids at our first Bulls game of the year with Wool E. Bull. And yes, Adelle still wears her Mariners jersey to every Durham Bulls game!

Adelle had a field trip for school to a Bulls afternoon game. Molly went as a well and everyone had a great time.

Cut-Dog doing excercise.

Just hanging in the backyard with Mia and his monster truck.

May 15 = the pool is open! It was almost 100 yesterday, so the pool opening was perfect. We spent most of the day over there.

Catching up with some October pix

2009-11-23T20:28:00.002-05:00

Taking a stroll with mom and dad. We take a morning walk pretty much every day. Across the road, through the golf course, and back home.

HEY, IT'S WOOL E. BULL!!!

Yeah, you know I'm the man!

Hooked up the trailer and took a bike ride last week. C-Dog wasn't so sure at first, but quickly decided that he feels the need for speed. Go get 'em Mav!

More November Pix

2009-11-23T20:18:00.003-05:00

Adelle chasing the birds on Wrightsville Beach.

My family.

Cut-man and daddy looking at the birds.

Adelle loves her feather. She brought them home and put them in her room. Silly girl.

MJ's High School in Wilmington.

Updated November Pix

2009-11-23T20:09:00.002-05:00

Here is Cutler doing what he does best - play football! This was at our hotel on the beach last weekend. We spend Sat and Sun on Wrightsville Beach, NC.

Cut-Dog is tired after a long party.

The family.

Mom and Dad with the Cut-Man.

Daddy sitting with the girls on the porch waiting for their car pool. I do this pretty much every day. Love it.

More camping pix from Labor Day

2009-09-11T23:12:00.003-04:00

This is how we roll for breakfast....we love mom! The girls stopped for a little rock climbing during while we hiked around the lake. 2.5 miles and no complaints!

I haven't quite figured it out, but Adelle always wants to hold something up for pictures. In this case, a pancake was the only thing she had near by. She's such a goofball and I love her so much.

Cut-man showing them his "O" at Capone's Pizza in Boone.

You can see Cutler's pack and play in front of the camper. We set him out there while the kids rode their bikes and played. He loved watching the trucks go by with their big campers attached. As long as the other kids were out there playing, Cutler was good to go.

More camping pix from Labor Day

2009-09-11T21:43:00.003-04:00

We took a nice hike around the lake - 2.5 miles! Everyone made it just fine and we didn't see any snakes this time. I didn't complain about that. The girls...

Daddy and Cutler being men.

This is what camping is all about.

Labor Day Weekend - Price Lake

2009-09-11T18:55:00.004-04:00

The original plan was to camp at Roan Mountain in Tennessee, but the campground was full. A four-hour drive for nothing! Luckily, Price Lake was just down the Parkway so we ended up having a great time at a familiar campground.

Miss Emily in the camper.

Here's the Cut-man enjoying some lunch. On the very last day, he took a header in this seat and got a couple of scratches on his head. No biggie, but it wasn't fun for mommy!

The kids having fun before bedtime in the camper. Cutler loves to play peek a boo with his sisters and the curtains provided the perfect opportunity.
Daddy setting up...

We did the standard stuff - hiking, throwing rocks, riding bikes, doing nothing. It was a very relaxing family weekend. It was actually a bit chilly the first day and we got a bit of rain. It was a welcome break from the heat and humidity at home. We love the mountains!

Pix from Carowinds

2009-08-26T21:37:00.002-04:00

Emily did this one about 5 times. Dad did it 3 times, mom did it twice. How could I resist any rides with a Tomcat out front. It had a ton of loops, twists, and turns. We were a bit wobbly-legged after this!

Mommy and C-Man.

The girls after getting their faces painted. Only one problem - it was about 1,000 degrees with 1000 percent humidity, so the paint was all over their faces in about an hour and a half. They still had a bunch of fun with it.

Charlotte trip

2009-08-26T21:27:00.004-04:00

We took a trip down to Charlotte a few weeks back. We had no specific plans other than exploration. We spent an afternoon at a pretty good kid's museum, then spent the evening at Carowinds (an amusement park).
Somebody is hungry...

All better now....

Emily taking her little brother for a little stroll after lunch.

Adelle and daddy made towers out of blocks at the kids museum. Mine was a bit taller than hers, and she had a great time knocking it down.

Durham Bulls Game

2009-08-26T20:57:00.003-04:00

What's a baseball game without cotton candy?

Adelle got 3 balls at our last game, so she thinks that is the norm. We tried out best, but nothing came our way this time.

It's Wool E. Bull! You'd never believe it, but the 5 year-old won the race around the bases.

Adelle's 5th Birthday

2009-07-16T21:05:00.004-04:00

Just doin' what we do

2009-07-15T21:39:00.002-04:00

Nothing beats a couple of grilled chicken breasts and a bowl of fresh veggies! My friend brought over some fresh squash from his garden, so I added onion, green peppers, and a touch of salt and pepper. Yummy!
Definitely my MVP!

Mia is still Mia.....always into something but cute enough to talk her way out of the trouble.

This is Adelle's friend leafy. He was sitting out on the deck last night and she adopted him for a while. She finally got a stick and helped him into the tree.

Miss Adelle and Leafy.

A couple of my favorite pix from this summer

2009-07-15T21:04:00.003-04:00

Emily lounging at the pool before her swim team awards.
She's in the far lane getting ready for her backstroke heat. She won her freestyle heat and took 4th in her backstroke heat. She didn't make the finals, but that's pretty good for only her second year on the team. We were very proud parents.

Adelle in front of the Dean Dome. This was her first time inside the building made famous by so many great Tar Hell basketball teams. The 2009 banner isn't up yet, but she marveled at all of the other banners in the rafters. She particularly like all of the retired numbers and other jerseys.

It's hard to get so many banners in the picture!

Cutler Carlson = the next US tennis prodigy!

First day of school

2009-07-15T20:53:00.002-04:00

Yes, the first day of school was July 15. On the year round schedule, they are on six weeks, then off six weeks. This way, they get a vacation during each season.

Here is Miss 4th Grader:

And the new student, who's very excited about going to school with her sister. When we got home tonight, she said, "I wish I was still at school." Her teacher and assistant teacher are both very nice. We love Easley Elementary very much and are glad to be in this district.

Regular faces:

And the obligatory goofy faces:

More Myrtle Beach

2009-05-27T20:59:00.002-04:00

The girls on their bikes. The bigger kids had free reign in the park - Adelle kept it close to the camper.
Theme of the weekend: More sunscreen!!

What could be better than a nap on the beach? Adelle was wiped out after two straight days of sand castles and boogie boarding.

Our little set up....

Myrtle Beach - Memorial Day 2009

2009-05-27T20:33:00.004-04:00

The star of the show:The girls, wearing hats and t-shirts after getting burned on the beach. We did our best to keep them covered in SPF70, but it wasn't good enough.....they both got burned pretty bad.

Cutler in the camper. He was a little tropper...ate well, slept fairly well...no complaints.

I bet you didn't know that Myrtle is a nude beach!!

Both girls before their sunburns.

Mommy and her boy.

Guess who can ride without training wheels (a week before her fifth birthday!)? I'm so proud!

She just needed a little boost, then took off.

Cutler's first bike ride

2009-04-19T20:36:00.003-04:00

So I took the yellow bike down out of the garage today and hooked up the trailer. I haven't been on the yellow bike in years, so Cutler and I both had some fun.

The smallest helmet they have won't fit him yet, so we kept it on our street. He loved the trailer and loved being outside with the other kids. We'll be back to taking family rides when Cutler's melon fits into the helmet. I can't wait to get him on two wheels!!

Camping at Kerr Lake

2009-04-18T14:16:00.005-04:00

Yes, we live in North Carolina now so it's pronounced, "Car" Lake, even though it's spelled Kerr Lake. Don't ask - nobody knows why.

It's about 45 minutes from the house, right on the Virgina border. We went with our friends who have two daughters - the kids had a blast.

Here they are playing a game where they act out the weather and we have to guess what they're doing. I believe this was lightning....

Of course, we don't go anywhere without the bikes. There weren't any off road bike trails so the girls had to stick with pavement. We were on a couple of big loops, giving them plenty of space to explore without ever going too far.

The obligatory goofy self-portrait. Cut-man and I were down by the edge of the lake watching the (tiny) waves splash on shore. He loved it.

You can see the truck and camper through the trees. It's definitely a different type of forest than those we had in Oregon, but beautiful none the less.

Cutler is a pyro like his dad. Look at him stare down the fire!

Why do I always take pictures of my bike? Probably for the same reason that I gave her a name - no, I won't tell you what it is.

Another goofy self-pic in the camper.

Cutler had a ball - his eating and sleeping remained on schedule and he didn't complain for a second. Six months old and already a seasoned camper! We're looking forward to taking him out to the beach for Memorial Day weekend. We already have reservations in Myrtle Beach.

The girls enjoying their fine camping cuisine....hot dogs, chips, and orange pop.

Goofing around by the waters edge. As you can see, there won't be any talk of droughts out here this summer. Kerr Lake is somewhere near a foot over normal - a lot of the close up campsites are still under water.

Cut-man striking a pose.

Grandma and Grandpa Madison visit NC!

2009-04-18T13:51:00.005-04:00

We were very happy to have Grandma and Grandpa Madison come out for a week last month. And lucky for us, they brought Emily's best friend (and cousin) Jalin.

We took grandpa for a short hike down by the Eno River. I can't think of anything I'd rather do than skip rocks in a river. This was probably the most fun I had while they were here. The kids ran off and Molly had a chance to chat with her Dad. I just sat on a bench and soaked in the silence. That's pretty hard to beat.
They had a quick spa for Adelle, then treated Grandma to her own spa night. The whole scene was fabulous, complete with soothing music and dim lights.

Mommy and Adelle on the porch. It's not hard to see where Adelle got her good looks!

Adelle being a ham for the camera. Really? Adelle? No way!

More old-time favorites

2009-04-01T10:00:00.002-04:00

Another all-time favorite

2009-03-31T14:28:00.004-04:00

Just before moving to NC, we went to Seattle for Jr's big return to the Pacific NW. Of all the times I've been to Safeco (and the Kingdome), this was probably the best.

Now that he's officially back, we'll try to catch him and the M's in Baltimore and Boston this year.

One of my all-time favorite pictures

2009-03-31T11:26:00.003-04:00

Home Improvements

2009-03-24T18:31:00.006-04:00

We've been through a couple of home improvements that last couple of weeks and wanted to share the results.
Ok, so it's not a home improvement but daddy is fired up about his new monitor. 23 inches of hp goodness!

Mommy's new sink. The old one was pretty nasty when we moved in...chipped, dirty, etc. She wanted one large sink as opposed to the split one we had before. After a couple of weeks, we love it.

The guy just finished painting the shutters and front door. I may have tackled this one myself, but daddy doesn't get along well with 30 foot ladders. That and I don't have one! The old paint was weathered and chipped and the difference is huge. The black looks striking against our house - once again, Molly picked a winner.

I spent all of last weekend in the yard (75 and sunny!). This space gets overrun with weeds and ground cover every summer, so we tore it up and added a ton of bark. It doesn't look like much, but I had to move a TON of bark from the front to the back, one wheel barrow at a time. I also added another layer of bricks to the wall (you can't see it very well in these pics, I'll post more later). It was a lot of work, but the results are worth the effort. The kids came out on Saturday and we had a family work day. Even though they had me working alone on Sunday, they're efforts were rewarded with a nice lawn and two massive cupcakes.

We're officially Southerners

2009-03-19T20:20:00.003-04:00

I stopped at Cracker Barrel today and picked up a couple of white rocking chairs for the front porch. Yep, it's official.....we're Southerners.

Cutler gets a high chair!

2009-03-19T20:15:00.003-04:00

New pix

2009-03-11T21:32:00.004-04:00

Not a lot of news lately. Daddy spent last week in Miami at sales meetings. Our hotel was on South Beach, but my feet didn't touch sand once. Too many crummy meetings....

We've been in the high 70's/low 80's since I got back on Friday so we're back to taking daily walks. Cutler is starting to like the stroller and he is very interested in whatever is going on around us.

Adelle absolutely adores her little brother.

Is it NFL season yet?

2009-03-10T21:52:00.001-04:00

Lazy Saturday

2009-02-21T11:00:00.001-05:00

What else would we be doing? "WOO HOO, JESTER'S DEAD!"

Mav & Goose....

"Geez, I crack myself up".........

Misc Pix

2009-02-14T09:36:00.003-05:00

Give me my cereal or someone gets hurt.

Get a haircut, hippie.

Kids

2009-02-14T08:25:00.003-05:00

Molly started Cutler on cereal this week. He wasn't sure at first but quickly came around and started to attack the spoon.

Skating

2009-02-14T08:10:00.002-05:00

Both kids started skating again last month and daddy decided to get back in the game. I had to dig a bit to find my skates and stick, but it was well worth while.

Guess who got more stitches?!?!?

2009-02-01T20:24:00.005-05:00

It looks like Evil Adelle will get another scar to match the one on her forehead. Daddy was playing tennis when I got the call - "We're at Duke Urgent Care - you'll probably want to come over."
As it turns out, Adelle was hot-rodding her bike down the drive way and mis-judged the curb. The bike indo'd and she ate some street. Mommy left Cutler with a neighbor and sent Emily to a friend's house, then took the daredevil down to Urgent Care. Dr. Morris numbed it up a bit, gave her another pain-killing shot, then put a couple of stitches in her chin. Her elbow was scraped up pretty good and she was complaining about pain, so he gave it a quick check as well. Just scrapes and bruises, but no other issues. No tears, no whining, no complaints. Luckily, we got home in time to make a pizza and watch the Super Bowl (in case anyone missed it, they showed a closeup of the Broncos Super Bowl ring and yes, the two heads represtent two Championships)!!!
Check out the crumbs! We had an extra-special dessert tonight - banana/chocolate cream pie.

With the weather changing again this week, she'll be off the bike and back to her yoga routine.

Snow Day!!

2009-01-20T17:48:00.004-05:00

It was nothing like the mess our friends in Portland had to deal with, but we had our own snow day today. Even though it will all be melted by tomorrow afternoon, the kids were more than happy to have an extra day off school. They were out sledding and throwing snowballs pretty much all day.
Even Mia had a good time.

Mr. Tiki is not amused....

Hiking at the Eno River

2009-01-18T22:12:00.001-05:00

Emily and Daddy went out for a nice hike last weekend. It was long-sleeve and shorts weather, so not too bad. This trailhead is about 3 miles from our house, making a hike quick and easy. We ended up going about 5 miles, including a new loop that we've never done.

Daddy and Cutler

2009-01-18T21:58:00.001-05:00

We're getting tired of watching January football without the Denver Broncos, so we started goofing around with the camera. Clearly, I'm more amused than Cutler.

Adelle the Cheerleader

2009-01-18T21:50:00.002-05:00

Adelle decided she wants to be a cheerleader. She cheers for Upward - the same program as Emily's basketball team.

Here is the "low V".

And the "high V"

And this is just Adelle being Adelle....

Blazers @ Bobcats

2009-01-18T10:09:00.004-05:00

Emily and I made the 2.5 hour drive down to Charlotte last night to watch our beloved Portland Trailblazers take on the woeful Charlotte Bobcats.............and they lost!!

Emily and Jay (her friend from next door) cheered their heads off, but just couldn't will the Blazers to victory. I was proud of her for being so vocal in the middle of enemy territory. A great Nike friend hooked us up with tickets, so we sat 10 rows from the floor at mid-court. No complaints about that!

Here is our obligatory self-portrait. We love doing this!

Greg!! Gregg!! WE LOVE YOU, GREG!! We don't care if you foul out in the 4th with only 6 points, Greg. We still believe.

An off night for Brandon (especially at the line) but it was still good to see him play.
After the game, a season ticket holder in front of us asked, "I wonder who you were rooting for?" Emily looked him dead in the eye and responded, "Hey, I was born in Portland!" The season ticket holders all around us had a good time watching the kids cheer for the road team.

The best Christmas ever

2008-12-27T11:36:00.002-05:00

Daddy got a Fathead for his office! Look up "awesome" in the dictionary - you'll see this picture.

Christmas Morning

2008-12-25T14:06:00.004-05:00

Mom and dad gave each other a fridge for Christmas (not by choice - the old one finally died) so our stockings were empty this year. The kids, on the other had, made out like bandits again.

Emily was most excited about her keyboard and certificate for piano lessons. Her first lesson is Jan. 5 - very exciting! She has been asking about piano lessons for a while, and now she can practice at home.

You can never go wrong with a Carolina sweatshirt.

Both girls received new American Girl dolls this year. The expressions on their faces tell the entire story. Our next door neighbor made a couple of outfits for their American Girls as well.

Another dress up dress for Adelle. The hit of the party!

Cutler was moderately amused by the whole process.
But really, not so much......

Christmas Pix

2008-12-25T13:49:00.004-05:00

We're on the fence out here with the weather. On one hand, I envy my Portland friends because I don't remember ever having a white Christmas. Ever.
On the other hand, we spend Christmas Eve prepping for a big dinner with friends with the windows open. The kids rode bikes, played hoops, and ran around the neighborhood pretty much all day.

We smoked another turkey last night and had a great feast with our friends. After dinner, the girls put on a fashion show for the adults (Emily didn't participate in the modeling - she was the coordinator).

We finally hustled the kid off to bed so Mom and Dad could get to work cleaning up the house. We were up until almost 2, but didn't catch a glimpse of Santa. Maybe he worked extra late this year? In any case, we know he came because the cookies and milk were gone this morning. The girls made a special batch of cookies this week and I'm fairly certain Santa enjoyed them.

The Christmas Train

2008-12-20T21:44:00.002-05:00

It's that time of year again - time to break out the Christmas train! It seems to get a little bigger each year (don't know how that happens) and continues to take up more and more space. It's only for a week or two each year, so we try to have fun with it. The kids like to play as much as possible, but only when they can get me off the thing! What can I say? Every little boy wants his very own train.

Daddy and the Cut-Man

2008-12-20T21:41:00.002-05:00

We love our Broncos!

2008-12-20T21:36:00.004-05:00

And Adelle REALLY loves her Broncos jersey. She insisted that I put mine on last Sunday so we could match. Too bad it didn't inspire the Broncos....

Cutler

2008-12-20T10:04:00.001-05:00

The Christmas tree

2008-12-15T20:26:00.002-05:00

Hey, look what we got! Oh, it's just the same old Junior.
Daddy putting Mr. Claus on top of the tree.

And Ms. Thang posing in between putting ornaments on the tree.

Emily's 9th Birthday Party

2008-12-15T20:15:00.002-05:00

So Emily decided to have a spa night for her birthday. Molly took the girls down to a spa for a pedicure and a little girl time. They had an absolute blast...

After the pedicure, they came home for pizza, pop, and birthday cake. Here is the crew:
And the results of their spa time:

Christmas Parade

2008-12-07T17:04:00.005-05:00

Emily was in a small community parade this afternoon in South Durham. It was a standard issue parade - old cars, fire trucks, bands, etc. The air was a bit chilly but we survived.

Molly and Cutler staying warm while we waited for the parade to start....

Adelle being Adelle...
And we live in Durham, so of course there's this.........

Misc. kid pix

2008-12-07T11:19:00.006-05:00

This is Adelle's "Boone" necklace. We took the girls to a bead shop in Boone when we visited over the 4th of July weekend. They picked out the beads on their own and made necklaces. It amazing how much enjoyment they get out of $10 worth of beads and string. 5 months later and she still talks about our trip to Boone!

Adelle likes helping mommy with Cutler's bath. She decided to strip and jump in the other night. Yeah, Cutler isn't amused. He actually likes the warm water once you get him out of the cold air.

Here are a couple of random tree climbing pics. It's starting to cool off a bit, but the kids still spend most of the day outside with their friends. We're in the low 50's today, but we'll be back near 60 again by mid-week. Anything under 50 and we stay inside!

Cutler living the dream

2008-11-30T15:16:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-30T11:50:00.004-05:00

What can this be hiding on my grill?

Yep, it's a 19-lb. smoked turkey! I got up at 5 AM and put the bird on the grill. Surprisingly, it only took about 6 1/2 hours to cook completely. I tried a brine this year instead of a marinade and the results were borderline legendary. Ok, maybe the turkey wasn't that good, but it wasn't far off. The brine + hickory smoke wood chips = moist, yummy turkey. I actually threw out my shoulder Thursday afternoon after spending the day patting myself on the back. ;)

Cutler approves!

The girls get haircuts

2008-11-23T16:44:00.003-05:00

Adelle decided she was sick of brushing her hair, so she went short. Emily wanted to keep her look with just a trim. They had a salon day yesterday and both came home happy. Here they are posing on the deck in their nice dresses.
Not pictured: the awesome grass that I spent all day working on.....

SNOW!

2008-11-23T08:46:00.002-05:00

We had a five minute snow storm blow through this week. Nothing stuck and it didn't last, but Adelle was very excited. We've only been here 1 winter so we don't know exactly what to expect. It's been cold and sunny all week (50's during the day, 30's at night). Yeah, I know - it's not that cold. The temperature doesn't really matter as long as the sun shines!

More Cutler

2008-11-23T08:41:00.002-05:00

"Yeah, I pretty much run this house"

Another Broncos victory!!

Cutler

2008-11-23T08:30:00.002-05:00

Cutler sure loves sisters. They are both very involved with keeping him happy and healthy. I have a feeling this kid is going to grow up pampered.

We're getting a few smiles here and there, mostly when dad talks about the Broncos.

Halloween!

2008-11-03T20:03:00.003-05:00

Adelle, the Happy Clown....

She was in the spirit all day long..

Here's what they're thinking....

"Candy"
"Oh, yeah......lotsa candy"
"Are you serious? I'm a very angry skeleton!"

Late Night with Roy

2008-10-25T22:03:00.003-04:00

UNC had their annual Late Night with Roy festivities last night to kick off the 2008-2009 basketball season. The team did a bunch of silly skits then suited up for a scrimmage. Not much to see, right? 15,000+ showed up to the Dean Dome last night to watch. It was almost full to the rafters for a scrimmage!
Emily and I got there just in time for the real action and the guys look great. Hear me now and believe me later, this team will win it all going away.

Monday Night Football

2008-10-23T13:42:00.003-04:00

This picture pretty much sums up my night at Foxborough.

The fans were great and the stadium is unbelievable. All in all, i had a great time....It was just too bad the Broncos didn't show up to play.

The tree comes down

2008-10-22T18:17:00.008-04:00

After months of begging and pleading, we finally got a company to come out and take down the tree from our back yard. Service out here isn't quite what we're used to, but these guys were great. They were in and out in under an hour and did a great job. Here are a couple of before and after pix:

They brought in 3 trucks to handle the job: a crane, a log hauler, and a chipper. And by chipper, I mean, "one bad machine". They chipped almost the entire tree - it was a BIG tree. One of the guys rode the end of the crane up to the top. He attached the cable then cut it off in 3 sections. He just waited at the top strapped to the tree while they chipped up the sections. It took no time at all. Here is the beastly crane:

Here goes the top:

And the middle:

And the bottom:

Then into the chipper they go:

And here is the yard after our friend came down:

Hurricanes at Duke

2008-10-18T21:54:00.002-04:00

Emily and I went to the Duke/Miami game this afternoon with a couple of friends from the neighborhood. Duke led at halftime, but the Hurricanes got things under control in the 3rd quarter and cruised to an easy win.

After the big win:

Show 'em your "U"!

Cutler's first bath

2008-10-17T19:29:00.003-04:00

He wasn't terribly impressed, but the boy had his first bath today. Emily and Adelle helped for about the first 5 minutes then proceeded to drive Mom crazy. Good times.....

Cutler comes home

2008-10-09T16:46:00.004-04:00

The hospital let us leave this afternoon and we're glad to be home. Cutler is adjusting to his new surroundings and looking forward to a weekend of college and NFL football.

Both girls are excited about their little brother, especially Adelle who has embraced her new role in life....

Cutler Jack Carlson

2008-10-08T09:50:00.002-04:00

Cutler Jack Carlson
10/7/2008
11:26 PM
9 lbs 12 oz
21 inches

For the record - He was NOT named for a certain quarterback who masterfully leads a certain team from Denver. The name was mommy's idea and daddy happily obliged.

Mommy and baby are healthy and happy. Here is a shot from just after he was born. Everything went according to plan - the epidural worked great and mommy only had to push a couple of times. There were no complications with the labor, delivery or after care.
The happy family.....
The girls were excited beyond belief about their new little toy....um, I mean brother. They are both very attentive and look forward to being great big sisters.

Adelle finally gets to hold her prize.....

Broncos win!

2008-10-05T20:46:00.002-04:00

Broncos 16
Bucs 13

They weren't in the orange jerseys, but the defense played like the orange crush today. It's a nice change.....

Fall soccer

2008-10-05T12:24:00.004-04:00

The girls started fall soccer a few weeks ago. Technically it's Fall out here, but we're still in the 80's and sunny every day. Adelle loves to put on her gear and has a great time in practice. She just runs back and forth during the games, but it's good exercise. She's not really into scrapping with the other kids - she just loves the uniform.

Emily is doing much better this year. Her switch to an all-girls team has made a massive difference in her play. She's much more aggressive now that she doesn't have any 10 year-old Chrissy wanna-be's slide tackling at her knees. The girls are just as aggressive as the boys, but they have a much better sense of the rules and regulations. Emily teamed up with her good friend Saren on a goal last weekend. She had a shot, but passed to Saren for the uncontested goal. Bottom line - she's having a great time and getting good, consistent exercise.

Work time

2008-10-05T12:20:00.002-04:00

At least somebody got something done this week. I really just play tennis all day...

Hiking after Hannah

2008-09-06T17:17:00.006-04:00

So Hannah wasn't nearly as scary as advertised (for us anyway). Many Triangle residents are flooded, so we got off pretty easy. The storm rolled in about 3 AM and pounded us with around 5 inches of rain before noon. Everything is soaked and blown around, but the big pine in our back yard survived. We're still trying to have someone take it down, but it's hard to get a call back during hurricane season. Now that Hannah has blown over a bunch of trees, the companies will be even busier than before. We're pretty thankful that no damage was done to the house or cars - not everyone was so lucky. Several large trees fell onto powerlines and cars and one neighborhood is completely cut off by a washout.

This is the view from our porch this morning at about 11 AM....

The sun was out by 2 pm so Emily and I headed over to the Eno River for a hike. The only problem? Most of the trail was under water as the Eno River was gushing with runoff. It's typically a very slow moving river, but today was very different.

Here is the picnic area...

Ok, let's try to go the other way up the trail...
Yeah, so it was a fairly short hike. It was still interesting to see our quiet little river gushing over her banks. Here we are sitting on a bench for a short water break.

Hannah is coming!

2008-09-04T11:42:00.002-04:00

HANNAH IS COMING..........HANNAH IS COMING!!!!

This is our first official taste of hurricane season. We're still hoping she makes another right turns and heads out to the ocean, but it looks like Hannah is going to hit NC. Let's hope we don't have any first-hand pictures or updates throughout the weekend.

And the icing on the cake? Another Cat 4 monster coming right behind Hannah. Yikes!

Camping at Price Lake

2008-08-20T22:45:00.004-04:00

We finally made it up to the mountains with the camper! We used our 4th of July trip to Boone as a scouting trip and decided to camp at Price Lake. It's about 20 minutes south of Boone, roughly 2 1/2 hours from home. Our camp site was small but clean and reminded us a lot of camping in Oregon (we even got a bit of rain). As usual, we had our camera handy for the mundane events like lunch and boating, but it was nowhere to be found when dad caught the massive fish (and by massive I mean at least 5 inches) or when the 4-foot snake wandered on to the hiking trail. We weren't sure if it was a water moccasin or not, but didn't stick around long enough to ask.

Here is Adelle, checking her guidebook for birds.

And this is our small but cozy (Adelle's description) camp site. There were a couple of larger RV's, but it was mostly smaller units, pop-ups, or tents. With no hookups, the big boys tend to stay away. After all, what is a nice weekend camping without cable tv? (If you didn't catch the sarcasm, you don't know me very well).

Here are the girls enjoying their first breakfast in the mountains of North Carolina - egg sandwiches and orange juice. Is there anything better? I think not.

Another shot of the camper and our little set up. It's not fancy, but gets the job done. It's great that the kids have a clean place to sleep at night and it also acts as a playhouse during the day. The expense of shipping it out here wasn't fun, but it couldn't have worked out better.

Just chillin'.

Mommy and Adelle having lunch. Hot dogs, what else?

We rented a canoe and spend a few hours on Price Lake. It's not huge, but I got a decent workout paddling us around.

"Boy, don't nobody know nuthin' about Oree-gone!"

The kids had a fun time "paddling". They took turns with the extra oar and I sat back to watch. Adelle took her turn very seriously.

The Eno Orcas

2008-07-19T08:42:00.003-04:00

Emily just finished her first season on the Eno Orcas swim team. For a kid with only a few lessons and not much experience in the water, she did really well. They held each meet at one of the local clubs, and the final at the UNC pool. Emily was very excited about sharing the water with a handful of future Olympians (the team trained out here last month). Now that swimming is over, it's on to tennis and fall soccer.

Here is Emily during one of her backstroke heats.

Preparing for battle...

She was very proud of her swim team suit - she earned it!

4th of July - Boone, NC

2008-07-09T19:51:00.013-04:00

The beaches in the Carolinas are great, but we've been dying to get back in the mountains. I've heard great things about Boone so we decided to drive 2.5 hours west to see what it's all about. It was even better than expected! It's a small college town, home of the Appalachian State Mountaineers (In case anyone forgot - App. St 34, Michigan 32). You can't go to Boone without a reminder of the biggest upset in college football history. Norman Rockwell must have visited Boone at least once in his life as the entire downtown area looks like most of his paintings. The people are friendly and the bike shops are great.

Here are the girls sitting on the deck of our hotel. It was a little La Quinta Inn that has been built to look like a cabin.

Here is Ms. Adelle having a ball at the 4th of July parade. After years of fighting the masses in downtown Portland, it was nice to sit in the front row as the floats went by. We wandered around downtown Boone before and after the parade. No traffic, no hassles, no worries!

More of both girls enjoying the parade...

Next, we went to the Mast General Store - in business since 1883! (http://www.mastgeneralstore.com/)
They had everything from belts (yes, I got one) to barrels of candy (yes, the kids got a bunch)....
We took an afternoon and drove down to Grandfather Mountain, the highest peak in the Blue Ridge. It's not quite as tall as some of the mountains on the west coast, but was great fun for exploring. The swinging bridge lead over to the edge where you could see for miles. Molly decided to play it safe and sat out the climbing portion of the day. Emily and I scrambled to the top and were amazed as we watched a storm blow over us in a matter of minutes. It went from sunny to almost black, to sunny again.

This is the best picture of the bridge and the crazy weather...

There was a small interpretive center that included a few animals - bears, eagles, otters, etc. We showed up just in time to feed the bears. As you can see, they know the routine.

MORE BEARS!!!!

It rained for about 15 minutes.
Then stopped.
One last trip to the top of Grandfather mountain with my girls.....

And it was time to go home.

Best 4th of July ever!

Adelle's 4th birthday party

2008-06-21T23:58:00.006-04:00

We threw a birthday bash for Adelle at the house this year. The kids went crazy with a small swimming pool and slip n' slide, while the parents sat on the deck talking about the weather. Adelle hasn't had any problems making new friends in North Carolina, but we limited the party to just a couple of families. We just grilled burgers and hot dogs - nothing fancy, but a very good time.

This was the birthday girl's favorite present - a "swimming" baby from her big sister. She's been talking about it for months and was very excited that her sister came through with the hit of the party.

I'm not sure exactly what they're showing off here, but I'm assuming it was something very interesting.

Lightning!

2008-06-21T23:25:00.008-04:00

In case you haven't hear the lightning story, it's a good one. Unfortunately, my picture taking skills aren't advanced enough to show the actual damage.

We came home a few weeks ago and noticed rocks all over the deck. Hmmm, that's odd. After a bit of investigation, we noticed the 30 foot pine in our back yard was scorched black from top to bottom and missing a bunch of bark. We put two and two together and came up with the obvious - the tree was hit by lightning.

The bolt of lightning went through the tree, dug a small ditch in the ground (through the rock path) and ended up hitting an old metal pole in the ground (the previous home owner used it as a satellite mount). It sent bark flying across the street, all over the yard, and on top of the house. It must have sounded like a bomb going off, as both levels of the deck were covered with rock from the path.

The phone was fried, the internet was baked, and both DVR boxes were toast. My photography skills are typically pretty good, but we were all shaken up a little bit that evening/night. We didn't even notice the bark across the street until later in the evening after the excitement had died down. In typical NC fashion, the storm was over in an hour and the sun was shining as I started cleaning up the mess.

This is just the trunk of the tree. There are large gashes torn out of the bark from top to bottom. I don't know if I'll ever get all of that bark out of my grass!

It tore a hole through the rock path, sending quarter-inch minus all over the place. It went through the rock, ripped a hole in the weed fabric then dug a small trench in the mud. Scary....
This is just the top level of the deck - the bottom level was covered in rocks as well. There were also chunks of bark all over the deck, yard and house.
This little end table used to have a glass top. Yeah, it shattered all over the rocks. You can see the metal post that has now been removed.

Washington DC - Part 2, Air and Space Museum

2008-05-19T20:34:00.007-04:00

We spent a decent amount of time in the Museum of Natural History, but most of our time was spent at the National Air and Space Museum (the older one on the Mall). This was truly a dream come true for me as I've been dreaming about this for most of my life. The kids actually had a great time as well. There was plenty to see, and they let you touch and climb on a lot of the exhibits. Anyone with kids knows how important that is when going anywhere that doesn't include Hannah Montana or Cars.

I always new a 747 engine was huge, but this puts the size in perfect perspective.

This was a great mural in the room containing Vietnam-era jets and engines. My dad worked on Phantoms so I always loved this plane. To this day, I think it's one of the coolest planes to ever fly.

Of course, there can only be one "coolest" plane ever, and anyone who knows me is fully aware of that plane. Yes, it's the one and only F-14 Tomcat. Any reference to this plane will be documented and celebrated for as long as I live......

The original X1...If you don't know, read Chuck Yeager's book. He was Maverick before Lt. Pete Mitchell was buzzing towers and Rear Admiral's daughters.

We had an unexpected treat on the way out of town - Marine 1 flew right over our heads bringing President Bush back to the White House after a weekend in Texas. We pulled over as all 3 helicopters swooped over the car. Two landed on the South Lawn and another started flying in circles around the White House. Security is obviously very tight, so we couldn't get over to the White House to watch them land. We did catch of glimpse of Marine 1 on the grass, but didn't get to see President Bush. It was a great end to a spectacular weekend in Washington DC.

Washington DC - Part 1

2008-05-17T07:35:00.008-04:00

We made out maiden voyage to Washington DC last weekend and had a great time. It's a nice 4 hour drive through the Virginia countryside.

The girls were very excited to see where the President lives - Adelle loved the "waterfall" out front.

Here we are at the base of the Washington monument looking over the reflection pool to the Lincoln monument.

The clouds started rolling in while we were at the WWII Memorial. This was a very powerful reminder of the men who died protecting the freedoms we sometimes take for granted.

This Lincoln monument was by far Emily's favorite part of the weekend. She just finished reading a book about President Lincoln and has been very interested in learning more about the man and his story.

Another very moving experience. Words can't describe your thoughts and feelings as you walk by the wall.

Spring soccer

2008-05-09T20:33:00.004-04:00

Both girls picked up soccer this year. Adelle is very proud of her Nike cleats and Emily is learning to enjoy the competition. Both girls are very excited about playing and want to continue next year. Emily has two more games before she moves on to the swim team. Adelle goes back to dance class next Tuesday.

2008-05-09T20:25:00.003-04:00

We had our first big ultrasound last week. Everything is good - baby and mama are happy and healthy. Due date is 10/3/08 and.....................

Here comes Diesel, Jr.

It's official - we're staying in North Carolina

2008-05-09T16:34:00.003-04:00

Our new home team

2008-04-12T21:35:00.007-04:00

We have a new home team - the Durham Bulls! We had a great time, even though they were stomped 16-6. It's no Safeco Field, but Durham Bulls Athletic Park is pretty nice. $8 seats and $3 hot dogs mean you can spend an evening with the Bulls without taking a second mortgage. Nothing beats baseball in the spring, even though was a chilly 75 today. Somehow, we managed to survive.

We did it all - hot dogs, cokes, pop corn, cotton candy, funnel cakes. And I'm wondering why the kids are still up as we push 10 o'clock.... Hey, if you can't break the rules at the ballpark, why bother going?
One game is all it takes - We're homers!

Spring

2008-03-19T22:40:00.005-04:00

Apparently, the entire country isn't water logged until July every year. That's something new for us, but we're loving it. Spring came to NC this year in February, so the trees and flowers have already exploded.
The kids are obviously enjoying their outside time. Emily is out of school until early April, making her one very happy kid. As much as she enjoys school, staying up late and sleeping in will always be her first choice.
Here they are goofing around in the front lawn..

Emily Carlson, basketball star

2008-01-12T16:58:00.001-05:00

Crashing the boards like Sir Charles. Watch those elbows!!

We got next.

Nice shoes, baller!!

Just like her old man - SHOOT IT, SHOOT IT!!!

We're heading over the Duke Medical for a DNA test later this week. Emily loves to play defense and pass the ball. I'm not sure who's kid she is, but she can't possibly be mine! We corrected the problem this week - I told her she's grounded one week for each assist.

j/k - It's actually a great league that is centered on learning the rules and fundamentals. She has a really good coach and it's a well-run league. Scholarship, here we come!

UNC Hoops

2008-01-12T16:32:00.000-05:00

Pure domination. I'm wondering if State brought their JV team? In any case, it was over in about 5 minutes. UNC ran layup lines for the rest of the "game".

The Dean Dome. 21,000+ strong - and loud!

Not the best picture, but you get the hint. Forget all the others - only 23 matters.

Got Championships?

Sorry PAC-10 honks, but the ACC is King. And the center of that kingdom? None other than Chapel Hill, North Carolina. UNC put the smack down on NC St. today - not much of a game, but definitely a great experience. I'm looking forward to going back for the Duke game next month. Just look at all the banners - the ACC Championships, the Final 4's, the National Championships. And the jerseys - Jordan, Jordan, and Jordan (I don't really care about the rest).
We're officially converted.........GO HEELS!!

Pictures of the house

2007-12-06T20:37:00.001-05:00

By popular demand, here are a few pix of the house. We've made a ton of changes to the inside, so I'll re-post after we take more pictures.
For now, here is the outside.

Thanksgiving.

2007-12-06T20:21:00.000-05:00

After all the travel for work and a fairly stressful year, we decided to stay home for Thanksgiving this year. We let the kids decide between the beach and mountains. SURPRISE! They picked the beach. None of us have every been to South Carolina, so we chose Myrtle Beach. 78 and sunny is always nice, especially the day before Thanksgiving. It cooled off to the high 60's for the rest of the trip, but that was just fine with us.

Thanksgiving day - We went miniature golfing before finding the cheeziest restaurant in Myrtle Beach for dinner. It came complete with vinyl bench seats and greasy menus. After dinner, we hit the beach to throw the frisbee and make sand castles. It was definitely a Thanksgiving to remember. Here are a few pix....

Daddy's Day on Dark Mountain

2007-11-17T20:47:00.000-05:00

I went to Charlotte this week for work and decided to take my bike. A friend told me about a place an hour north of there, so I went up to check it out. The trails are definitely different out here, but they are still great. I was wiped out after about two hours - perfect!

2007-11-01T21:42:00.001-04:00

Halloween was a different experience this year. New friends, new neighborhood, oh, and NO RAIN! It's the first halloween without rain in about a decade. The kids had a great time carving pumpkins with all of their neighborhood friends, and their bags were full. It was a great evening for a walk, so Molly and I just enjoyed being outdoors.

2007-11-01T21:24:00.001-04:00

We went out on our first hiking trip in North Carolina last weekend. We live about 4 miles from the main trailhead at Eno River State Park. There are several easy loops that wore out the kids. Okay, so dad was a bit worn out, too.
I'm headed out on my maiden mountain bike voyage next weekend. It's hard to believe that it's already November 1 - we had 78 degrees and sunny today. I'm actually going to mow my lawn this weekend. Now I know what they mean when people talk about the Carolina Blue Sky. We love it out here!