The Rudy Family

Valentine's Day

2012-02-15T07:14:00.000-08:00

I wrote a little about our day at my homemaking blog.

Check it out here.

School Videos

2012-02-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

Sorry about not posting much lately. Here are two videos of the kids doing school work.

Clara's speech on why smoking is bad for you.

Nicholas reading "Pop Fox".

A Day of Relaxation

2011-12-26T18:20:00.000-08:00

Coffee made with Monica's new coffee machine.

John with his new lounge pants and slippers.

Putting the new Legos together.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-26T15:42:00.000-08:00

This year, the kids and Monica played a lot of music for the Christmas Eve church service.

Here are Nicholas and Clara playing Away in a Manger during the prelude.

Clara played Silent Night during the service.

We were all super excited that Grandma Rudy joined us at our home this year.

Cookies

2011-12-26T15:31:00.000-08:00

Even with our busy schedule this year we managed to make some cookies.

Nutcracker

2011-12-26T15:22:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed a wonderful performance of the Nutcracker at the beautiful Ohio Theatre. One of Clara's friends was dancing and her violin teacher played in the pit.

Christmas Spirit

2011-12-10T05:08:00.000-08:00

Check out the post at Homemaking with Monica for a tour of our decorated home.

Enjoy!

Happy St. Nikolaus Day

2011-12-06T17:48:00.000-08:00

We had to wait all day to see what was inside our stockings. There was much excitement when John got home.

Super Duper Deal

2011-12-02T05:05:00.000-08:00

Here's a deal going on at Meijer this week.

Buy 4 bags of M&M's, one 5lb. bag of flour and one 5lb. bag of sugar and receive a $10 off your next purchase coupon.

I purchased all of this for $11.66 (after coupons) and received the $10 coupon. Wow!!!

Fiestaware Christmas Plate

2011-12-02T05:00:00.001-08:00

All Fiestaware fans...here's the Christmas plate for this year. I bought this on Black Friday. Isn't it fun?!

Happy December!

2011-12-02T04:48:00.000-08:00

Opening the first window on the Advent calendar. Exciting!!!

Day After Thanksgiving Tradition

2011-12-02T04:34:00.000-08:00

Here are the kids enjoying our annual Elf movie night.

Note- We did have a wonderful Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping experience, but didn't take any pictures...oops. Thanks, Erika for documenting the days for us. :-)

Around the World in an Afternoon

2011-11-20T15:33:00.000-08:00

This afternoon we performed our annual recital at a local retirement home. Everything went very well. No major slip-ups, etc.

I've posted Clara and Nicholas' contributions below. Enjoy!

Fortune Cookies

2011-11-20T15:31:00.002-08:00

Wing Foo

2011-11-20T15:31:00.001-08:00

Gypsy Dance

2011-11-20T15:31:00.000-08:00

Turkish March

2011-11-20T15:30:00.000-08:00

CSYO Junior Strings Fall Concert 2011

2011-11-15T09:14:00.000-08:00

Yesterday evening we enjoyed listening to Clara's first orchestra concert. She is the third person from the left in the first row (principal second violin). Enjoy!

Elegy and Dance

2011-11-15T09:13:00.000-08:00

Fandango

2011-11-15T09:12:00.000-08:00

Pavane

2011-11-15T09:11:00.000-08:00

Concerto in D Major

2011-11-15T09:10:00.000-08:00

Hey Fiddle Fiddle!

2011-11-15T09:08:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T16:47:00.000-07:00

Time to get those treats.

Two Bible Club friends. Hope is a smurf and her friend Reagan a flamingo.

Back home with the loot.

Star Wars Party!!!

2011-10-31T14:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we celebrated Nicholas' 5th birthday with a Star Wars party.

We played several games to test/train "the force".

yarn game

Topfschlagen

Pin the Tail

Time for cake

Present time

Dance!!!

2011-10-31T10:43:00.001-07:00

This past Saturday Clara had parent observation for her dance classes.

Tap

(Sorry about the angle)

A very enthusiastic onlooker. :-)

Ballet

Rainbow

2011-10-30T16:30:00.000-07:00

Every time it rains and the sun shines we run out to see if we can find a rainbow. Yesterday, we saw one! It was even a double one for a while.

Happy Birthday, Nicholas!

2011-10-27T04:38:00.001-07:00

Nicholas had a fantastic 5th birthday. Thank you everyone for making it so special.

Spiderman mask from Clara.

Star Wars book...very exciting!

Schleich animals...always a hit!

Nicholas: "A credit card! Now I can go buy something." (Actually, a Target giftcard.)

Nature Walk

2011-10-09T15:10:00.000-07:00

We've had wonderful weather this past week. Today we went to Darby Creek Metro Park for a nature walk.

Family Fall Festival

2011-10-09T14:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, our church hosted a one-day VBS followed by a Fall Festival for the entire family. John and I taught the 4-6 year olds, so all the pictures I have are of Nicholas. Our theme was the Fruits of the Spirit.

Game Time
Lesson on faithfulness
Snack time
Waterballoon slingshot
Bounce house
Here's a link to our theme song. The kids really enjoyed it and it helped our family learn the fruits of the spirit. Enjoy!

I Got Shots

2011-10-07T15:41:00.000-07:00

Guest post by Nicholas

I got four shots today and they really hurt. Mom bought me a toy, a big ironman robot. I love mommy really much.

Picking Apples

2011-10-07T04:41:00.001-07:00

Our homeschool group went on a field trip to the largest apple orchard in Ohio.

Here's our tour guide showing us the special bags that are used for apple picking.

Learning about an antique apple sorting machine.

After the tour we each picked a bag of apples.

Ballet

2011-10-01T18:02:00.001-07:00

Here's Clara in her new "big girl" ballet clothes.

Homemaking with Monica

2011-09-30T04:18:00.000-07:00

Hey, everyone. Monica started a new blog.

It's about home decorating, entertaining and pretty much anything else that happens around here. Please check it out and let me know what you think. Thanks.

Note - I will continue to post family updates here.

Your invited...

2011-09-25T14:47:00.000-07:00

...to a Mystery Party.

Here's a glimpse of our afternoon of party fun.

We started out with the favorite M&M guessing game.

Then the girls filled out their Private Detective licenses.

They tested their skills at a Spy word search.

John hands out the picture cards to the next game. The goal is to work as a team and put the pictures in order.

The final activity, a treasure hunt. Here are all the detectives in their disguises.

After all the activities it's finally time for some cake and ice cream.

Present time =)

Happy Birthday, Clara!

2011-09-23T17:16:00.001-07:00

Hooray, hooray, Clara is 8 today!

After lunch at Steak & Shake with Dad, Clara opened her presents.

Target giftcard & Little House on the Prairie Book on CD

Barbie Princess Charm School DVD from Nicholas. We watched it this evening for our pizza & movie night.

Lots of Nancy Drew books and the entire Anne of Green Gables series.

Last, but not least the long wished for typewriter.

Fall Clematis

2011-09-06T11:57:00.001-07:00

Here's a look at the gate leading into the backyard. This clematis is a transplant from Grammy's. Let me know if you want a start. We have lots!

Happily Ever After

2011-09-05T04:25:00.000-07:00

13 years ago this Cinderella married her prince!

Orchestra Piece

2011-09-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

Here is Clara practicing the first movement of an arrangement of Concerto in D Major by Teleman.

Free Stuff

2011-08-31T14:19:00.000-07:00

I love signing up for freebies. Here's what showed up in the mail today. In addition to samples, these packages come with coupons which means there's potential for more free stuff!

More Jam

2011-08-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

This week Meijer's has a fantastic sale on red raspberries and since I LOVE red raspberry jam I decided to take advantage of the sale and make some. It is so tasty!

A Little Outing

2011-08-25T10:39:00.000-07:00

John took the day off so we wanted to do something special. We promised the kids we would take them to Chuck E Cheese's if Clara got a good report at her homeschool evaluation (which she did way back in June!). So, today was the day to celebrate!

Using up Coupons

2011-08-24T12:44:00.001-07:00

We had a bunch of coupons about ready to expire. Instead of letting them go to waist we went to Target and bought a bunch of stuff out of the trial size bins. Everything was FREE or almost free. These will be great for care packages.

Science Fun

2011-08-24T07:30:00.001-07:00

This is Clara's science book for this school year. We've been having fun learning all about cells these last couple of weeks. Below is her first scientific drawing.

Reading with Nicholas

2011-08-24T06:53:00.000-07:00

FREE Stuff

2011-08-17T13:59:00.001-07:00

Here are the things I picked up while we were out today for FREE.

Another Board Done

2011-08-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

Well, almost done. We just need to get the exact titles of the military personel and some pictures of the church plant congregations.

Peaches!!!

2011-08-15T12:46:00.001-07:00

There was a GREAT sale on peaches last week, so we bought about 25 pounds. Clara helped make jam. Our Bible club made peach cobbler and we'll be freezing the rest for peach pies and more cobblers.

Walgreens

2011-08-14T18:02:00.000-07:00

Now that I figured out how to shop CVS, I've been learning more about Walgreens. I got all of this for $8.00 after sales, coupons, and Walgreen Bucks.

2 Dove shampoo $2.50

2 Dove conditioner FREE

2 Dove deoderant for women $2.50

2 Dove deoderant for men FREE

4 Lady Speedstick deoderant $2.00

2 Pert Shampoo FREE

2 Scope mouthwash $1.00

2 pkg. Expo dryerase markers FREE

Frozen Banana Bites

2011-08-08T18:00:00.000-07:00

Here's what you get when you combine these three ingredients.

Tasty, yummy banana bites.

A New Tree

2011-08-06T08:25:00.001-07:00

Some of you know of the demise of our Lindenbaum. =(
After much deliberation we decided to plant fruit trees. Here's the first one, a plum tree.

New Subject this Year!

2011-08-05T07:06:00.000-07:00

Clara started learning German in preparation for our next trip to visit Mimi and Pappy. We chose the Rosetta Stone homeschool edition. It's fun to use and it looks like this will work very well.

Here she is working through her first segment. She increased her percentage by 13 points from the first run through to the second!

Bulletin Board Display

2011-08-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

We were asked to change up the bulletin boards at church. Here's our first one.

Back To School Deals

2011-08-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

Now is a great time to get deals on office supplies. You can get many items for free or almost free. I've found great deals at Target, drugstores and office supply stores. It doesn't have to take a lot of time, either. I follow two blogs and make a list of deals I'm interested in. Then, when I happen to be out I make a quick stop and get ONLY the things on my list. It usuall only takes about 5 minutes.

Here's what I picked up today:

I paid a total of $1.80 for all this after a $4.00 rebate at Staples!

After coupons and sales I paid $0.80 out of pocket for all this at Walgreens!

Ok, so these are not office supplies, but I was able to get these for $1.25/each. I only ended up paying taxes, since I had enough Extra Care Bucks to cover my out of pocket expenses.

Best Deals Today

2011-08-01T09:59:00.000-07:00

2 Tide detergent $3.00/each after sale & coupons (regular $9.99/each)

3 Ivoy soap packs *FREE* after sale & coupons (regular $1.59/each)

3 Crest toothpaste *FREE* after sale & coupons (regular $2.09/each)

3 Skippy peanut butter $0.17/each after sale & coupons (regular $2.59/each)

3 salad dressings $0.50/each after sale & coupons (regular $2.15/each)

I spent a total of $8.01 for $45.25 worth of groceries. That's a savings of 82%.

New Landscaping

2011-07-29T07:16:00.001-07:00

The curly hazlenut bush has been slowly dying, so it was time to dig it up and redo the landscaping. It took a whole day to get that stump dug out.

Success!!!

Here's the new design.

Big Apple Adventure

2011-07-28T07:07:00.001-07:00

The kids are having a great time at VBS this week. Clara was chosen to be helper in leading the singing and Nicholas quoted his memory verse in front of the whole group yesterday!

Free stuff at Target

2011-07-26T15:06:00.000-07:00

Today, I picked up 3 packs of pens and 2 packs of Post-it notes for FREE!!! The way to get FREE stuff at Target is to stack a Target coupon with a manufacturer coupon.

Happy Birthday, John!

2011-07-25T15:45:00.000-07:00

John with his birthday milkshake at Red Robin.

Nicholas and Clara got cheese pizza.

Later on, John opened cards made by Nicholas and Clara on the computer.

Time for presents...

...and dessert

fudge

brownies

ice cream sundaes

Yay for Meijers

2011-07-24T10:46:00.001-07:00

The deal this week is buy 10 select items for $10 and get the 11th free. Here's what we brought home:

12 boxes of Hamburger Helper, after coupons $0.50/each

6 cans Dole tropical fruit, after coupons $0.50/each

4 packs of pudding, after coupons $0.50/each

2 Mac & Cheese, FREE after coupons

3 Chex Mix, FREE after coupons

3 Sour cream, FREE after coupons

3 cucumbers, FREE (I planned for them to ring up as the 11th item since I didn't have coupons for them.)

The retail price for these items would have been $51.76. They were on sale for $30 and I spent $11 a 79% savings.

County Fair

2011-07-23T17:33:00.000-07:00

Clara with Molly (one of my students) and her horse.

Nicholas enjoys looking at the collections.

This one's for you, Erika!

Cooling off with milkshakes at Steak & Shake.

Musical Morning

2011-07-22T04:02:00.000-07:00

We just thought we would give you a little sneack peek at Clara practicing her new pieces. Can you guess which one is her favorite?

Bach - Invention in F-Major

Mozart- Alla Turca

Schumann - Knecht Ruprecht

Cool in the Pool

2011-07-21T09:54:00.001-07:00

Today was the perfect day for a dip in the pool. Clara even swam several lengths of the pool without Schwimmfluegel today! Thanks, Elizabeth for hosting us!!!

Thank You

2011-07-21T04:12:00.000-07:00

Here's what came in the mail yesterday, a mini canning set, perfect for my stove top. After much researching and deliberation this is what I purchased with my birthday and amazon money. Thank you, everyone!

Veggies, etc.

2011-07-20T04:47:00.000-07:00

Cute Cuces.

Basil gone wild!

Tomatoes...can't wait to make a tomato basil pizza...yum!

Here's an example of laziness that paid off. Thomas dug up a mini crepe myrtle tree for us when we were visiting in April. It didn't do well and we thought all hope was lost. Many times I (Monica) was going to throw it out, but am glad my laziness prevented me. In the last several weeks it has been putting up new shoots with healthy and happy green leaves.

Fun with Flowers

2011-07-18T17:14:00.000-07:00

Stocking up at Kroger

2011-07-18T10:24:00.001-07:00

This week Kroger has some great markdowns. I carefully matched them up with my coupons and here's what I got:

I paid $19.20 for $85.52 worth of groceries. A $66.32 savings or 78%. I was pretty excited!

Deals at CVS

2011-07-17T06:27:00.000-07:00

It's a new week, which means new deals. Here's what I picked up at CVS today:

Pantene conditioner and shampoo $3.97 plus $2.00 Extra Care Bucks

2 Leever 2000 soap $0.44/each

2 Oral-B toothbrushes $0.99/each plus $2.00 ECB (I made $0.02!!)

2 Crest toothpaste $1.24/each plus $2.00 ECB

This purchase cost $8.07 out of pocket and I received a total of $6.00 ECB toward future purchases.

Jedi Training

2011-07-16T07:42:00.000-07:00

The force is strong with this one!

Freezer Cooking

2011-07-12T09:25:00.001-07:00

This morning I cooked up 3 lbs. of ground beef with taco seasoning to be used for tacos, taco salad and casseroles.

I made two casseroles of Chichen Tetrazzini. One for dinner this evening and the other for the freezer.

I was also able to put together 20 breakfast burritos. You can find the recipe here. I substituted the ham for sausage since I was able to get a great deal on it.

Target Deals

2011-07-11T09:54:00.000-07:00

For all you Target shoppers with $0.52 to spare:

Get a pillow for $0.50 with a $2.00 off coupon.
Get Paper Mate pens for $0.02 with a $1.00 off coupon.
You can also get 2 Sharpies for FREE with a $1.00 off coupon.
Click here for the coupons.

Pancakes

2011-07-11T09:41:00.000-07:00

After a week of cleaning out at Grammy's I've been trying to catch up at home. On Saturday
morning I made a double batch of these whole-wheat chocolate chip pancakes. I used my new griddle that I purchased at Kohl's (with a 30% off coupon!) for about $15.00.

Here are the leftover pancakes cooling on the rack (Thank you, Erika!). I froze them and now when the kids want pancakes for breakfast I can pull a couple out and heat them up in the microwave.

Grammy's Lilies

2011-07-01T07:05:00.000-07:00

I hadn't been to Grammy's garden for a LONG time and was so disappointed in what I found. After walking around though, there are still definite signs of plants and areas that can be revived. I am so grateful, however, that I was able to transplant many of the lily varieties over the years. In honor of Grammy I am posting all these gorgeous flower pictures that I took in our yard this morning. They are all transplants from Grammy's.

Shopping Success

2011-06-28T09:22:00.000-07:00

This is my 5th week of menu planning, freezer cooking and shopping with coupons. This week I spent a total of $69.60 at Aldi, Meijer and Kroger. I purchased everything I need for all breakfasts, lunches and dinners. I also purchased extra items to build up my stockpile.

Here's what I picked up at Meijer's and Kroger's today. I spent a total of $32.21 and saved $57.13.

3 jars of salsa
6 bags of Chex-Mix
1 sour cream dip
2 pkg. smoked sausage
6 candy bars
2 bottles of strawberry milk
1 pkg. chocolate milk mix
1 box Cheerios
1 can pineapple chunks
5 ears of corn
7 bottles of pop
2 bags of chips
2 lean cuisine
3 dial body wash
3 pkg. frozen lemonade cups

We also went to CVS and picked up these razors for a grand total of $0.49 (plus tax). They will be donated to the church pantry. We got the chips FREE with a coupon from the CVS coupon machine.

CVS

2011-06-26T11:21:00.001-07:00

Ok, I used my Extra Care Bucks (ECB) during the week for hair color. It was on sale and I did have coupons, but that meant I had to pay some money out of pocket today. Here's what I did:

I bought these (and will donate them to our church pantry) for $5.97 and received $6.97 in ECBs. That's right, I made $1.

Then I purchased the 2 body washes and 2 deodorants. After coupons and using the $6.97 ECBs I paid $1.21 (pre tax) and received $5.00 ECBs.

Then I purchased the Pantene shampoo (not pictured) and conditioner and toothpaste. After coupons and the $5.00 ECBs I owed $0.84 (pre tax). I also received $3.00 ECBs that I will use toward my next transaction.

In total, I spent $8.02 (pre tax) out of pocket and still have $3.00 ECBs. My total savings including store sales, coupons and ECBs was $35.68.

Park of Roses

2011-06-25T18:34:00.001-07:00

John has a lot of school work right now. So, for a study break we got some Greek food from our favorite place and took a stroll through the rose gardens.

How true...

CVS

2011-06-20T09:44:00.001-07:00

Here's what I got today. I used Extra Care Bucks to pay for everything so it ended up being FREE!!! (I did have to pay taxes). I also received $4.00 in Extra Care Bucks toward my next purchase.

Father's Day

2011-06-20T03:51:00.000-07:00

Clara and Nicholas had so much fun picking out the perfect tie for Daddy and were excited to give him his presents and homemade card.

Early Birthday Shopping

2011-06-17T14:15:00.001-07:00

John took the day off of work today and arranged for his mom to watch the kids. So, with birthday coupons in hand we went shopping.

We had lunch at Marcella's and used a giftcard John got (in 2009!) for a Christmas present. It was tasty and best of all FREE!!!

Here are the purchases I made with my coupons. (Helen- the shoes are for the white dress I bought)

Here's a book I bought with some of my birthday money. I can't wait to give this a try next week while I'm on vacation. It looks easy and super fun.

CVS this week

2011-06-15T08:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I wasn't planning on going to CVS today, but a dental visit resulted in my needing to fill a prescription. CVS was on the way home and I knew the prescription would be free. So, while waiting I picked up a few things. I purchased a 12 pack of Pepsi, two 2 liters and a razor for a total of ..... $1.57!!! I also received $4.00 towards my next purchase.

More Savings

2011-06-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

Here's some of what I picked up at Kroger today. Retail cost (pre tax) was $26.49 and everything was on sale for $20.03 (pre tax). After coupons I paid $7.96 (pre tax). The gum and Tic Tacs were FREE!

Walgreens Savings

2011-06-13T05:09:00.001-07:00

Here's what I got this week...Sale price for everything before coupons was $21.85 (pre tax)...after coupons I paid $5.21 (pre tax) and received $2.00 off my next purchase.

Jammin

2011-06-13T04:59:00.000-07:00

Strawberries were on sale at Meijers for $0.90/lb so we decided to make some jam.

Taste test on Sunday morning...It's a keeper!

Cake Decorators in Training

2011-06-10T17:55:00.000-07:00

Today, our Bible Club project was to learn how to decorate with icing.
Here's the prepared decorating kit.

Working hard.

The finished product.

Field Day

2011-06-09T03:52:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, we went to a park for our end of the year field day with our homeschool friends.
Here are some pictures of the games.

Balance the candy on the stick and dump in the bucket.

Wheelbarrow race

Waterballoon toss

Move the oreo from your forhead to your mouth without hands.

We had lunch together, then the kids played on the "water" playground.

Extreme Couponing at CVS

2011-06-05T16:02:00.001-07:00

The retail price for these items is $49.59 (pre tax). They are on sale this week for $37.77 (pre tax). Following the transaction suggestions found here I purchased all this for $9.28 (pre tax) with $5.00 extra bucks remaining which I can use for next week's purchases.

She did it!

2011-06-05T15:27:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we received Clara's acceptance letter to the Columbus Symphony's Junior Strings Orchestra. Thank you Elizabeth and Helen for your expertise and guidance at the audition!!!

History Lesson

2011-06-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

As part of Clara's history lesson today she has to learn the Star Spangled Banner. Here she is practicing with a YouTube karaoke video.

Shopping Success

2011-05-24T08:30:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the show Extreme Couponing we've been clipping coupons and studying grocery ads. We are not nearly as good as the people on the show, but we've used some of the tips and seen some success.

We bought the things in this picture for a savings of 51% off retail.

These were purchased at a savings of 77% off retail!

Flowers

2011-05-22T15:28:00.001-07:00

We've had sooo much rain here recently that it's been difficult to get much yard work done. On Sunday we spent a few hours mowing, fertilizing, mulching...

Here are some of the flowers currently in bloom.

Bible Club

2011-05-22T15:27:00.001-07:00

After an almost two year break we started our Bible Club back up again. Since the kids are older now we decided to take on a more inolved study. Here's what we're working on this summer:

Once a month we will also work on some type of home ec project. Here's what we made on Friday:

The finished project...origami box with candy Buckeye.

Ballet & Tap

2011-05-22T15:26:00.002-07:00

On Saturday Grandma Rudy, John, Nicholas and Monica went to see Clara perform dances she learned during her classes this year. Preparing for the final tap performance.

Her ballet class performed 3 dances from 3 countries.

Greece

Ireland

Here she is receiving her certificate in her German costume.

Piano Guild Audition

2011-05-22T15:26:00.001-07:00

Clara did an excellent job at her audition this year. She received a superior plus rating (the highest possible)! My average studio rating was superior. Yay!

Here's her report card.

Here's part of the judges comment: What a beautiful program! I especially like the way you always observe all the details in your music. This makes your music very meaningful and fun for you and your audience.

Birthday Song for Mimi

2011-05-02T16:42:00.000-07:00

We appologize for the late post, but the birthday wishes are still heartfelt. Enjoy!

Clara's Piano Pieces

2011-05-02T14:34:00.000-07:00

Next weekend Clara performs her guild program for the judge. We thought you would like to hear her pieces.

Fuga by Pachelbel

Reflection from Disney's Mulan

First Loss by Schumann

Bagatelle by Diabelli

He is Risen!

2011-04-24T13:17:00.000-07:00

Surprise!!!

Admiring the treats.

Dressed for church, where the kids sang for the service.

Happy Birthday

2011-04-19T17:58:00.000-07:00

Here's a special song for two special people. It's also the debut of the Rudy ukulele quartet.

Greensboro - Days 6-9

2011-04-19T17:40:00.000-07:00

We had a great time relaxing in Greensboro. Here are some of the things we did:

Feeding ducks at the bog garden.

Playing putt putt

A special dinner at a special restaurant with extra special music.

Outer Banks Continued - Day 5

2011-04-15T04:11:00.000-07:00

In the morning we took a walk on the beach to look for seashells. We found quite a few! Here we are enjoying a special breakfast.

As Ohioans we couldn't miss the Wright Brothers National Memorial and Park.

This scenes depicts a photograph taken at the very first flight.

On our way to Greensboro we stopped at the North Carolina Aquarium. Our Columbus membership got us in for FREE!

This is a seahorse. It's very difficult to capture a good photo, but they are such interesting creatures.

This one's for you, Erika!

Outer Banks - Day 4

2011-04-13T05:16:00.000-07:00

Our travels continued to Kitty Hawk, N.C.

We arrived before our hotel check-in time, so we went to Bodie Island to check out this lighthouse.

Around 4:00pm we checked into our hotel. An oceanfront first floor walkout room!

We walked down to the beach and enjoyed a "dip" in the cold Atlantic.

Going to the beach was Nicholas' wish and he was very excited to play in the water.

Clara and John took a stroll on the pier.

After an evening swim in the hotel pool we had dinner at the Rundown Cafe.