Big Bike Ride!

Today we decided to load up the bikes, drive over to the Dump Playground, and bike along the Greenway.  We actually got on the Neuse River Trail and headed the whole way to the Bamboo Trees before Capital Blvd.  Pretty long ride, about 3-4 miles for the girls.  We were quite impressed!  Had lots of fun this Veterans' Day weekend.  Thanks to all that served!

Pumpkins

So not as good as the Skull and Crossbones, Mr. Meowkins, and witch from last year, but for doing it the day before, we're happy with our smirk face and bat.

She DID IT!

So Myra has had the goal that if she could ride her bike without training wheels, we would ride to our new McDonalds for a sundae.  She has tried off and on throughout the summer, then when PapPap came last month.  Well, about a week ago, she got the hang of riding, and on Sunday, we rode up to it.  She was just a little excited!

Lucy's Birthday

We finally had Lucy's birthday party yesterday at Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill.  We waited since UNC had some home games and they recommended not trying to party wiht home games.  Lucy had some friends, they did a craft, and overall, we celebrated a fun time!  Our eight year old--wow!

Leaf Collecting...Or Not...

Yeah, that's the girls under the tarp after some leaf raking.  I guess they help.  The verdict is still out.

Pumpkin Carving Time Again

Our saving girls

Yup, Myra finally got the car for Lily that she wanted.  She has been saving her allowance for quite awhile, so she bought it herself today.

Lucy as well has been saving her money.  The Targets did not have her walking dog, so she bought it online.

Pretty impressed with my girls!

Pilot Mountain Trip

Yesterday we made a day trip to Pilot Mountain.  I will share some more pictures soon, but we had a great time, and with the Frankenstorm bearing down, it actually turned out to be a nice day for a hike!

Camp Kanata: or The Day I Became Dehydrated

My Tennis/Guitar Hero!

Yes, fun weekend last weekend.  Busy, to the extreme!  On Sunday I woke up for a long 12 mile run.  Then we had the Y Princess Outing at Camp Kanata with our tribe.  LOTS of fun, but, phew, Lucy and I were exhausted afterward!

We camped out in the field, playing lots of games, then decided to go check out some of the stations.  We practiced tennis, went on a hike, and did some beadwork.

We came back, had our dinner cookout, and got ready for our initiation.  Had to wait for dark, then we walked through the torch tunnel.  Definitely a very fun day with my Little Bug!  Glad we're doing this!

Such a Sad Time...

Don't even have much more to say...

Y Princesses Begin

Had our first official meeting at our house yesterday.  Look like Lucy and I will enjoy all the togetherness this will bring.  Have a big event this month at Camp Kanata, and lots of other fun things this year!

Yard Sale Day

Phew, quite the busy Saturday.  It started with a community yard sale.  As you can see, I came up with an ingenious way to display the girls' clothes.  We started very slow, but by the end of the day...$62.00 profit.  Sold Myra's old bike, a bunch of books, lots of clothes...pretty good job.

Oh, The Tech Support We Perform...

Taken from Clients from Hell (http://clientsfromhell.net/post/17833351369/me-the-internet-isnt-working-but-dont-worry):

ME: The internet isn’t working – but don’t worry, we’ve called to get it sorted and they said it should be up in the next ten minutes.

CLIENT: We’ll just e-mail in Outlook then.

ME: That’ll be down too.

CLIENT: Fine! It’s unprofessional, but we’ll use Facebook.

ME: Do you understand what the internet is?

Andy Warhol

Yeah, my wife is too good to me.  She brought me home some of these--Andy Warhol soup cans!

How I Hate Apple

I hate them for so many reasons, but NONE more than the arrogance that they are such 'innovators.'  Mr. Higher than God Steve Jobs, recognized as a god...but just take a look at these things...and that's just some of their 'stolen' things...

Sheetz Fail

Oh Sheetz...first the BSOD on one of the gas pump menus, now a  'login with CTRL-ALT-DELETE' on a TOUCHSCREEN.  Only windows...

Major Roadtrip

Didn't get much time to blog last week, as I went on a day long trip to Bristol, TN.  One of my coworker's mother passed away, so I went up for the viewing.  Pretty long day, but saw lots of neat things.  In the picture is Pilot Mountain, which I hope we will all visit soon.

Munzees

So we stumbled upon something I think we can all enjoy...or at least Lucy, Myra, and myself.  It's a game similar to geocaching called Munzee.  You actually have a QR code (those squarish UPC looking things) that you scan with your smartphone and then you get points.  Munzees are everywhere too!  We found three at Honeycutt Park, and now we're on the lookout.  Myra and I found three today at Falls Village and behind the Six Forks K-Mart.  Then the three of us deployed our first three today along the Greenway.  Pretty fun!

Skate Queens!

Yeah, we went roller skating, and spent more time at the games.  But at least it was skeeball...

New Boat at the Flanigans

Went over to Kerry' folks yesterday for a cook-out.  Got to ride in their new pontoon boat--pretty fun!

Johnstown Inclined Plane

Also got a trip up the Inclined Plane this trip.  Pretty fun--been awhile--since Summer Camp.  The whole weekend was free too.

Ahh...Pittsburgh...

So you see how you reserve parking places in Pittsburgh?  You put out chairs.  I guess the logic is people will be too lazy to move the chairs.

More at Idlewild

Rollo Coaster

Another trip, with some Idlewild Rollo Coaster love!  This time Myra rode the Rollo Coaster for the first time.  As you see , we had the front seat.  So neat--I asked Myra if she would put her hands up, and she said no.  Then once we crested the lift hill, those hands went up.  Then we ran to get back in line a second time, and those hands went up again!

Lots of August

Been quite busy again.  Trip to PA, some various tasks...life is good, but busy!  We enjoyed our trip to PA...we'll share some images of our trips to the Inclined Plane and Idlewild, among other things.

Myra's First Day of Kindergarten

We cannot believe it either!  Myra, our baby, started kindergarten this week.  Pretty good week, although she was tired!  Now another week, then track out!

Planting Some Seeds

Got some new seeds recently, so we decided to go ahead and plant them.  With all the storms lately, hopefully they will do alright...but they may be pretty soaked!

Annual Mudcats Game

So a couple of weeks ago we decided to head over to Five County Stadium to see the Mudcats.  A storm just blew through before, so we pretty much had the game to ourselves.  Seriously-no more than 200 folks were there.  No complaints here, as it was much cooler after the storm.
It was also Kids Run the Bases night, so Lucy got a chance to run the bases around the field.  Pretty neat.

Tomatoes Everywhere

Yup, our tomatoes are taking over.  Probably have at least 20 Romas on one plant and 4-7 big boy on another.  Just had another ripened big boy--yum!  Can't wait for the bigger garden next year!

Swimming

Last day to have the girls home myself.  After Lucy's meet-the-teacher, we went up to the Wake Forest pool.  Fun times!

Hey Deer!

Went on the Secret Trail this weekend at Durant.  Very very toasty, got to 105 that day, but we got out early.  Girls were running and just froze when they saw a mama and baby deer.

Ahhh...Home Ownership

With new ownership comes new debt.  Ugg!  We recently began replacing the old and rotten Masonite siding with new Hardiplank siding.  What an expensive undertaking.  But you can see the rot on the left, and soon, I'll take a picture of the new.  But we'll chip away at it, and soon, hopefully, be finished!

Look What Kerry Got Me

Yup, new SP cd!

End of First Grade and Preschool

Lucy receiving a 'Most Responsible' Award

Yup, Myra finished with preschool yesterday and Lucy finished first grade.  Now a week off and Lucy starts second grade and Myra starts kindergarten.  Wow!  Who would've thunk we'd have to girls in school.

Tomatoes...Finally!

Yes!  No rabbits, raccoons, or any other animals got them first.  Lots and lots of Roma tomatoes, and boy, are they yummy!  One big regular so far as well.  Lots more on the way!

PapPap and Spider Girl

Great visit with my folks.  Just amazing how quickly it goes.  They spent 6 nights here this time, and boy did it fly.  Lots of fun though!

The Shearers...At the New Home

Under the Sea!

The girls put on their final recital of the year--a beach/ocean themed extravaganza.  Lucy performed ballet and tap routines to the Beach Boys (my dad enjoyed that!) and Myra performed to songs from The Little Mermaid.  Very impressed with both of them!  No dance now until next school year--Wednesday become a little more free!

Myra's Goddard Graduation

They make quite the show of graduation from daycare/preschool.  Myra graduated a week ago at a big celebration at Brier Creek ES.  We were quite proud--some neat little songs and events.  Now she will start Kindergarten with Lucy and Kerry in a few weeks.  Where does the time go?

Busy June!

Manly Play with the Tonka!

Amazing--we are half way through the month already.  Where does the time go?  I just read the last post from May, about my toe, and here we are June 15th.  My folks have come and gone, we had Myra's graduation, the girls' recital, and an 8.7 mile run with Kerry phew!

Running...

So I had been doing a great job with running.  Keeping the regular sprint Vibrams, and logging about 15-20 miles a week.  Did an 8 mile long run last week in the trail Vibram along the Falls Lake Dam trail--but may have been a little too much.  Second toe on right foot giving me some pain.  Did a lot of icing this week, eased off, and seems to be a little better.  We'll ee.

Happy Memorial Day!

Nice, humid, overcast day here in Raleigh.  Will celebrate with Kerry's dad and sister (her mom is in Texas!).  Loving having three day weekend.  Almost time to start summer hours, so we'll have more of these for awhile!

The Dam Hill

If you look in the distance, those two specs are Lucy and Myra on the side of the earthen Falls Lake Dam.  Funny girls!

The Dam Bridge!

Yup, we went for a walk down by the Dam last weekend.  The bridge is gone, to be replaced with another.  Not quite sure, with the new 4 lane bridge, why they are replacing it, but oh well...

Lucy's Field Day

So I went in yesterday to volunteer with Lucy's field day.  By total randomness, they put me in charge of the noodle hockey station.  Of course Lucy' group passed me behind by accident, but then Lucy came over at the end, to play with Kerry's class.  She was holding her own, too!

Tea At Sheetz

What my girls do to show their creative side...


GoAnimate4Schools.com: Tea at Sheetz by Mrs. Shearer

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate4Schools. It's free and fun!

Trunk!

Yeah, you would not believe how often they ask to get in the trunk.  And open the back seats to allow for secret passage.  So funny!

Neighborhood Block Party

Girls Shaking It Up!

So this is what we wanted.  A neighborhood that provided lots of social opportunities.  Last night on one of the cul-de-sacs, they had their spring block party.  Beer, margarita machine, bbq, games, hay bales, and a band.  What more could you ask for?  So much fun!