Went through the stuff from 2004 and fixed the picture links.

Remember the days when everyone wore hats? Well I don’t; I’m not that old. Hats are cool though, and I wish we could all wear them again. Think of all the time it would save doing hair. Men wouldn’t have to be self-conscience about losing their hair, and women would save a lot of money at the beauty shop or salon or whatever they call the hair cutting place these days. Anyway, I noticed I have quite a collection of pictures of us in hats. I think I’ll create a montage to music with those pictures. Does anyone know a good song I could use? We’ll here are some of the pictures. Some of these are store hats and others are the hats moms need to make, “Mom, will you make me a chef hat?”, or “I want a fish head”, or “Mom, tomorrow is dress like an alien day at school, I need a costume with an alien head.” Yeah, right.

Nick & goofy; a match made in Disneyland

“Fish heads, Fish heads, yummy yummy fish heads.” That’s a real song.
If I had the money to splurge, I’d buy all the fun hats I could find. Mostly we just take pictures of us wearing hats in the gift shops. It’s so much cheaper.

Like Mary Poppins says, “although you can’t see it, you know they are smiling”.

It’s just plain fun to feed the birds, especially when they dive bomb to get the bread and catch it in the air.

We fed the birds on the beach, in the town, and off the ferry boat.

Part of our vacation included seeing the USS North Carolina in Wilmington
Here’s some cool history:

USS North Carolina was the first modern American battleship built after World War I. She was the class leader for a new generation of American battleships and set a standard for new shipbuilding technology that combined high speeds with powerful armament and formidable protection.

1. During the Battle of the Eastern Solomons in August 1942, USS North Carolina was assigned to escort the carriers USS Enterprise and USS Saratoga. Her superior performance during this action proved the concept of the fast battle ship providing antiaircraft coverage for the carrier. Her antiaircraft fire was so intense that USS Enterprise signaled her in alarm, “Are you afire?” This action established the primary role of the fast battleship throughout World War II as the protector of the aircraft carrier.

2. Beginning in August 1942 USS North Carolina continually saw service in the war against Japan until the surrender in 1945. USS North Carolina has the best war record for any surviving American battleship for the war in the Pacific. USS North Carolina received 15 battle stars for her World War II service.

3. USS North Carolina is in excellent condition and retains all of her World War II integrity.

Note: It was super hot in there. I have respect for the guys who had to endure the heat (especially in the boiler room)

During our Kure Beach vacation, we visited the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher. Here’s the boys at the enterance

Remember Aquaman from Superfriends back in the day?
Well, that’s Gordon.
We made him a merman when we went on our Mexico vacation…

Then Gordon made friends with a crab at the aquarium

And here he is using his telepathic abilities to speak to the fish. Now all he needs to do is learn to swim.

We just came home from Pleasure Island, not the island in Pinocchio, but the island south of Wilmington in North Carolina. We stayed at Kure Beach….before I finish this blog I need some Blue Bunny peanut butter caramel commotion ice cream….OK I’m back. I’ll stop talking and just show some pictures.

I buried Gordon & Ben (maybe I shouldn’t have dug them out)

Gordon jumped the waves

Ben rode the waves

Ethan was a bit scared of the waves, but not afraid of the moon
Nicholas spent the entire time in the water either boogie boarding or jumping waves. I can’t fit in another picture. Check out Aqua Man, You Sunk My Battleship & Feed the Birds blogs for the rest of our vacation.

Nerds rule; And so does Benjamin. Not only did he get perfect attendance at school, but he got straight A’s. The principal awarded him a medal and he got to be on the school T.V. We awarded him with a week at science camp in the summer. He got to make a rocket and launch it, and he hatched this butterfly (he’s captured and watched three caterpillars turn into butterflies this year)–

Nick and Ben discovered the best sport…Fencing. It’s playing with swords; only organized and they love it. They’ve finished the beginner class in June and will go on to the intermediate class next. I never knew how many terms and rules there were to fencing.
Here’s Nick in Parry 5 position. He got 2nd place in his class tournament.

Ben has a small strike range and jumps around a lot. His teacher praised him for being the most honest fencer. He’s the boy on the left…