A Wilmington Weekend

Father's Day weekend has become a non-traditional weekend of celebration for our family over the past few years.  Every year in mid-June, Jeramie heads north to the lake for a fishing trip with his dad and brother while Ethan and I take-off to the east to see my daddy.  The three of us make it back to Raleigh at some point that Sunday to celebrate Jeramie, and we call it a weekend - a pretty great one, at that.

I've written before about how precious it is for me to introduce Ethan to parts of my childhood, and Father's Day Weekend 2013 was no exception.  I had been planning our activities for about a month and I was so excited to experience it all through Ethan's eyes.

Have you ever sat with a four-year-old as you're getting ready to drive your car onto a ferry, or watched as they marveled at a tank of jellyfish? The excitement and wonder was palatable in those moments and I drank in every ounce!

Reading his "treasure map" while waiting for the ferry

Riding the ferry from Southport to Fort Fisher

Checking out the albino alligator at the Fort Fisher Aquarium

I've got to admit - I could have watched them for days, too.

Of course, no trip to Carolina Beach is complete without stopping by Britt's Doughnuts.  I'm telling y'all - you've never had a doughnut until you've had one from Britt's.  At four years old, Ethan was long overdue for his first taste of this warm, doughy deliciousness.  And, as his mother who cares a great deal about his well being, I had to insist that we make a pit-stop.

Sometimes you just have to make the hard decisions in life.

Ethan clearly loved it, and I wish I could say that more than three doughnuts made it back to Mama and Daddy's house, but I can't.

Speaking of my parents' house - one of the things I love most about it is the lack of distractions.  There's no internet, spotty cell phone service, and a darkness at night that lets you see just about every star in the sky.  The meals are homemade because there's no fast-food restaurant for miles and mowing the yard is my daddy's idea of "getting out of the house".  I love it there, and I love the people who live there even more.

(Mama would most likely kill me for posting this, but since she won't see it, and I happen to think she's beautiful, I'm doing it anyways.)

(And, don't worry.  The blade was up.)

A weekend away at "home" was just what I needed to recharge and realize how much I have to be thankful for.  Thank you, Lord, for your blessings!

Until next time, Wilmington...