Ramblings of a Woodbutcher

Hey there!

Spring has arrived! Winter, though much warmer than we're used to has been pretty rough. At the first of the year I took a job at a research company doing work on biofuels production. Met some great people but working 12 hour shifts, alternating days and nights every week and the uniform just wasn't "me"...

And it just so happened that the worlds largest producer or jet engines, dishwashers and lightbulbs had an opening at their local facility. So, I'm back with my previous employer in an engineering job that so far seems challenging and really fun (and a 7-5ish schedule with weekends off!) Whew. Things finally seem to be settling in to place down here.

Enough about me. Norah and Nisha are doing great. We had a warm sunny weekend down here and decided friday night to head to the Outer Banks. We stayed in a KOA campground on Hatteras Island (though in a nice cushy "Kabin"), the same KOA campground my stepdad and I stayed at last fall. But this time with heat and blankets.

Norah was really excited to see the ocean again!

The weather was great and we had a great time. Nisha tried to get Casey to run the doggie agility course... or was it the other way around?

We've noticed that Norah frequently comes home from daycare covered in sand. Her teachers say that she loves playing in the sand as well as snacking on it. Eww. Caught red-handed:

Beach and a few random around the house photo-dump:

Here's a LOAD of pictures. Probably too many but we haven't posted in a while, so here you go...
Here's Norah in one of her many comfortable Halloween outfits, which she tends to wear on the weekend. Also her hair isn't long enough to get it in one ponytail so 2 antennas have to suffice.

She likes to mess up her hair. (oh tooth update, this evening I saw the beginnings of her canines coming in).

So one antenna will have to do for dinner. Norah has had a tendency to eat orange food. Here's her dinner showing oranges, goldfish crackers, cheese, sweet potato fries, chicken in some orange sauce, and shells and cheese.

Unfortunately all good things come to an end. Casey decided to pop Norah's inflatable swimming pool, so we had to put her fun balls back into their original bag. Norah still had fun.

Norah has also discovered my hairband. (notice another one of her Halloween outfits) She likes to take it off and put it back on again.

...and yes we still have our Christmas tree up.

I like to go through a lot of oatmeal and Norah likes to play with the containers.

Norah likes to give us the 'stink eye' on command...she's gearing up...

and here's a glimpse of it. Once we figure out how to download videos from our camcorder, we will upload a better stink eye video.

Norah sitting with Casey.

Aww isn't she cute.

yes, she knows she is cute.

alright, you can pose some more.

and Norah loves to back up and sit right by Casey, or even sometimes on her head.

Action shot!

I was telling Norah, 'no, no, no' and she loves to mock.

...and grit her teeth while smooshing Casey.

Last weekend, Norah and I decided to take a look around one of the area's large lakes.

Norah taking in the view.

and a pinecone...

hey, stop that...

and a stick.

we left that area to explore other parks and areas that didn't have such tasty treats. We landed at a place with a playground and sandbox. (we actually saw a bald eagle soaring above)

I hear Norah loves the sandbox at daycare. It looks like she knows what to do.

The next day we decided to go to yet another park. This one was a more historical park.

Norah has found her freedom.

Hey, what's that. Cotton?!

Yep sure is.

Yeah!

Actually Norah ended up not liking the cotton. I brought a few balls home and she'll look at it suspiciously and touch it, but if I mention that it's cotton, she goes bezerk and turns her head and tries to run away...so don't mention the "c" word around her.