SC and NC, & Hawk for Dinner

Last month we took a trip down to North Carolina to visit big brother Alec, and then drove down to South Carolina to visit Grandma Dee. Alec, Kate and Otis are living in Chapel Hill. They steered us to a great roadside BBQ place, and a cafe with some of the best coffee we've ever had. Ethan spent hours playing in the hotel pool. In South Carolina Ethan tried out the neighbor's tree swing, and helped pull a few weeds from the front walk.

Our kitchen table is right beside a bay window overlooking our back yard and the bird feeder. Tonight at dinner Ethan spotted a red-tailed hawk who landed in a tree, looking for his own dinner at the bird feeder. We got to watch the hawk for about 10 minutes. Very cool!

Ethan has been going to summer school (um, I mean reading camp) for the last couple of weeks. This morning when I was dropping him off, he asked me if I wished I had been pregnant. "No", I told him honestly. "Why not?", he asked. "Because it's heavy and uncomfortable," I said. "Oh, you mean it would be hard to run" he wisely observed. But I added, "I wish I could have had you in my tummy, because I love you and would have liked you close to me." And with that he was saying high to the kids who were already there.

We'll see big sister Jen, who is pregnant, this weekend.