Getting to Know Raleigh

And just like that, we've been back in the U.S. for almost a year! Obviously, I haven't done a great deal of blogging over the past few months - there's a lot to do when you move to a new place, and when you add a baby/toddler to the mix, time just slips away. So, I'm throwing together some highlights from our first months in Raleigh...we've managed to get out and experience some fun things, while also furnishing our whole house, lining up doctors, dentists, hairdressers and such, and just getting into a groove here. ​

In the fall we checked out the International Festival of Raleigh, which has food, entertainment and cultural booths from countries around the world. There's even an international dance competition! Of course we had to stop for crepes at the French booth, but there was also some fantastic Lebanese food and lots of other things to try. 

​We celebrated Serena's and Bea's birthday in September, and we officially become a household with TWO TEENAGERS (and a baby)! I'm so proud of how well these girls have adjusted to all the changes they've experienced! They are so grown up now and have adapted superbly to life back in America. 

​The North Carolina State Fair takes place every October, and we couldn't wait to go! As a kid I spent every summer at the county fair - my siblings and I were all in 4H, and we entered our woodworking projects and even showed pigs! Luckily for us, the state fair here is in Raleigh, so it wasn't far to go. We were pretty shocked at how crowded it was, though, even during the week. Kevin and I went with Ian one day and we took the girls another day. We didn't get pictures from the day the girls went - we were too busy with food and rides, I guess! :)

​While Kevin and the girls were at school last fall, Ian and I enrolled in a Kindermusic class and a Baby and Me French class. Mom came to visit and was able to go with us. We only did the Kindermusic for awhile, but we did the French one all year, and it was so fun! Ian got so excited as soon as he saw the building each week. He absolutely loved his teacher, and he had so much fun with his little friends. We'll miss being able to go to the class during the summer break, but he'll be going back for the immersion preschool in September.

Ian was a dragon for Halloween (I was sort-of a witch). He loved hanging out on the porch watching all the kids running around. Bea went trick-or-treating in the neighborhood with a couple of friends (they got a TON of candy), and Serena went to a party with her friends.

North Carolina is GORGEOUS in the fall! The weather was beautiful well into November, and it was perfect for walks to the park and picnics in the local nature preserve.​

​Our tiny little baby turned one year old in November! I baked a pumpkin cake for the family to share, and a little one for him to play with. I think he liked it ;)

It's a total cliche, but still so true...the time passes so quickly. One minute you're bringing them home from the hospital, and the next, they're all grown up. Our little squish turned into a toddler right before our eyes. 

Serena was Tiger Lily in her school's fall production of Peter Pan. She made some really good friends in her theatre class and in the play, and before long, it felt like we'd been in Raleigh for ages!

​We always put out our shoes when we go to bed on December 5th, and in the morning we find that St. Nicolas has filled them with goodies! When I was a kid, we always had an orange in the shoe, along with chocolates, an ornament and a book...St. Nick must be branching out, because this year we found a couple of mangos and an avocado!

Kids make Christmas fun. I love all the decorating and getting ready as much as the big day itself. When school let out, we drove up to Illinois to spend the holidays with our families. Unfortunately, Ian got his first stomach bug (which he passed on to the rest of us), so Christmas Eve and the next morning were pretty subdued. We all recovered though, and we drove back successfully. It's a 13 hour trip, and while I won't say the whole thing was a piece of cake with a one year old, it went surprisingly well...mostly thanks to the girls (Bea read books to Ian and Serena played her ukulele).

​In January, winter came to Raleigh! It was nice to have a little snow, and the kids even had a snow day! Ian thought it was pretty cool.

​For Spring Break, Bea went down to Florida to stay with her grandma, while the rest of us went to the North Carolina coast. We toured UNC Wilmington (I can't believe my first baby will be going off to college in just one more year!) and then spent a few days on Wrightsville Beach. We tried a good Mexican restaurant, and Ian decided he's ready to try surfing. 

​Back at home we've been doing a lot of work on the yard. My mom came for another visit, and my dad sent along some strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry plants for us. We got them all in the ground, and we're starting to see berries! Now, I just have to figure out what to do about the birds that want to poach them. If anyone has any ideas, please share!

Springtime in Raleigh is just as beautiful as the fall. For Ian and me, it meant lots of outside play, walks to the park, and trips to the Durham Museum of Life and Science, which has a ton of stuff to do outside, and is just an amazingly cool place! We love the butterfly house and the little train.

 
​The girls were busy this spring too. Bea was on the Middle School track team and ran the 100 meter dash,, and Serena was in another play - this one was called Honk and was the story of the ugly duckling.

​Kevin's birthday rolled around (as birthdays always do) in May. I made him tiramsu, and we gave him a hammock for the yard and a Sky chair. I see lots of relaxing going on in his future.

There's a festival at the fairgrounds every spring called "Got to be NC." It's just like the state fair, only not as crowded. YES! We took Ian and Bea, and it was a lot of fun. Bea went on plenty of rides, and Ian tried the merry-go-round. I'm not sure he was too keen on it, though!

​Another cool place we found here is the Aloha Safari Zoo. They rescue unwanted, injured, or mistreated animals, and people can visit and walk around with Peacocks wandering past. Ian LOVED feeding the giraffe!

^^There's a tractor that pulls people all around the property in a wagon to see the animals that are farther out. They have a lot of different species, and it was a pretty cool place. 

So...that's what the McLeans have been up to since we moved here. I'm hoping to update more often now that we're settled. Our summer schedule is already packed, so I'm sure it'll fly by. Happy summer, everyone!