Carolinas Aviation Museum - Charlotte, NC

This past Tuesday it was raining cats and dogs. The kids and I were driving Sean to work and saw this place nearby so we checked it out!

Aircraft Outside of Carolinas Aviation Museum

The Carolinas Aviation Museum is located about 1/4 from the Charlotte Airport and literally next to the North Carolina National Guard Station. The entire museum is in an aircraft hanger which houses about 30 variations of airplanes, jets, helicopters and submarine chasers. Uh huh... submarine chasers. This place is pretty cool.

Since we rolled in promptly at 10am when they opened, we beat the bus load of vets, grandparents and aircraft enthusiasts. This place really caters to people who have a aircraft obsession or a military background- there were plenty of ooohhhs and ahhhhs from our boys.

Fighter Jet you can climb in

Pilot Conor

Pilot Bradan

The museum is currently showcasing Flight 1549 - Known as the Miracle on the Hudson. Remember in 2009 when the plane safely crashed in the Hudson River? The entire aircraft is on display including parts of the wreckage that had broken off, life rafts, life jackets- the whole ball of wax.

US Airways Flight 1549

Rear of US Airways Flight 1549

If you are wondering how they pull a full size sunken aircraft from a freezing river in January check this out. A time lapsed video of them pulling the plane. Pretty cool. If you would like a little historical recap on the events leading to and following the crash check this out. The boys were only somewhat interested- I mean this commercial airplane was competing for the attention of a 1, 5 and 7 year old- when there were military helicopters and flighter jets present. I thought it was very interesting. In June there will be a large FedEx aircraft on display that you can board and check out- sounds pretty cool.

For those with an interest in ever visiting the Carolinas Aviation Museum . Here are my tips, recommendations and reviews.

This is nice display- very small. We were in and out in about 1 hour! This is a historic display, nearly all of the aircrafts are to scale- not a lot of touching going on. However the boys were totally jazzed about sitting in the fighter jet. I feel like it was a little pricey. Luckily kids under 5 are free. There are discounted rates for military and retired military. They apparently also do birthday parties- so if your son or daughter is a plane nut, this might be the place for you.

• Adults: $12
• Children 6-16: $8
• 5 and under: FREE
• Parking: FREE 
• Concessions: None
• Gift Shop: A wide selection of models, toys, lego sets, tshirts, patches and lapel pins.
• Staff: The museum is operated largely by volunteer docents. Most appeared to be retired military. All were very friendly and have an extensive knowledge about all of the planes, facts, dates, etc.

Favorite Parts:

Bradan: The $5 toy plane and dog tags he got from the gift shop

Conor: Sitting in the fighter jet

Kate: PLANES! (she just kept screaming it over and over and over)

Christie: Out of the rain and something new we had never seen before

It was a nice visit. You certainly could not make a day of it. But if you are headed near the airport it is worth stopping. If you are headed to the airport or if you are headed to the Farmers Market in Charlotte, this would be a nice addition to your day. I would give it 3.75 out of 5 stars if I had stars to give or had some type of universal rating scale. I would be willing to give it 4 stars, if the adult ticket wasn't so expensive.

There you have it.

Remember our Gnome Without a Name? Don't forget to leave your name suggestion in the comments box. I already have a favorite of the names listed... however I am totally open to more suggestions. Go for it.

North Carolina Zoo - Asheboro, NC

On Sunday we visited the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, NC with the Wolfe Family. The trek took about 2 hours from Wesley Chapel. Luckily North Carolina offers up a scenic route just about anywhere you drive and SpongeBob babysat the kids in the backseat- pretty painless all around. When SpongeBob ended we broke out the big guns, Justin Beiber, Katy Perry and Taio Cruz. The "are we there yet" moments were minimal.

Entrance to North American Side of North Carolina Zoo

Our Family on the Entrance Bridge

The zoo is beautiful and very spread out. We were really impressed with how much space the animals had to roam and do whatever animals do. Even though things were spread out we were still able to see nearly every animal. Some of the exhibits (Bison and Elk) had stadium style standing areas so you could see as far back as the animals could roam.

All of the paths and walkways are completely covered by a canopy of trees and bamboo so we were able to stay cool and shaded from the sun.

Giraffe 1 started peeing,
Giraffe 2 leaned right in like it was a drinking fountain.
The kids loved it- gross.

Elephants - They were all copper colored from the dirt.

Nearly every exhibit had something that the kids could climb on or in. Which is good- more times than not- I am telling the kids to get down off the wall or the barrier bars or out of the tree or whatever else they aren't supposed to be climbing on. This still happened- just not as much.

Favorite parts:
Bradan: Otters
Conor: Watching the Otters Wrestle with Carrots
Kate: Flamingos or as Kate calls them Go Gos
Sean: It was so spread out- even though there were a lot of people there, it never felt crowded
Me: The shaded walkways

Bradan, Bayli and Conor climbing on the bronze Rhino

Conor and Bradan climbing the giant bee

Conor and Bradan checking out the Elephant Tracking Helicoptor

Happy Kate :)

We bought the extra passes and went to the Dinosaurs exhibit. We have seen this at the Brookfield Zoo when we lived in the suburbs of Chicago,IL. But this was actually quite a bit nicer- could have just been the weather and the cover of the trees- but it was really nice. There were several dinosaurs that spit water at you, move, roar, you could climb on some, dig for fossils and take home what you found! Kate hated this whole exhibit. She was petrified and had her face hiding in my shoulder the whole time :( Not a fan of dinosaurs yet.

Checking out T-Rex's Teeth

Riding T-Rex

Hiding in Eggs

Conor driving the Dinosaurs Jeep

My camera died before we made it to the play area- which was themed with Giant bugs, spider webs, vines and leaves. Really cute and the kids LOVED it!

They are currently building a new Kid's zone area and large Polar Bear exhibit. We'll have to check it out next time!

Big thanks to the Wolfe family, who smuggled our children in on their membership and made it possible for Sean and I to purchase discount tickets. :) Our friend Jessica visited the website before going and got some great tips on touring the park- which were totally worth it so I recommend checking it out!

Overall- victory was ours. The kids were wiped out and still smiling even after 6 hours of walking and hard play.

Kate Loved it

For those with an interest in ever visiting the North Carolina Zoo. Here are my tips, recommendations and reviews.

This is probably one of the nicest zoos we have ever been to! It was very family oriented, clean and had lots of animals on exhibit. Overall for a family of 5, even if we had to pay for the kids- seems reasonably priced if you purchase the membership and use it at least 2 times a year.

• Adults: $12
• Children: $8
• Family Membership (2 Adults - 4 kids): $74 a year (this membership can be used at other partner zoos too!) 
• Parking: FREE 
• Concessions: Expect to be robbed blind. Pizza $4.75 a slice. Hot Dog $5. Dasani $3. They do sell whole pizza's for substantially cheaper- $20.99 (8 slices).I recommend packing fruit, snacks and water bottles. You can always refill them at the drinking fountain. You could bring juice flavor packets like Hawaiian Punch or Crystal Light. Way cheaper. 
• Remember baby wipes, band-aids, hand sanitizer and sunblock. All of these are available at the gift shop- but you will pay out the nose.
• Bring binoculars for the kids- even just the play ones. Get each kid a map. Limits the bickering over who has the map and them asking you every 10 seconds what is next.

Good trip- I would give it 4.5 stars if I had stars to give or had some type of universal rating scale. We'll totally go again.

My Mom Slammed My Hand in the Car Door

Not recently. No, I think she is still in California visiting Bernie's family. I'm talking like I dunno 30+ years ago, I think we were at the state fair or the Livonia Spree or something and we were piling into the car to leave. As a 5 year old it was my responsibility to be poking around in the hinge part of the door, because that is what a 5 year old does- Mom just closed the door. Of course this was an accident- I am fairly certain she did not intentionally crush my hand. At least I hope not. I don't even remember if it hurt. It probably friggin killed- but I was like 5 so you forget that kind of stuff. Well just enough to hang over my Mom's head for the rest of my life :)


Let me tell you what I do remember. Sitting on the couch with my hand in one of those little yellow Tupperware cups filled with ice. Or maybe my Faygo was in the cup... I dunno. There were definitely Tupperware cups involved.

Tupperware Cups found on Tree Fall Design Blog

Every Sunday or maybe it was Saturday night we would get to watch The Muppet Show. My brother and I each had one bowl of popcorn and a small cup of soda. Probably Faygo. There must have been an enormous amount of Mommy guilt going on this night because honestly... the only thing I remember about the entire experience is that I got an extra bowl of popcorn and an extra cup of soda.


To this day, I tease my Mom all the time. "Mom my hand still hurts..." News flash. Doesn't hurt. I don't remember any of it. I only remember that I scored extra popcorn, soda and watching The Muppet Show. Which for the record is one of the best programs ever on television. If you disagree you are wrong.


You see. Here is where I am right now. Stuff happens. Stuff out of my control. Don't tell my kids, I can't fix everything. I cannot be everywhere all the time. Even though I tell them I can. I certainly try. When accidents happen the guilt becomes part of me. This example, is the same. But different. I was inside with Kate a few weeks ago and Bradan had a major wipe out on his scooter. I mean... yikes...

Bradan's Knee - Post Wipe Out

His knee was raw, but what was worse was his uncontrollable screaming. I mean seriously... you would have thought his leg was being chopped off. 

While I was making every attempt to console him- my heart was so heavy because there was nothing I could do to make him feel better. It took a good 30 minutes to get him to calm down just to let me wipe the snot from his face let alone the blood from his knee. Selfishly, I look back on this day and while I certainly think about the horrible road rash he had and how bad he felt. I also think about how helpless I felt not being able to fix it or prevent it from happening all together. The guilt comes over me and I think- if I would have been there this wouldn't have happened. WTF do I think I have superpowers? Was I really going to swoop in and catch him as he flew down his favorite scooting hill he calls "The Mountain" clocked at a good 12-18 mph? Probably not. 


Yup, probably should have been wearing knee pads... luckily he religiously wears his helmet- because we have brainwashed him on that one. But I should not feel guilty about not being there. They are growing. They don't want me watching over their every single move. (otherwise they wouldn't get away with anything!) I know I should not feel guilty- but I do.


I took this photo of his knee and recorded him screaming because I know he will forget. On occasion he will look at photos on my phone and say- "My knee was really gross Mommy. Look at it now- it is totally healed". This is still pretty fresh in his head since it just happened recently- but I'm pretty certain the memory will fade into, getting to prop his leg up, watching Shark Boy and Lava Girl, extra play time on the Wii, special snacks and Caprisun.


Accidents happen. Scraped knees and pinched fingers are inevitable. While I don't wish them on anyone- it gives them a story to tell, a scar to show later or a tramatic experience to hold over their Mom's head... "Mom remember that one time when I wiped out on my scooter? You should have bought me knee pads". Yeah yeah. My point is, I have got to stop with the Mommy guilt. 


My Mom is the coolest. She did not intentionally slam my hand in the car door. She probably relived the experience in her head a thousand times that day. I can't say for certain- I just know that this is what I do with my kids. I can't be everywhere all the time. Shit is going to happen. All I can do is hold them tight when something happens and have it all documented so when they are ready to hang it over my head- I will just be able to nod and laugh that they have a story to tell instead of feeling guilty for not being there to prevent it from happening.

6:50pm Today

Me: "If all of you don't get some clothes on your bodies stat you are all fired!"

I may need about 5 of these tonight.

Mama Juice