North Carolina

Elevation Burger: Grass-fed, organic, and yum!

April 6, 2014 by melissa

It’s like the burger trifecta.

A few bloggers were invited to head over to our local Elevation Burger and try out a few things from their menu.

They call it a “better-for-you burger.”

And it’s true. Their beef comes from 100% organic grass-fed cattle, giving the meat more vitamins and nutrients. One thing I didn’t know about this kind of meat is that it has less fat and fewer calories. BONUS!

I KNOW you’ve been to a place with great, mouth-water burgers only to have it paired with limp, blah fries. Lucky for you, their fries are delicious. They’re hand0cut and cooked in olive oil. Can you name another place that cooks fries in olive oil?

I had a regular burger with cheese, lettuce, pickles, grilled onions, and their signature Elevation Sauce. Quite possibly the BEST burger in town, y’all. It’s juicy, cooked perfectly, and on a great-tasting bun. If you aren’t a carnivore, they also have vegetarian and vegan burger options. I tried their vegan burger with carrots and corn and it was delish as well!

Not to mention, they list the calorie amounts beside each menu item. No surprises (and no denial “oh I bet that’s only 100 calories” either)!

No need to head elsewhere for dessert either. They serve shakes, malts and plain ole scoops of ice cream. That’s what my little guy opted for. That is, after I made him eat most of his burger and fries. You know what he told me? (look at the boy holding the ice cream cone in my picture above first.)

He said, “I bet the little boy in the picture didn’t have to each his burger and fries first.” What a rascal, that kid.

Elevation Burger has over 30 locations across the U.S. and 10 international locations. One thing I found interesting? Since there meat is also halal, you can find their locations in many Muslim countries like Kuwait and Qatar. They’re projecting to open 100 locations by the end of 2014.

If you wanna see if there’s an Elevation Burger in your area, check out their website. And if you’re local? Get yo’ self down to Brier Creek and try one of these burgers. Seriously good eats.

Disclaimer: No compensation was given for this post. Just food. Nom Nom.

LEGO KidsFest Coming to Raleigh October 7-9, 2011

October 3, 2011 by melissa

I can do this too. No problem. *cough cough*

I hear this story often from my brother-in-laws. When Daddy Roo got sent to his room as a kid, it wasn’t too bad. See, he was the lucky brother with the LEGOs in his closet. He’d come out of “time out” with a new ship or a skyscraper while his brothers came out from their rooms empty-handed (and a little ticked off I’m sure).

He’s now an architectural designer. Maybe those time-outs weren’t a bad thing after all.

Our kids love playing with LEGOs too. Big Roo is just getting into “big kid” LEGOs while Little Roo is all about the DUPLOS.

We were all pretty stoked to see that the LEGO KidsFest is coming to Raleigh later this week. From October 7-9 at the Raleigh Convention Center, kids can build, play and do just about everything with LEGOs (but eat them).

I must see this in person. Cool, right?

While there’s a TON of activities and things to do at LEGO Kidsfest, I think we each have a part we’ll be most excited about:

Daddy Roo: the LEGO Model Gallery, which has 40 life-sized models made entirely from LEGO bricks
Me: the Mystery Mural sounds intriguing, where you help build a piece of a giant mural to help reveal the image
Big Roo: no question he’ll be stoked to do the Race Ramps, where you build cars and race them down a ramp
Little Roo: I’m sure he’ll love the DUPLO area, since those bricks are bigger for his itty bitty toddler hands

If you’d like to join me there, tickets are $20 for adults and $18 for children. You can buy the tickets and find more info about the Kidsfest at the official LEGO Kidsfest website.

Disclaimer: I was given free tickets to attend the event. We’re headed there on Sunday and I can’t wait!

Kids Gone Wild (at the Zoo)

June 6, 2011 by melissa

We finally did it. After almost three years living in North Carolina, we FINALLY made the trek to Asheboro to visit the North Carolina Zoo. The kids have been to zoos before but not the one closest to us. Not sure why we waited so long. As you’ll see, the kids had a rockin’ good time.

I mean how can they not when you get close to animals like this?

This is my favorite shot of the day. Helllooooo zoom lens.Ah, I just love elephants.

After we started walking through the zoo, it was apparent we’d be doing a LOT of walking. We only brought a stroller for Little Roo so we switched him into a Bjorn (yes, he’s still small enough for it!) so he could see the animals better and then let Big Roo sit in the stroller when he needed. That worked (for a while).

We strolled through the swampy around and glanced down at the gorgeous water lilies.

Then we watched the seals swim circles around their pool. Big Roo got a kick out of watching them. He also got a glimpse at how he stacked up to bears.

We checked out the aviary, too. I didn’t get great bird pictures but I’d see cool shadows cross my path as the birds flew overhead. Luckily, flamingos are lazy and tropical plants don’t move.

The kids enjoyed watching all sorts of animals, including seeing the chimps get their treats: a Kong filled with frozen juice! Doesn’t that one dude behind the log look so chill?

One of the highlights was seeing the zebra and giraffe. There were tons of them and they weren’t hiding from us either. The kids loved pointing at them (especially Little Roo). I’m sure he was pondering if they were black with white stripes or white with black stripes. Hardy har.

Remember what I said about the Bjorn and the one stroller working for a while? Well, we finally broke down and rented another stroller. They were out of singles so we sported this sassy number. I don’t think the kids minded though, do you?

And what’s not to love about playing around in giant eggs?

We paid a little extra for the “extras.” A ride on Dora and Diego’s 4D Adventure (Big Roo’s fave), a pass into Acacia Station to see the giraffes up close and a carousel ride (Little Roo’s fave). Little Roo was mesmerized by how he went up and down, then gave a hearty clap at the end. *cute*

While the kids were kinda indifferent, I was excited to see the Sonora Desert part of the museum. I got all nostalgic about cactus and stuff (I lived in Phoenix for five years). Hello prickly pear, agaves and saguaros! Big Roo was excited to see what the place he was born looked like.

Finally, what happens after you walk around the zoo for six hours with a four year old and a toddler? Well, the four year old STILL has energy to play on their cool playground while the toddler crashes for a much-needed nap.

Don’t you just love watching the kidlets enjoy the zoo? Although them being wild and whiny would have made good blog fodder, it just didn’t happen. They were amazing (and we were lucky). Even through the searing heat, hauling enough crap for a one-week vacation and smelling like sunscreen, we had a blast. Next time though, I’ll be sure to take more pictures. *wink wink*

Mother’s Day Hike- Year Four!

May 10, 2011 by melissa

For four years now, Mother’s Day means, among other obvious things, hiking.

Y’all probably think that I’m super gung-ho and we shuffle out the door at 6 am. Oh noooooo. Not me. I start off every Mother’s Day by sleeping in while Daddy Roo simultaneously makes breakfast while making sure the kids don’t destroy something (welcome to MY world, buddy).

BUT we do get around to a hike every Mother’s Day. We started the tradition in Arizona when Big Roo was just a toddler. NOW look who’s a toddler: Little Roo.

This year we hit Umstead Park, only 15 minutes from our house but green, pretty and with water for the kids (and dog) to marvel. Here are my little hikers:

Note: Someone *cough- Daddy Roo- cough* should have told me that my headband makes my forehead look bulging. I’m really NOT happy about that picture.

We thought rain was imminent but lucky for us, the mild weather kept us cool. And the light perfect for cool nature-y pictures.

Big Roo even got to carry our old Camelbak for quick access to water… until he decided it was a pain to do anything other than have fun (see who’s carrying it on the way back? PIC: far right)

And Big Roo can’t resist giving his flashy sorta-smile when I break out the camera. Doesn’t he just look like trouble?

I’m adamant about getting a picture with the kids each Mother’s Day but my forehead pic above (and sans shower) just wasn’t cutting it. Instead, we popped out to the deck for a couple of shots before bed. Yep, Big Roo was in his PJs already. Better late than never though, right?

How was your Mama’s Day?

Planet Earth Celebration: Learning, Bowling and the Great Cardboard Kingdom

April 18, 2011 by melissa

Saturday I headed to downtown Raleigh with the kidlets in hopes of enjoying the Planet Earth Celebration before the rain came. Little did I know “the rain” would become a tornado later that afternoon but I told that story yesterday if you’re interested.

Ready for the downpour. Not ready for the tornado.

Ahem. Back to my story. Daddy Roo was at work that afternoon (gotta hate those deadlines) so I braved a public event with two kids ON MY OWN. [insert patting my own back here]

That’s why I thought it was fitting that the tagline for the event said “RESPECT YOUR MOTHER.” They meant Earth but really, it was also a subliminal message to my kids.

Raleigh’s Planet Earth Celebration was put on by Burt’s Bees (I know you’re jealous because they’re local) and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (which if you’ll remember, Big Roo had his critterific birthday party there two days he got a baby brother for his birthday).

Before I get to the “urban tumbleweed” bowling, Cardboard Kingdom and the Trash March, I really have to tell you that there was an entire tent full of Burt’s Bees stuff that was up to 80 percent off. Isn’t that crazy? Judging by the line we saw (can’t see it in the picture), I’m guess most people thought it was crazy good too.

The Planet Earth Celebration was all about teaching both adults and kids about sustainability. What better way than to blend up smoothies just from pedaling a bike? Or to make art out of trash?

The festival included lots of vendors, from sustainable construction companies to GROW (Greater Raleigh Outdoors and Wildlife). Big Roo was, of course, interested in “doing stuff.” First off? Tumbleweed bowling.

Urban tumbleweed to be exact. What are urban tumbleweeds? Plastic bags. More than 11,000 plastic bags are used in the U.S. every second. Isn’t that nuts?

So, a lady from the museum has been working on this ball for over three years! Big Roo was so psyched to bowl. This kid knows strikes, split strikes and spares from his adventures on Wii bowling and our plastic bowling set. And guess what? He got a STRIIIIKE!

After tearing him away from watching others try to get a strike, we headed down to something he found equally as cool.

Cardboard Kingdom.

This three-building kingdom (with tunnels to get from one to another) was built by the ever-awesome Paperhand Puppet Intervention. I first saw their work on our trip to Saxapahaw last year. Made of cardboard boxes, this was every kid’s dream. I mean, how could a plain ole refrigerator box complete with this?! Even Little Roo got in on the action.

Again, I had to tear Big Roo away, which meant chasing him through the tunnels with Little Roo tucked under my arm. Luckily I managed to wrestle him outta there just in time to walk down the street and see this:

I mean, look at the Roo faces. Mesmerized! And with good reason. The Trash March was full of costumes, noise and lots of puppets! People wore trash-turned-art and my favorite was the Chinese-dragon-style “puppet” made of things like styrofoam containers.

All in all, the boys and I had a rockin’ good time at the Planet Earth Celebration. Not only was it fun, but Big Roo could digest the its meaning in little chunks. We had a chat about littering, about plastic bags and things like that. The celebration made it easy to teach him these things. I was totally impressed. My only regret was that I didn’t get to explore even more. That’s what next year’s for, right?

Disclosure: I was given a boat load of cool Burt’s Bees goodies but was asking for nothing in return. However, this event was so freakin’ awesome that they must’ve known I couldn’t resist writing about it.