Giving Thanks

This Thanksgiving what I am most thankful for is nieces and nephews.  Nieces and nephews who can entertain my children for hours.  Who have such patience answering countless questions about video game strategey, play silly games with them, dress them up in pearls, and take the most adorable pictures of them.  I love you all and I'm so glad I got to spend Thanksgiving with you (and I really missed those of you that weren't there).

Oh yeah, and siblings and siblings in-law, you aren't bad either :)

Little Goblins

I'm slowly getting caught up.  Maybe by Christmas :)

We took the kids to Trunk-or-Treat at church the Wednesday before Halloween.  It was the best one I have been to so far, probably because most of the activity was outside.  You see, our church building is much to small for the number of attendees and so it gets ridiculously crowded at times.  And also, we decided for our sanity to eat at home before we came to the activity.  It was a chili cook off and that would have been fun but group meal settings are always a little challenging with little one's.  There was a movie on the lawn and games inside.  And then the candy.  We were home by 8pm.  Perfect. 

I must say I was pretty pleased with how their costumes turned out.  We already had the Superman cape from hand-me-downs my sister gave me (thanks Debby).  And the shirt and mask was from his superhero birthday party.  So, I really didn't do much for him except make a belt, which he requested, and print out the logo and tape it to his boots.  I did make Baby Sister's cape and shirt though and loved how they turned out.  And the skirt was something I had bought ahead of time for her to wear for the 4th of July.  Hurray for clearance sales and advance planning!!!!

 

The Mister got to wear his costume to school on Halloween.  They had trick or treating there and also a party.  He decided he wanted to be a Superman again for school since he plays superheroes at recess all the time.  Baby sister also had a Halloween party put on by some of the mom's at church.  It was a cute and fun little party with games, and face painting and treats, of course. 

Then it was time for the big show :)  We invited some friends to come trick or treating with us.  I was a little disappointed though that almost half of the neighborhood was not participating.  But, I think I have figured out that by moving the time change back a few weeks it has had a profound effect on Halloween for the littlest goblins.  You see, we try to go out early, say 6:30pm, to be back at a reasonable time for baths and bed.  When the time change was in October, it was fairly dark at 6:30 so a lot of people were out.  Now that the time change is after Halloween, not so much.  I only say this because I left for a little bit (it was a milkshake run, I admit it) around 7:30 there were a lot more houses with their porch light on.  I used to kind of like the time change.  Then I moved to Arizona where it doesn't exist and realized what a pain it can be.  Then I had kids and now I hate any kind of time change whatsoever.  BECAUSE no matter which way the clock is moving my kids always wake up earlier.  It STINKS!!    Wait, this post was supposed to be about Halloween.  Ok, here goes...NO MORE TIME CHANGE - IT IS RUINING HALLOWEEN!!!!

Oh well, here are some more pictures.

Fall is my Favorite

My absolute favorite.  I love the crunchy leaves, and the crisp air and all of the fun fall activities.  Here are a few of the things we have been up to while I wasn't blogging :)

In September the Mister had Spirit Week at school.  Since it coincided with Johnny Appleseed's birthday, one day they were supposed to dress up as Johnny Appleseed.  I didn't have much notice, but I think I still put together a pretty cute outfit.  Baby Sister was a big fan of the hat too!

One tradition we have made since living here is going apple picking in North Carolina every fall.  We have tried out several different orchards, but this year our favorite spot was closed for picking apples due to a late frost (or something).  So, we headed to the spot of our original apple picking adventure when the Little Mister was just a baby.  Lucky for us, it was the annual apple festival that day so there were lots of activities.  We mostly stuck to the apple picking and jumping though.

In October the Little Mister had his first field trip to a Pumpkin Patch and I got to go with him and his class.  It's the same place we pick strawberries.  They went on a little hayride, had a lesson in pumpkin growing, picked their pumpkins then had a snack and went through a mini corn maze.

A couple of days later we went back as a family.  We got to go on a longer hayride and did the full maze.  The Mister wasn't so excited anymore when it started to get dark :(

And also, we potty trained Babys Sister this fall.  It was easy, even easier than her brother was, but I maintain that even when potty training is easy it's hard.

I suppose Halloween and Thanksgiving deserve a post all their own so I will stop here for now and promise to continue updating as quickly as I can.

OBX: Final Installment

Since Friday was our last full day there, we decided to spend as much time at the beach as possible.  Brad and I agreed that this was the best beach day we have ever had.  The water was still a bit chilly, but calm.  It was overcast but warm so it was just one of those days that you wanted to be outside as long as you could. 

Drew dug a giant pit that cousin B used to re-enact the Backson scene from Winnie the Pooh.  And our kids, though less practiced in the fine arts, joined right in.  Sand castles were built and torn down, crabs and shells were found, a great day overall.

On Saturday, had we been smart, we would have just packed up and left for home to arrive at a reasonable hour.  Instead we took our very last opportunity to explore the Corolla lighthouse which Suz and I had discovered on our little drive while the babies were sleeping (my baby is two - hers is actually a baby).  We climbed up the lighthouse, explored the little village (strangely, we couldn't go into the schoolhouse because the sign said school was in session - on a Saturday?), and then had a picnic in the park.  Then we said our goodbye's and headed for home.  It was a great trip and I hope we get to do it again someday.

OBX: Part Three

Wednesday was a pretty low key day for us.  We rode our bikes into town and got donuts at Duck Donuts.  They were so good we got them again before we left.  The town has a pretty extensive boardwalk system on the sound side.  So, after our donuts we walked along the boardwalk and even popped into a couple of shops before heading back.  The day was so nice we even rode up past the beach house to explore a little more.  We spent the afternoon playing on the beach.  Apparently though, it was such a low key day that I didn't bother to get out my camera :(

Thursday we went to play on the sand dunes and fly kites and we even saw some hang gliders.  There is something about sand dunes that is just amazing to me.  I couldn't pass up the opportunity.  Plus, I will never forget the time we were driving through White Sands, NM and my sister and I wanted to get out of the car and see them so badly but my mom wouldn't let us.  Does White Sands remind anyone else about the movie "Space Camp"?  Just me....ok, moving on.

After our loooong hike over and around the dunes we went to see the Body Island lighthouse.  I think it's pronounce bo-dee, with a long O.  Because body island sounds creepy.  We didn't exactly know where we were going but found it without too much trouble, only to realize the whole thing was being repaired.  Oh well.  We still picnicked in the shadow of the scaffolding and then the boys left for their fishing trip while Suz and I took our babies home.

Fishing was the highlight of the trip for Little Mister.  Most specifically, the part where he got to throw the puffer fish that they caught onto the deck of the boat.  One of the guides blew the fish up (with his mouth - disgusting) and then let the kids play with it.  I don't think cousin B was quite as excited about the puffer fish, as you can see from his face in the picture. Priceless. When we got back the Mister told his whole class that he caught two puffer fish!  Poor Mister, the kids life jackets on the boat didn't fit him very well so he had to wear Baby Sister's puddle jumper.  Luckily he didn't seem to mind one bit.  I guess he was distracted by the thought of catching a real fish.

OBX: Part Two

One of the reasons we decided on the Outer Banks was because, in addition to the beach, it offered several interesting historical sights within close proximity.  And lighthouses.  I love lighthouses - but that's another post.

On Tuesday we went to Roanoke Island to see the site of the Lost Colony.  I have to admit, the details surrounding the "lost colony" had escaped me, but still, I was intrigued by the idea of a mystery.  Just in case you have forgotten too, go here, if you are into that sort of thing. 

The site is in the town of Manteo and the island is actually quite tiny but very cute.  The weather was perfect and we had a great time climbing aboard a replica of the ship (I couldn't believe how many people they fit in those things - 50-60!), wandering though the Native Settlement, and English Settlement and then finally the museum.  This museum was one of the best I have ever been to with lots of stuff for the kids to climb on, dress up in, and play with.  There was even a big gravel pit out front to dig for fossils!  We came home with quite a few shark teeth and a few fossils.  After the museum we had lunch on the marina and played at the park.

Next we headed to Kittyhawk or Kill Devils Hills, I'm still not sure which it really is, to visit the Wright Brother's Memorial.  We looked in the museum, climbed up a big hill, and then got to play on a replica of the plane.

OBX: Part One

Brad and I decided early on that, as much as possible, we should try to explore the areas around where we live while we live there, because you never really know how long that is going to be.  And you don't want to regret not seeing something while it was close to you.  Since we have already been to Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, Charleston, and Tybee Island,  we decided to head to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a week at Duck Beach.  It was a celebration for Brad finishing his master's degree and probably because this will be the last time we can take a mid-September vacation without "unlawfully" taking a child out of school.  Oh, and also it was a good excuse to meet up with my sister and her family and meet our new baby cousin (my nephew).

 

We arrived on Saturday night.  It was a long drive but not too long that the kids weren't dying with anticipation to see their cousin B and meet their new baby cousin.  Unfortunately the cousins weren't quite as excited to meet them at first but Baby Sister did manage to sneak in and hug B and right before bed he agreed to give the Little Mister a "shy hug".  I loved watching the cousins play together - I think that was my favorite part of the whole trip.

 

We woke up Sunday morning to a light drizzle.  Perfect!  And I mean that.  It gave us the excuse to lazily mill around the house and explore the neighborhood where we were staying.  We took a quick stroll to the beach and to the sound.  Luckily the island is super narrow at that part and so we were in a short walking distance of both the beach and the sound side.  That evening we all went to the beach to fly kites and let the kids run.

Monday we got up and headed to the beach.  It was beautiful and sunny but also quite windy.  And, probably due to the remains of some hurricane, the waves were quite big and the water was a little chilly.  Still, we had fun playing in the sand all morning (swimming in the ocean is not a requirement for an enjoyable beach trip for me, FYI).   Uncle Drew, or Tickle Drew as we like to call him, made sure there was always something to be built, or destroyed!

First Day

Monday was the Little Mister's very first day of preschool.  He has been looking forward to this day for quite some time! 

Here he is with his dog that he decorated.  The previous Friday at Meet the Teacher we were given a homework assignment to take home the dogs and decorate them with things the kids love.  Since Mister really isn't into drawing we went for stickers.  He was all about the stickers and covered the whole thing in dinosaurs, zoo animals, trucks, boats, planes, and all things space related.  During school they got to tell the other kids about themselves and their dogs.



 One last hug....

I bought some flowers and wrote a quick thank-you note for his teachers for all the hard work they had doneto get ready for the year.  He wanted to carry them in, I thought it was so cute :)

His teachers loved the flowers, and I'm sure they love him too.  How could you not?

Literally forcing a smile here.  This was about the sixth attempt and he could not sit still.  I promise he was excited to be there.  What he was not excited about was having to get his picture taken instead of going to play with his soon to be new friends.

Day One Report:  They had Spanish and got to sit on the rug for story time.  He made a new friend named Ethan and had some kind of bar (not granola and not a cereal bar) and water for snack. He loved school and is excited to go back.

A visit from Grandma and Grandpa

Brad's parents came to visit us last week.

They took us to the acquarium.

And we took them to the zoo.

 

And Brad and I even got a date night while they were here.

We had so much fun spending time with them and enjoying the nice weather we were lucky enough to have while they were here.

 

We LOVE it when they come visit and miss them terribly when they leave.

 

Camping with my loves

Amazing Race!

On Saturday the Little Mister participated in the Splash n' Dash, a 25yd swim and 1/4 mile run.  I was a little worried for awhile because he really didn't seem that thrilled to be there at first.  I wasn't sure if he was nervous, or scared of all the people there or just tired of waiting for his turn since his age group went last.

But half way into our swim, after I got him to look up and see Dad and Baby Sister cheering for him, he perked right up and said "I'm winning!"  He was all smiles for the rest of the race.

After the swim we traded off and Brad took him to the transition area to get on his shirt, race number, and shoes and then they ran together.  He held Brad's hand for most of the race.  Baby Sister and I got there just in time to see them run the last bit and cross the finish line. 

Everyone got a medal at the end but Little Mister didn't seem to let that deter him from calling himself the winner.  The rest of the day it was "Mom, I can't believe I won my race!"

Poor Baby Sister, she wanted numbers drawn on her too, and she wanted to race but she was too young.  Maybe next year. This year her consolation price was playing in the locker room and checking out her  new kicks in the mirror :)

A couple of days later he had another chance for competition with his buddies at an Olympic playdate, thanks to my good friend Angela.  It was some fierce competition!!

Baby Sister even got a medal. Since she didn't participate in any of the events, I like to think it was for the cutest pig tails!

Two!

Baby Sister had a pool party this year for her birthday. Even though a couple of her friends were sick and couldn't make it, we still had a good time. Her party was much simpler. No handmade gifts for the guests, or games, but come on now, I've got two birthdays in six days people!

She definitely knows what a party is but I don't think she completely understood that it was her birthday or even what a birthday is. Her face just lit up though when we sang her Happy Birthday and she was more than excited to open her presents.

We are so lucky to have such good friends to celebrate with!

Some thoughts on being two:

"What's the best thing about birthdays?"
Answer:  "Cake!"  (I couldn't agree more)

"How old are you now?"
Answer:  "Two weeks!"  (almost right)

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
Answer:  "Astronaut.  And maybe, I'll see you on the mooooon."

And that's about all I got out of her before she became distracted.

And now some of my thoughts:

It's true that Baby Sister is clingy.  She loves me more than anything,except maybe fruit snacks, and hates if there is a closed door or gate between us.  She likes to sit on my lap while I do almost everything and DOES NOT like me to hold other kids.  She is more shy than her big brother but she is so cute and just so sweet.  Her smile and her laugh can turn around even the worst day.

Some of the cute (and not so cute) things she says and does:

"Great job!"

"Awoven" (eleven)

"No sir, no sir!"

"Bad baby!" (she learned this from her brother who learned it from his Dad - telling the dogs they were bad)

"I'm going to go to a time-out".  And she does.  She will actually put herself in timeout.


She also likes to ask for permission to do things.  So all day long I hear "Mom, can I run/take off my pants/open this cabinet/pull everything out and make a huge mess and you can clean it up?"  Ok, so she doesn't actually say the last one but I know that's what she's thinking.

She will interrupt the song I am a Child of God to specifically request that you sing the "walk beside me" part.

She will say the prayer now, with help, but she does add her own parts as well.  She whispers most of it so softly you can hardly hear it until the end where she yells "amen" and throws up her arms.

In the cutest, sweetest voice you've ever heard she says "Mom, do you want to put me to bed?" 

She adds an "y" to several words...juicy, coldy, hotty, bibby, snacksy.  And sometimes she adds and "ing".  So, instead of saying "it's getting dark", she says "it's darking".  It's actually quite effcient.

And when she is really sad she says, "I want to cuddle".  Who could say no to that?

Calling All Superheroes!

For his 4th birthday, we gave the Little Mister a superhero birthday party. This is my favorite party that I have thrown to date, probably because it's the one I put the most effort into. I guess up until now, although I wanted my kids to have a party with friends and feel special all their birthdays, I've had a hard time putting a lot of thought and time into a birthday theme that they really weren't old enough to appreciate yet. But, four was the year. The Little Mister was all about his birthday party and helped me plan and make the invitations.

It was small, we only invited four friends. It was pretty much his regular playdate buddies, plus his super sweet friend Myah, because really what is a superhero party without a Wonder Woman?

I made capes and masks for each of the kids, loosely based on several of the Justice League characters. When they arrived I gave them their capes and they got to decorate their masks (or crowns/headbands for the girls) and color their superhero pictures. I also had them tell me what they wanted their superpower to be - but only Benjamin seemed to be really interested in that. Oh well...

Next we had some superhero practice...flying (running) and jumping over tall buildings (jumping from the ottoman to the couch) and then they got a break to play while I got lunch ready. Just as we were getting ready for the cake we realized someone had come and hidden it! The newest little superheroes had to follow the clues to find the cake. They were so cute during that part, running around the house finding clues. After the cake was found a couple of them were really concerned about who took our cake. I think they wanted to find that bad guy and fight him :)

Then it was time to open presents. They were all genuinely happy to give a gift and watch the birthday boy open it - definite progress from previous years!



And now some thoughts on being four:

"What is your favorite thing about being four?"
Answer:  "Playing with my friends, and being four". 
He has frequently said things like "this is the first time I've been to the pool/church/gym being four, right mom?"  And he tells everyone he sees that he is four now.  I guess he's pretty excited about it:)

"What's your favorite color?"
Answer:  "All the colors"

"Who is your best friend?"
Answer:  "All my friends are my best friends"

"But do you have anyone you like to play with the most?"
Answer:  "Benjamin, because he has spy toys"

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
Answer:  "I told you, I haven't choosed yet!"

"What's your favorite toy"
Answer:  "My silly car"

And some of my thoughts on him being four:

I really can't believe how big he has gotten and grown up.  He asked for, and got, a telescope this year.  Yes, an actual telescope!  And he asked me for weeks if he could get one and was sooo excited when he opened it.  Of course, it hasn't gotten much use yet because it needs to be dark and Brad or I have to help him, but he is so excited to learn about space and can name most of the planets and several nebulae thanks to a calendar from my parents.

And, he's over me.  I mean, not completely.  But, for instance, I thought he would be excited the time that I subbed in his Sunbeam class.  Not so much.  In fact, the second time he told me I couldn't do it  until I convinced him to let me "just one more time" he said.  And when he gave the prayer or read a scripture in Primary for the first time, I thought he would be nervous and want me to be there to help him.  Nope.  He wanted his teachers. 

He asks questions ALL.THE.TIME.  I'm so excited (and a little sad) for him to go to pre-school but I know he will love it.  He loves to learn new things and gets so animated about it.  And he is so good at making new friends.  I'm glad I don't have to worry about that with him.  He makes friends almost everywhere we go - and it's adorable to watch.

He is getting better at expressing emotion.  I'm not sure if he is just copying things he has heard or if he genuinely understands what he is saying but yesterday he told me a) that he didn't want to go to a concert ever because he was "nervous of all the kids in a line" and b) he was "frustrated at Lucy".  Also, sometimes when he doesn't like my answer, he will say "Mom, you are lying to me about that".  Ouch!  But at least he realizes lying is bad.

My favorite part about his birthday was overhearing him say to his friends "guys, I really love all my birthday presents"  BEFORE he even opened them!  So sweet.

Charleston

Earlier this month we went to Charleston.  I love that city!  The history, the architecture, the food.  I could do without the heat and humidity though and I think we chose one of the hottest weekends to go!

We didn't let the heat stop us though and decided to go ahead and see the aircraft carrier turned aviation museum in Mt. Pleasant.  I would not recommend doing that on a summer afternoon again.  But, we did find a couple of cool spots, one being the dining room (or mess hall),  and we stayed in there as long as possible.  Aside from being hot, and terribly nervous that my kids were going to fall off the boat, it was pretty interesting.  We didn't get to see everything (it's a big ship!) so maybe some day we will go back and finish the rest.

The next day we headed to the beach at Isle of Palms to meet up with some friends that were staying in a beach house there.  I really love that beach because the waves are so calm (typically) and it is shallow enough that you can walk out really far into the water.   The kids loved splashing in the water.  The Mister even got to try boogie boarding with his dad.  But mostly, they were intent on digging.

After dinner that evening we went out for ice-cream.  The kids wanted to taste each other's ice-cream and were so cute about sharing that I had to snap a quick photo!

On our third day we went downtown.  Once again it was a scorcher so we let the kids cool off in the fountains.  Silly me, I thought the kids would just splash around and didn't need their swimsuits.  Well, I was wrong!  They got right in and got soaked from head to toe.  Clearly the locals were more experienced as pretty much all the other kids were in full swimwear.  Luckily, we had a change of clothes on hand.

After lunch we went to Charletowne Landing which is the location of the original settlement.  Once again, had it not been so hot I think we might have enjoyed this more.  We didn't see everything here either.  We did go to the animal forest and saw some bison - but most of the animals were smarter than us and had found a shady place to hide.  We also got to see one of the small ships like what they had back in the days of the early settlement.  I think it would be a really fun place to visit around Thanksgiving time.  I guess we will have to go back!