Treasure Island

There are so many great places to walk to in our neighborhood. The kids have a favorite spot that they termed Treasure Island. Asher always makes sure to have his bucket so he can fill it with shells. 

 These days Dexter wants to live outside. On days where we stay inside, let's just say it doesn't go well.

Chess Men

At least four nights a week I peak into Nate's music room and see this. About a month ago Nate started teaching Asher to play chess. He loves it. I'm sure a big part of it is that he gets to stay up a little later than Piper and have some special time with Daddy. He does actually like playing the game too. 

 He has a really good grasp on the game now. It'll be fun to see if he continues to play as he gets older.

And we are back

Sorry for the long hiatus. Blogger was being a pain, and kept telling me I had to pay to continue publishing pictures. I kept getting mad and walking away. Anyway, I figured it out (I won't bore you all with the technical details). 

Our sitting room still has no furniture, so to make it feel less empty we put the tree in it. 

Asher got a super star sticker at school and really wanted me to take a picture of it.

He then decided he wanted to be the photographer.  

 He actually got a decent picture of Dex. This is him saying cheese.

He's such a turkey.

Zoo Day (minus pictures of the actual zoo)

The kids had off school last week for Veteran's Day, so Leah and I took them up to the zoo. I didn't take many pictures. There were just too many kids to chase and I didn't have the energy. I kept Dexter in the stroller most of the day. When he got too whiny I let him run around for a bit. Piper found this lovely butterfly to sit on. 

Don't let this face fool you. As soon as another kid approached to try to sit down she started screaming like a banshee.

Reptile Party

Last night I took the kids to an awesome Birthday party. Two people came and talked about reptiles and they did a presentation with lots of creatures. 

 Asher LOVED holding the different snakes. You can imagine what he is asking Santa to bring him now.

This python was huge. It weighed 50 pounds. The kids had a blast and learned a lot about different snakes.

Flight Festival

On Saturday Nate had to work, but luckily I found something to do with the kids. Every year there is a First in Flight Festival at the local airport. This was the first year they went. The kids got to explore all the planes and helicopters. 

 Asher is not so sure he should commit to being a firefighter anymore.

 These are the C130 planes we see all the time.

 In the afternoon the candy bomber came. One of the planes flies over and parachutes candy.

 Both Asher and Piper managed to snag a bar.

It was a really fun day. The kids loved being around all the planes.

Piper Quotes

Yesterday morning Piper was chatting with Nate as he was getting ready for work. Somehow they started talking about heartbeats. Nate explained to Piper that your heartbeat makes a thump thump sound. Piper listened and agreed with that. Nate then listed to Piper's heart and said hers makes the same sound. She replied "No Daddy, my heart is pink and says LaLaLa".

Photo Contest

Good Afternoon faithful readers. A few months ago I won a dress for Piper from an online dress-up shop. It's her Snow White costume we used on Halloween. Piper loves it. They are currently doing a photo contest. I entered Piper. If she gets enough votes she will be a finalist and may be able to pick out the dress of her choice. I would love to get her one of the dresses for Christmas. If you could, please click on the link and vote for her. She is listed as Piper as Snow White. Thank you so much!

http://a.pgtb.me/tjd9cK

Soccer

Asher just finished up his soccer season. We decided not to do the YMCA program this year and instead joined AYSO. They do a really good job with the kids. At Asher's age they play three on three. They focus on teaching the kids to pass and how to play. It really cuts down on a huge mob of kids running after the ball.

 Our last game was quite chilly. Asher is sporting the hat with flames.

 Pipes came along and cheered the entire time. I'm hoping that isn't a sign of things to come.

He had a great group of kids on his team and will be with them again in the spring.

Rainy Days

Last week we had a lot of rainy days. On Monday school was closed so Leah came over with Jada and Bennett. My mom sent us a package that day which included these fancy mustaches. 

I think these ladies look quite good.

Halloween

I'll start this post by introducing the characters. 

 First we have the cutest bat.

 Next, there is lovely Snow White.

 And lastly, Sheriff Woody.


We had a great time trick or treating. We met up with some friends and went through part of the neighborhood.

 I'm really glad we brought the wagon. Piper and Dexter were both tired of trick or treating about halfway through.

After we were done I sat Asher down and explained taxes to him. I told him how Daddy makes money and has to give some to the government. In the same way he has to pay taxes to us. And by taxes I mean candy.

Down on the Farm

A friend of mine started a local group for kids. Every month there are activities where the kids learn about their community and do volunteer work. Last week we met at a local farm and the farmer talked to the kids about his farm and what they grow. 

 Piper really loved the stalks of soy beans.

 She spent a while taking all the beans out.

 Dex was very happy with all the space.

 We got to see all the machinery as well.

 Dex was way more interested in the rocks.

 Ash and Pipes got to climb in the combine harvester. They both would like us to buy one now.

It was a really fun day and I'm looking forward to more activities.

Good new and bad news

Asher has started coming up to us a lot and saying "I have good news and bad news."

Last night we were at a Halloween party and he went outside with some of the kids. He announced "Guys I have good new and bad news. The bad news is that tree is about the fall down. The good news is we have candy".

I have no idea where this expression came from.

This morning he came down for breakfast and said to Nate "I have good news and bad news. The bad news is there is no good news."

Conversations with Asher

A few days ago while driving to school Asher and I had the following conversation:

Asher: "Mom do you know that God lives next to my school?"

I wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about so I replied "Yea.... God is everywhere".

Asher: "No Mom, he lives next to my school, it's his house".

I slowly started to understand what was happening. They have chapel time once a week, where they go next door to the sanctuary. I'm guessing someone referred to it as God's house.

I spent the next few minutes fumbling with an explanation about how some people call church God's house, because that's where we worship him. He didn't buy it.

Asher: "Mom, God lives there, it's his house. He sleeps there too."

Dexter's Daily Activities

Dex would like to apologize for his lack of blogging lately. He has a list of things he needs to get done every day and doesn't have the time for much else. The first thing on his agenda is taking all the the shoes and putting them on the stairs. 

 He also has to empty all the cabinets in the kitchen. Notice he makes sure to have his blankie and bear with him.

 He loves hiding in the cabinet with a few items. I now refer to this particular cabinet as the pooping cabinet. I'll let you guess why.

Southern Autumn

This time of year I miss Pennsylvania. I love the colors and the leaves. We really don't get that here. One part of fall that I do love here is the cotton. Seeing it still surprises me. It's so white and fluffy. Today was a great day for being outside, so the kids and I took a bike ride over to a cotton field. 

 Dex was quite grumpy and not in the mood for a photo shoot.

 Asher as usual was just too busy running to stand still for very long.

 Someday I will manage to get a good shot of them all together...maybe when they are in the twenties.

Piper really wanted me to take a picture of her new boots. She loves the change of seasons since it means a new wardrobe.