Last of the vacation pictures

One disadvantage to where we live is that there are no good climbing trees. Every time we are in a place with good trees Asher is the first to start climbing. 

 He has pretty good form.

 This sweet girl makes me so happy. She is such a delight to be around and is constantly making me laugh with the things she says.

 Dex is so easy going, I guess you have to be in this family. I am just starting to get hints of the boy he will grow into and it's fun to watch.

Why I'm thinking of getting a bird...

There was one part of the island that had a little harbor and we spent some time walking around. Outside a little shop was a tree with some parrots. 

 When we walked over to the red one, the parrot said "Hello". Piper's face immediately lit up and she said "Hello parrot, can you see my pretty dress? I'm a princess and my name is Piper". She went on for a while and really thought the parrot understood and would talk back.

 This little girl talks a lot...maybe getting a parrot for her may be a good idea.

Hilton Head Beach

Did I mention that we loved Hilton Head? Well we did. The beach was perfect for us. The water was as warm as a bath and the waves were gentle. All the kids loved going in the ocean and splashing around. The beach itself was very flat, so late in the day there were always tide pools. This was ideal for Piper and Dexter. 

 I loved having so much family time. There weren't too many people around and we really got to relax.

 I am so in love with my family.

 Nate and Asher love digging in the sand and building castles. I didn't get any pictures, but they made quite an impressive drip castle.

They all keep asking when we can go back.

Hilton Head

Last week we went to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina for a vacation. It was awesome. This was the first time any of us went there, and we completely fell in love with it. The entire Island is gorgeous and so green. Once you get there you don't even need a car. You can bike anywhere. We rented bikes and the kids had so much fun. Asher did at least ten miles without complaining or needing a break. 

 Dex decided to relax and sleep. Notice he doesn't have any shoes. I forgot to pack them, as well as bathing suit bottoms for myself and all things needed for the beach.

We are so excited to go back there again.

Asher's party: Part 2

Asher's main request for his party was to have a pinata. We waited until everyone ate and played the games before we strung it up.

 All those baseball practices paid off. Asher demonstrated a very good swing.

 Piper on the other hand took a different approach.

 It didn't quite have the affect she was hoping.

This is the extent of my cake making abilities. Notice spiderman sneaking into the background. I'm not sure how he got past our tight security.

It was such a fun party, and Asher is busy planning his next one.

Asher is Five

Asher turned five last week. It some ways I can't believe I have a five year old. Didn't I just graduate college last week? Another part of me doesn't believe he hasn't been five for the last two years. He can do so many things, that it's hard for me to realize he was only four until last week. 

Asher you are the least lazy person I know. From the moment you wake up (and it's early..very early) you want to know what adventure we are going on that day. You would live outdoors if you could. Nothing makes you happier than taking a long bike ride. Poor Daddy is blessed with an entire family of  extroverts. You want to play with friends constantly and never tire of being around them. You are generous and funny. My world is so much better with you in it.

You love love love Birthday parties. This year we did a Batman theme at your request. Clarissa and I made each kid a cape and I had different stations centered around the villains. The first one I did was about the Joker. I made a poster of him and had all the kids line up and toss water balloons at him.

 Having a bounce house was a great way to help burn off the energy of all the little batmen.

 At the sandman station all the kids did sand art. Piper would only use pink.

I made another station around Mr. Freeze. I froze slinkies in ice and the kids had to break them out. I'll post the rest of the pictures tomorrow.

My Little Ballerina

As many of you know Piper is girly. Very, very girly. She embraces all things pink and glittery. She always picks out her clothes in the morning. If for some reason there are no dresses washed and she has to wear jeans it's not a good day for her. She actually tries to pick out my clothes as well. She doesn't understand why I don't wear a princess dress everyday. 

Asher is playing soccer again and she has no interest in it. I decided to sign her up for ballet instead. A few weeks ago I took her up to Virginia to get her ballet outfit and I had to drag her out of the store afterwards. Shoes are kind of her thing. 

 Her first class was last week. She is so stinking cute in these clothes.

The class had about ten little girls in it, and it was one of the cutest things I have ever seen. Piper loved every minute of it. I have a feeling we have many years of dancing ahead of us.

First Day of Preschool

Preschool started for Asher and Piper last week. I am very grateful to be back to a routine. They both have good teachers and I think it will be another good year. 

 Neither of them were fans of the obligatory first day of school pictures.

 The sun was too bright and hot for Asher.

Dexter was thrilled to have some alone time with me once again.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I was going to put something up yesterday, but between Dexter's projectile vomiting and Piper's whining I've been a bit preoccupied. I promise to put some good stuff up tomorrow.

Six Years

Yesterday was our sixth wedding anniversary. I met Nate in the Winter of 2004. We hung out with a lot of the same people at the time. He didn't really talk to me that much and I was really surprised when he asked me out in April 2005. I later found out he liked me for a while, but had a hard time getting the nerve to ask me out.  He actually just asked if I wanted to hang out sometime, so I wasn't sure if it was a date or not. We spent a month going out about once a week before I worked up the courage to ask him what we were doing. We started officially dating in May and we were engaged seven months later. Nine months after that we were married. Ten days after our wedding we moved from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. We bought a house, started new jobs and spent a lot of time dreaming about the future. Three months after that I found out I was pregnant. 

It's crazy to look back and see how fast everything happened. We had three kids in a short amount of time. So many people told me that the first year of marriage is hard, really hard. I've also heard that having kids really puts a strain on people. When I think about the first year, and all the years since then I don't remember it being hard. It wasn't hard. I don't really think that is because I'm such an amazing wife. Let's face it, I'm a bit crazy and not the easiest person in the world to be with. I think the reason is Nate. He works so hard all day and never minds coming home to a messy house. He will happily dive right in to cooking when I haven't planned anything to eat. He gives me nights out when I need them. He views parenting as something we do equally. When we travel he automatically stops at Cracker Barrel, even when there are a zillion other places he would rather eat at. I'm so grateful to have him to spend this life with. He makes my heart very happy. 

Originally I wanted to go away together for the weekend, but it didn't work out. We decided to spend the day at the beach, and had a blast. The weather wasn't too warm, so Dexty was quite happy in the sand. 

 He loved running up the the waves and turning away and letting them chase him.

 Pipes loved it, just loved it.

 Asher spent most of the day playing in the sand.

Happy Anniversary to the man who made all my dreams come true.