Heading to Myrtle Beach

 Before we had kids going on a five hour trip was a piece of cake. It usually took about five hours. These days it's a whole different experience. Instead of listening to a thought provoking debate on NPR we have a Pixar movie on for the kids. We also have to make at least one stop for food (for this trip there were two), and at a minimum of three potty breaks. Even a potty stop takes at least twenty minutes, since I have to combine that with nursing Dexter. Nate used to get extremely annoyed that trips took this long, but now we just enjoy it. At one of the stops there were a lot of tree stumps. We all had fun climbing on them.

 Piper trying to get up.

 I did it!

Fire Pit

A hard part about living away from family is that it's sometimes hard to find someone to watch your kids. It's even harder to say go away for an entire weekend. Last year we started trading off with Dave and Leah for weekends away. We watched their kids last weekend. It was kinda crazy (especially since all the kids minus Dex slept in one room) but the kids had a blast. At the end of the weekend Asher was crying about them going home. He kept saying "I want them to stay for ten weeks". The thing is, I can totally relate to that. I remember being younger and having friends I never got tired of being around. I'm so glad Asher and Piper have those kinds of friendships already. 

 On Sunday night we got the fire pit out. We roasted hot dogs and made s'mores. The kids love being outside when it's dark and getting to roast food made it even better.

 I love Bennett's eyes in this picture. It was really dark and the flash was a bit much.

 Dexter just chilled in the bumbo seat. He was entertained watching the craziness of the other kids.

Piper decided she needed to hold onto the giant duck while she ate. 

We are on vacation now. We arrived in Myrtle Beach, SC this evening. We went for a night walk on the beach and it was amazing. The water is still really warm here. I'll try to keep updating throughout the next two weeks. 

Fall Fun

 After the soccer game last week we went up to the Hunt Club Farm. In addition to the petting zoo we went on a hay ride. Seeing Piper with the animals melts my heart every time. She gets so excited when she sees them.

 Asher was quite impressive with his chicken catching skills. He had a blast going into the coop and rounding them up.

 This one is my favorite.

 Piper was able to catch them as well. She is still learning the concept of gentleness.

 The llamas are quite cute.

Leah and her kids came with us. I'm so glad to have her as a friend.

Soccer

Asher started soccer last month for the first time. He has practice one night a week and then games on Saturday mornings. He gets excited easily and has a hard time keeping his hands to himself, so he tends to push a lot. 

He has a lot of great friends on his team, which is awesome for him. I'm not going to lie, having friends for us there makes watching the games a lot more fun.

Boating

 We had gorgeous fall weather this week. It was lower seventies and upper sixties, perfect for being outside. On Tuesday Leah called me up and invited us to go out on the boat. The kids have so much fun with Jada and Bennett, and they love going on the boat.

 Dex enjoyed the fresh air.

 You can sort of see Piper has a cut on her face in the picture. On Sunday night she flew head first into the coffee table. Nate took her to the ER, and they put durabond on it. I'm so glad they didn't use stitches. She is one tough little girl.

We are so grateful for good friends!

Turtle Love Nest

 For a while I thought we only had female turtles. Apparently I was wrong. Four little babies hatched in the last three weeks. They are so stinking cute. When the first two hatched we named them Itty and Bitty. Two more came along after that, and we haven't named them yet. We also don't know how to tell them apart.

I am now responsible for taking care of 1 husband, 3 children, 1 dog, and 8 turtles.

Finger painting

 Asher got some finger paints for his birthday and we busted them out last week. Neither of them really like to spend a lot of time painting or coloring. It usually takes more time to get everything set up then to actually paint.

 Their favorite part is getting to wash their hands when they are done. They would both play all day in the sink if I'd let them.

Let me tell you about this hungry hungry hippo (or happo as Piper says). He is by far our best eater. He has loved everything we have given him so far and never wants to stop. I gave him sweet potatoes today and I had to give him three ice cubes worth before he finally settled down. I don't think he's going to stay little for very long.