Summertime

I can't believe we are going into our last week of summer. This last month has been a good mix of relaxing and going places. Asher had a sleepover a week ago and the boys woke up early and colored together nicely. 

 He had another friend over this week for the day and everyone had fun with him. I'm so grateful we live in a place where the kids can run around outside and I don't have to worry about them.

 Most evenings we walk around the neighborhood after dinner. Piper got a new bike and she always rides it (much faster than having her walk).

 Dexter would prefer to walk, but he inevitably has to ride in the wagon. He is what we call a silent resistor or protestor. When he doesn't want to do something he doesn't yell or get upset, he simply sits down and becomes a noodle. It's very hard to pick him up and he refuses to walk. This is really fun in the middle of the Wal-Mart parking lot. When we walk at night all he wants to do is stop every 2 feet and pick up rocks. When we try to move him along he just sits down.

 I'm pretty sure most of our neighbors think we collect kids.

 This is Dexter pointing to rocks asking us to collect them for him.

Asher's Lemonade Stand

At the very beginning of the summer when we were talking about goals Asher knew he wanted to do another lemonade stand. We picked today to do it, and in retrospect I should have checked the weather.  We spent most of the afternoon making the lemonade and cookies. Squeezing 24 lemons is no easy task and Asher couldn't really help. He ran his stand from 3-6:30. His neighbor friend across the street kept him company the entire time. I spent a decent amount of time sitting under an umbrella. The grand total of the day was $31. He is currently saving for a trip to Australia and a jet ski. 

 The older my kids get the more I find I have to teach them. My parents instilled in me the importance of a good work ethic and that is something I really want my kids to have as well. Asher is already really grasping the concept of long term saving. He is quite a little money man and it will be fun to watch how that develops as he gets older.

Piperisms

Tonight at dinner we were talking about squids and underwater adventures. Asher contributed the most to the conversation, but Piper chimed in with this gem.

Piper- "I don't want to go underwater and see a squig (squid) in a bolcano (volcano)".

Nate- "You don't want to see a squid in a volcano"?

Piper- "You know, some owls are bad".

Fairmount Park

Last week Nate and I dropped the kids off at my parents and spent the week in NYC. Alone. It was so nice to spend time together. We had a great time in the city.

On our drive up we stopped in Philly and got cheeseteaks. All of the kids loved them, and Asher was pretty disappointed you can't get them in NC (as am I). After we ate all that greasy goodness we went to Smith Playground in Fairmount Park. This place is amazing. There is so much to do. It was pretty hot, but the kids still had a blast.

 There was this enclosed slide that had potato sacs to ride down.

 Dexter was a little daredevil as usual.

 Piper climbed right up to the top and Asher spent most of the time spinning it around.

I think stopping in the city for cheesesteaks and park time is going to be an annual event on the way to my parents now.

Slack Lining

I remember at the beginning of the summer being filled with a little bit of dread at the thought of occupying the kids all summer. I am amazed at how busy we have been, and how much fun we are having. After a day of swimming at the Y with friends, Jada and Bennett came over for a sleepover. Nate recently put the slack line up and put a rope above it for the kids. Asher loves walking across it. 

 Bennett is so sweet with Piper and Dexter. He plays with them so well. I am excited to watch these two in the next few years. I think Piper will have a serious crush on Bennett when they get older.

Swim Fun

Today I took 3 little fishies to our old neighbors to go swimming. They all had a lot of fun.

Asher is getting so confident in his swimming abilities. I love watching all the things that he does.

 Miss Piper was quite the chatterbox.

 Dex took the opportunity to throw everything he could get his hands on into the pool.

 Asher felt that going down the slide on his behind was too boring.

 Piper spent the majority of the morning going down the slide, and off the diving board.

Mud Run

For the last few months Asher has been asking to do another race. Given the fact that my belly is growing rapidly I haven't been up to doing a lot of exercise. When our town announced a Mud Run I knew it would be the perfect event for him. Asher was really excited about running in mud. Piper also told me that she would love to participate. I grilled her a bit to make sure she knew she would get dirty and it would be hard. She promised me she wouldn't whine. Liar Liar Miss Piper. 

For the last few days we have gotten a lot of rain. A lot of rain. It poured most of the day yesterday. We went early to register and the kids loved playing in the giant puddles.

 I assumed that I would be able to watch from the side lines as the kids ran, but I actually had to walk on the sides. It wouldn't have been so bad if the whole place wasn't a giant mud hole and if I had dressed appropriately.

 Asher loved every minute of the run. He has so much fun running and sliding, and well swimming in the mud.

 It was a bit too much for Piper. She walked with me, but still went through a lot of mud.

 Asher's shoes kept getting stuck so he had to carry them.

 I am proud of these guys for how hard they worked yesterday.