Our travels to the southland

Between the 2 snow storms, we headed south to visit some very good friends in Beaufort, SC. Our start was a bit slow as we dug out 6 inches of the white stuff just to get up the drive!

It's been quite awhile since we've seen them and this is the 1st they've met Andrew. It was a wonderful trip!! Even our 13-14 hour drives were good.

Here is what the boys looked like just about every morning at the breakfast table:




There was a really cool park in the neighborhood - we only went once, but oh it was a blast!


There was a 2-story clubhouse in the park. Andrew was enthralled with the little house down below - it was HIS little house for the day.

Try THIS the next time you go swinging: Nate likes to swing on his stomach and just push with his feet back and forth. Well... Craig started pulling his feet back to about shoulder height and letting go. I'll let the photograph tell the rest of the story!

Yet another morning :)

I don't know quite how Andrew does it, but here is a face he makes frequently these days. Your guess is as good as mine as to what he is thinking!

On one of our last days, we headed to Hunting Island Beach - about an hour from Beaufort. At first the boys just played in the sand & one of those streams that form at low tide...

Nate's digger was well oiled and working overtime:

But then it warmed up enough that they both ventured into bigger waters - The Ocean.

And they go IN:

And, back OUT: In and out it was for quite some time laughing all the while. What a joy they were to watch - just look at those faces.

It was such a fun trip for all of us!

Wanna play possum?

OK - this is not about the boys, but I thought it was cute. This little guy (or gal) was in our neighbor's herb garden. He let Craig get right up next to him - and he practically smiled for the shot!

A warm winter day

In January, we had a few warm days and decided to take a hike at Quail Hollow State Park. Craig snapped some shots that I love. Look for Chili "the dawg" - she has fun hiking with us - or should I say chasing squirrels.

You may also notice another dog... Glenda. This is Andrew's favored stuffed animal. She has become a permanent extension to his hand.

Part way down the trail there is a vine that is strong enough to swing on. And of course the monkeys wanted to swing on it!

A few candid moments at home.

The hat was handmade by Grandma from newspaper that had been repurposed for several projects during the month of January. It's amazing what you can do with a little paper & lots of tape!

Only from a toddler....

Craig and I started a document to log cute sayings or things the boys do. I was reading thru it tonight and just couldn't stop laughing. Surely this will not translate as well as if you had heard or seen it 1st-hand... but here goes.

"Mom" is me and "Dad" is Craig.

11.16.2006 - Mom said this tonight to Nathanael; "You have to finish all your bacon before you can have a popcicle." :)

3.12.2007 - Nate "Mom, I love you more than Legos."

4.21.2007 - Andrew turns 2 :) Mom said "Andrew, the screwdriver does not go on people."

8.4.2007 - Nate: "Can I have more broccoli?"

8.11.2007 - Nate: "Can we sweep now? Please? Please?"

8.16.2007 - Andrew with PERFECT articulation at age 2 years 4 month: "I want a frappuccino" (a frappuccino in our house is a strawberry smoothie).

Oct 20, 2007 - our 11th anniversary! Went on a hike with the boys at the Nature Realm today. It was a windy, beautiful day. Craig points camera straight up looking thru the branches of a tree while a strong wind was blowing the leaves...
Nate - "I'll hold the tree still, Dad" as he gives it a huge hug.

Nov 1, 2007 - Mom "Andrew! Did you hear your brother? Take your feet off of his face."

12.11.2007 - Andrew (out of the blue): "You need to go to jail, Nate"
Nate: "No"
Andrew (with AUTHORITY): "You need to try, Nate!"

12.11.2007
Nate: "We can build a crunchy claw ... to obey God"
Daddy: "I don't think God is overly concerned with crunchy claws."
Nate (after a pause): Well we can build a crunchy claw. And it won't pick up God ... or Jesus."

And since I don't have as many funny sayings from Andrew, I thought I'd post a pic of him. This is a box robot head that the boys wanted Craig to make.

Snow days

Our 1st major snow of the year is here!! 6 glorious inches of light, white & fluffy. The boys were SO very excited.

It seemed like it took a terribly long time to get them dressed... bibs then boots then mittens then scarves then coats and finally hats & hoods. And of course not remembering the correct order of things, I put their boots on 1st... then proceeded to take them off so we could get the bibs on. It all took at least 1/2 hour to finally get out the door. Patience was tried I tell you!


It didn't take long to have snow head to foot...



And then after some sledding fun there was plenty of shoveling to do. Nate is quite the helper these days. We prefer the bulldoze method rather than scoop and heave.

Let is snow!

LIfe @ 4

Nate turned 4!!

Each year we have an "annual photo session" on their birthday. Craig is snapping shots of the boys all the time, but we call this their official annual protrait.

Of course being fall, Nate's annual portrait takes place while playing in the leaves.

For comparison here is his 1st year portrait.

The hat was a fixture on his head at age 2.

And @ 3 yrs old...

Of course Andrew gets his photo taken too!

For some reason he kept going over to his own little stash of leaves that had been mulched up into tiny pieces. Those little pieces got into every room in the house not to mention every cranny of his body! But oh was he having fun.


The Lord has truly blessed us!

Boys, trucks & leaf piles

What started out as 3 leaf piles ended up as a driveway in our front yard on November 1st...

Here is a video I took from my camera. The boys were putting the finishing touches on the "driveway". You'll have to use your imagination a bit :).

They (mostly Nate) worked very hard for a total of 2 1/2 hours building this driveway.

This video is totally unscripted & unedited - so the random acts of kindness you witness are just that!

It is just under a minute long. The audio is a little hard to follow with the sound of rustling leaves.

Trip to New Hampshire

This post is a little delayed... but here are some photographs from our trip to New Hampshire. We learned 2 things on this trip:
1. Nate is a fish
2. Andrew could eat donuts 24/7

The boys were troopers on our 14 hour drive up. Here is a picture from a rest area about 8 hours after starting.

Once we arrived, our days were spent mostly at the beach in front of our parent's cottage. The boys dug and dumped and moved and pushed and hauled sand for hours.

At night, we were able to sleep in an RV again this year thanks to a gracious neighbor! The boys asked if they were allowed to talk for awhile each night when we put them to bed. We could here them discussing the finer points of digging and dumping. Plus they would plan what they were going to build the NEXT day.


Then comes the fish part. On our first swim of the trip it only took Nate 10 minutes before he was diving completely under the water - a 1st for him. And much to our dismay, he would stay under for many seconds... it was unnerving!! And he would do it over and over... and over!

Even in 50-something degree water at York Beach, Maine, he would jump the waves, flop down in the water and laugh. Then get up and do it again. Andrew was quite content to watch from my hip.

Then there are the donuts... You may not realize it, but donuts are the state food in New Hampshire. There is a Dunkin' Donuts on every corner! And of course, we had them about ever day. We even stopped on our drive home before leaving the state!
One morning "dad" took the boys for a drive to let mom (me) sleep in. Guess where they went?

Notice the donut dust...

And here are a few more candids I love from the trip. Including one with Great Grammy.

So that is what the boys did on their summer trip this year.