My Puppy

Katie Bell is getting bigger. She's hilarious and very very playful. Our cat Miracle is less than thrilled about her presence. We got a black dog because Nathan said our pets have to match.
Snowflakes.
Trying to get a picture of her opening her Christmas present but she was to excited.

More Photos

I took these one afternoon and then loaded them to Walmart to get printed. When I went to pick them up the lady behind the counter said there was a problem with my order. I thought that perhaps something had been cropped wrong. She said the pictures were professional and weren't allowed to be copied. I said, "Thank you." I informed her that I took them and she made me sign a piece of paper. I was flattered, partially.

Photos

Their wings were only a $1. You can't beat that. Hours of fun. Grasshopper took a lot of delight in chasing his siblings around trying to sting them.

Washington, D.C.

In October we took a trip to DC for a weekend conference. Two in strollers, one in a harness, and one holding our hands. Six trips back and forth on the subway. Quite an adventure.
Daddy holding Grasshopper in his stroller on the subway. Late night for JM. We spent 3 hours on Friday walking around DC. AJ at the White House. Confederate soldier. Northern soldier. Speed tour of the Natural History Museum. Even faster tour of the Air and Space Museum. After the Air and Space Museum we had a snack outside. This squirrel was not shy at all and would have eaten out of Nathan's hand had we let it. We love that we live close to D.C. We just haven't been able to spend as much time as we would like there.

Mornings

Cause some mornings you just need to take slowly.

Crazy Hair Day

Last week the boys had crazy hair day at school. They wanted their hair to be colored and Halloween is the only time of year you can find the colored hair spray in stores.

Play Time

Our neighborhood recently put in a park about one street over. Since I can't see it from our house the kids have to wait until an adult can go with them. They are really enjoying having something to climb on. There's no shade so we have to wait til it's cool enough to be outside for awhile. Katie loves to go run around too.
The leaves are changing. I'm not sure if it is because it's fall or if it is because we haven't had rain in ages.

Puppy!

We got a dog! Nathan wanted one who matched our all black cat Miracle. So I found a lab/boxer mix at the local shelter. She's just a baby still but she's learning to fit into our family. Her name is Katie.

A Fall Tag

Katherine, over at Grass Stains, tagged me in a fall meme. I haven't been tagged in ages so I thought I'd play alone. Plus, I love FALL!

1. Do you like Starbucks? And are you a fan of their seasonal coffees?
I do like Starbucks but I'm more a fan of Crimson Cup coffee either from Sheri's Coffeehouse in OH or our local place Via Cappuccino. I usually don't like flavors other than caramel in my coffee.

2. How do you decorate and prepare for Fall?
I love fall decorations. I usually do the gourds and leaves around the house. I also make a wreath for the front door. I like regular changes so seasonal decorating is right up my alley. I think we're also going to get some hay bales and pumpkins for our front yard.

3. Will you participate in your college's homecoming activities?
which college? and no. Nathan always gets info from his college about gatherings but he's not that kind of 'joiner'.

4. What is your favorite Fall clothing item or accessory?
I love my hoodies and sweaters. I love when it's chilly enough to wear sweaters. They're my favorite!

5. What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid?
We never celebrated Halloween as a kid but I've started doing it with my children. They LOVE to dress up! They play dress up most days. And yes, I do mean all four of them. Last year was my favorite year though. Our church has an all out fall party on Halloween and each life group has to do a booth with a theme and our group chose the Princess Bride. I made my own wench costume and Nathan went as the Dread Pirate Roberts. We had a blast! I have a few ideas about this year so stay tuned!

6. Do you like Halloween/Horror movies? Do you have a favorite?
I don't do scary movies. period. yuck.

7. What is your favorite Fall activity?
I love soccer games and bonfires. I'm also looking forward being able to walk out my front door without being covered in sweat.

8. What is your favorite Fall recipe?
The fall after my husband and I got married my grandmother in law brought us about 5 bags of fresh pumpkin puree. I had NO IDEA what to do with it. I found a recipe online for pumpkin bread and it has become one of our fall favorites. In fact, I think it's about time to break that recipe out. We also love a good pot of chili.

And then she added eight more quickie questions, and here they are:


1. What movie coming out soon are you looking forward to seeing?
Voyage of the Dawn Treader!

2. What will you miss most about Summer?
Trips to the beach.

3. When do you start your holiday shopping?
I don't have a specific date, in fact.....if certain people, you know who you are, would get around to drawing names for our family I could start thinking about it. :)

4. Favorite exercise/activity?
Nathan and Little Peanut have started joining AJ and I at dance lessons. We're really enjoying doing it as a family. JM and Grasshopper would rather sit and watch.

5. Best book you've read lately?
I recently read all the Anne of Green Gables books again. I love them.

6. Do you make your bed every day?
Yes, until we got a dog. Now her crate takes up a lot of space and makes it difficult to get around the bed. Maybe I should go do that now.

7. If you could choose a personal chef over a personal shopper, which would you choose?
I think I would go with shopper, because contrary to popular belief I do like cooking.

8. Which TV show are you most excited for this Fall?
SURVIVOR! And of course Big Bang Theory comes back on tonight.

Thanks Katherine for the tag. And if anyone else wants to play along leave me a note in the comments so I can come see your answers.

Back to School

AJ and JM started back to school at the end of August. JM was so excited to finally be going with AJ everyday. I was so excited to have a little quiet. Yeah, that didn't happen. It's like someone flipped a switch on Grasshopper and he's making up for JM being gone all day. Hopefully, we'll be able to settle into a routine soon.
Here they are on JM's first day which happened to be AJ's 3rd day. It was also yellow day at school so they wore yellow shirts. JM has been doing GREAT at school. He's getting good reviews from his teachers and they said he's like a little sponge just soaking everything up.

The Sea

again!
Currituck Lighthouse. Top of the heap. It's a family tree. Coolness.1,2,3,4....wait....one's missing!Love the view!Up we go!Looking out the window to see how far we've climbed already. PukPuk was really nervous climbing up but he kept right on trucking and made it to the top!Laura getting in the cooler! I see you Laura. Jennifer. The dunes.From the top looking down. PukPuk coming down the lighthouse. These goats charged mom when she got a bag of chips out of the back of the van. We kept trying to chase them off but they would not be persuaded. Sunset on the way home!