Wild boys

The boys asked to be video taped last night as they were running around being boys. :) Includes their newest thing, "the chest bump" that they discovered they loved doing this weekend while we were taking too long in Lowes. If you don't have boys this video looks a little rough, not if you do, it looks normal. As I watched over it, it looks like Kyle is totally being beat up, but only moments before I started taping, it looked like Kyle was beating up Aiden relentlessly! So don't feel too bad for Kyle, he must have just been tired! And he loved every minute of it. And no, they did not just have sugar......this is just their energy level at the end of the day. Makes you glad you are not here in the mornings, huh?


(You can pause the music on the side while you watch the video)

Tis the season to....sneeze

And time to move outside! And sneeze while we are out there. These southern states are thick and heavy on pollen. Even though we have lived in the south now for almost 5 years, our bodies don't seem to be acclimating. We are all on some kind of hay fever medication or another. I hate being on it, but to see a kid rub their nose until it almost is about to fall off, you figure you should do something about it. They also ALL, at the same time, developed ear infections and strep throat due to allergies (that was a fun week)....so on medication we went, hopefully for only a few more weeks. So with being outside comes outside chores, planting flowers, working on our lovely southern lawn (I am being sarcastic here), and as you can see by the picture below, pressure washing the house. This was the view out my kitchen window the other night as Jason pressure washed the house. :) Another fun thing about the south - mildew on your house. Jason works hard to make sure not a speck grows. ;-)
Ahh, our beautiful yard full of clover. How I miss the lawns of the north. Growing grass down here in the sandy soil is not an easy task. We are slowing working on it, but it will never look like the lush, green lawns of PA. We have killed most of the clover.

Ryleigh checking out the John Deere.

Ryleigh declared herself queen of the weeds!

The kids loved the clover and its time here in our yard. They picked huge bouquets of it for me daily. I had them all over the house!

A good example of one of my many bouquets of "flowers"

Here she was throwing clover and grass in the air.

So was Kyle....

And Aiden.....

Kids on the tractor.


We are trying our best to raise country bumpkins even though we are not really in the country. :)

Kyle wanted to make sure everyone was protected while they were on their wagon ride. He asked me the other day who our enemies were. I wasn't sure how to answer him. Before I could answer he said, "Is it the Japanese?" Sounds like someone has been telling him about WWII.... I told him no, they were not our enemies anymore that was a long time ago. He said "What happened? Did they repent to God?" Sounds like he is also been listening in Sunday School!

Daddy giving rides on the tractor. He rode them through the neighborhood.

Tis also the season for mowing. I am very grateful to have Jason around this year to take care of the yard! I know it won't last forever so he keeps making me practice backing the tractor in and out of the shed so I don't wreck it. It's not a bad idea, backing up is not my forte'. :)

Soccer Awards!

Kyle's award party was a much anticipated event around here. Kyle counted the days. He asked about it several times a day. Then when the day arrived, he counted the hours. Or should I say he had me tell him how many more hours every few minutes. :) Like most kids, ours do not do well waiting for things. Days away seem like years to them. If only I could get them to see life the way I see it now. That it goes fast, treasure every moment. Kyle and his team!

Can you say proud?

Aiden had a little party after his last game and the coaches gave them trophies. Which was a pretty big deal to all the boys! The smiles on their faces were so cute as the coached called them each up each by name, and said a little about each kid and then presented them their trophy. I am really grateful that both the boys had great coaches. They were laid back, yet taught them the game, pushed them to do better, but never got upset. I didn't see that with all the coaches and I am really glad we got good ones!

The Southwest Flames! :)

Soccer was fun, but I am glad to have a break! Two practices for each of the boys, sometimes 3, plus a game, sometimes 2, each a weekend, added to our already busy lives. We have a break for summer and then start again in the fall. Kyle is counting the days, Aiden is still debating if he wants to continue soccer or move on to a different sport. :) Is there a sport for reading??

Remembering Grandmom

Yesterday was my grandmothers birthday. I wanted to put something up on the blog, but the day got away from me. When I saw Chelly's blog this morning, http://cmyoder.blogspot.com/, I knew I wanted to put something up anyway. Even if it was a day late. The picture above is an old one, from probably at least 8 years ago on my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. But, it show something she loved, her grandkids around her. She loved having us around and we loved being around her. She has been gone for over a year now and I can't believe how often I think of something I want to tell her. Or see something that reminds me of her. She has her fingerprints all over my house from little things that she would find and give to me. One of the hardest things about losing Grandmom is that my kids will never know her like I did. I tell them about her all the time and they do remember her, and I want to keep that memory alive. From showing them the sweater they came home from the hospital in that she hand knitted, to letting know that we are eating Grandmom Jeanies marconi and cheese recipe. :) She lives in all of us because she invested so much in our lives.

Outer Banks

We had an awesome Spring Break in the Outer Banks with Jason's family (well as many as could make it this year) for a week. It was our first visit to the Outer Banks, but it will not be our last! We loved it! We stayed on a 4x4 beach, so you could only reach the house if you had 4 wheel drive. Our house was about 7 miles down the beach. Here we are driving on the beach to get to our house.
Up the dunes to the house!

Our house for the week! Lydia did a great job picking it out and organizing everything.

View from our porch. Even though it was chilly for most of the time we were there, we didn't mind. Just looking out at the view was a vacation enough.

Jason was not able to get off for the week. But since it was only 4 hours from our house, he came down for Sunday and left Monday afternoon. Ryleigh enjoying a snack on Daddy's lap.
A family picture on the porch.
Kids chillin' with Katie on the couch.

Josh's family was also there, and we have known them for years too, so it was fun hanging out with them too. And as an added bonus Mr. J can really cook! :)
Another porch view.

Even though it was cold the first several days, we made it down the the beach everyday. Here Kyle is trying to catch a free ride on Aiden's back. :)
Family photo on the beach. It was windy!

Jason got this photo of the boys and it is my new favorite!
A rare photo of me and Jas.

Daddy and Kyle enjoying some time together before he leaves.
There were wild horses on the island everywhere. This one was right outside our house.Getting some energy out on the beach.

Aiden is getting so big!! We have had to recently buy all new pants for him, he shot up so fast!Katie and Kyle
Kyle had been talking about showing Grandmom when we got to the beach how he can write his last name. He wanted to do it in the sand. :) And he remembered and did.
We went 4 wheeling in the back of Josh's truck looking for horses one day and we saw this, thought it was interesting.
We found some horses!


It was a bit chilly that day and even colder riding in the back of the truck. We kept warm with beach towels!

Driving along the beach.Further inland. There wasn't much between the sound and the ocean.
The first level of the house had a pool table that got a lot of use! It was a great game room and Grandmom keep them busy with craft projects everyday. They loved it!
Ryleigh with a serious ponytail. :)
Kaite and Ry awaiting breakfast.
More horses.

One chilly day we turned the jet tub into a swimming pool for the kids. :)

Another of Grandmom's projects. Painting Easter eggs.
And another project, paper mache masks. You can see Ryleigh is getting quite frustrated because her balloon will not stay put/
Grandmom also put together a treasure hunt. Complete with treasure map that they "happened" to find. Here they are racing to where they think the treasure is.

They found the spot!!
It was clearly marked, as you can see.
With the loot. The kids were excited digging for the first like 3 seconds, then they wanted to move on to another spot. But since we knew it was buried in that spot we tried to get them to keep digging in that area. It didn't work and the adults had to take over (Josiah buried it REALLY deep!) At one point I was digging and Katie said "You can do it Aunt Erin! You can do it!" In other words, they wanted that treasure!The sun finally did make an appearance later in the week and we soaked it up!
Two little bating beauties. None of them stayed still for long. I can't believe I even caught it on camera!

Playing a pirate game with Grandmom with real chocolate coins!
Ryleigh is a huge dog lover. Don't know how long we are going to be able to keep saying no to the pet thing around here. I am holding my ground as long as possible.

Beast needed a little sunscreen on his nose. He was getting a bit pink. :) Dig, dig, dig. They do this for hours.

Cuties!What is vacation without breaking a few rules? Popsicles in the morning!

Our last morning, getting a picture of each of the kids....

Ryleigh did not want to cooperate. So this is her picture.Playing in the dunes while we packed up.

Time to leave...

We already can't wait to go back next year!