The Cure For Sibling Rivalry

 Steve took Andy and Luke camping last week. Funny how the silly bickering that can make a parent lose their mind completely dissipates in the great outdoors. 

 Who doesn't find a Pringle duck bill amusing? 

 Apparently they invented a game where one sat on the throne and the other had to serve them a plate of Pringles. {what?!} The concept of such servitude completely vanished when the car drove back in our driveway. It's mind boggling. 

 Love.

 A beautiful day on Jordan Lake

Proud of Steve for investing his time and energy in another outdoor adventure. Excited that our boys love it as much as he does. 

P is for pumpkins, pancakes (but not pajamas)

 A big thank you to our friends at Green Street Studios in Apex for sharing these pictures of Eli and his classmates at the pumpkin patch. He obviously had a good time on his first official field trip. {the patch is across the street from the preschool}.

 He couldn't live without these pumpkins once he brought them home. Then they took their rightful place on the mantel and he hasn't said a word about them.

 This little boy's parents are the photographers and they are well-aware of the boys' affection for one another. They attended the same mothers' morning out program last year and were lucky enough to be in the same preschool class this year. Every morning, Eli often starts the day with, "See Sutter?" Andy and Luke went with me to pick Eli up the other day just so they could see this boy they'd heard so much about. It's good to have a friend.

Cuteness

The preschool hosts an annual event known as the pancake brunch. The kids get to help "make" the pancakes and then the parents come and we share brunch together. 

Now Eli refused to wear his pajamas to school. I put them on, he took them off. I finally gave up and let him choose his outfit. He didn't want to make a necklace out of fruit loops, either. But he was all about his new place mat. 

And I think it's pretty safe to say he enjoyed his pancakes. What a hoot. 

Big and Small Adventures

The boys and I enjoyed a grand adventure on Saturday. Our church organized lunch and a play date for families with young children at Pullen Park in Raleigh. The park was closed when we first moved here and then we never made the effort to visit once it re-opened. Let me tell you, it definitely lived up to the hype. There's a huge playground, a carousel (which I wasn't brave enough to try with three kids), a train...what a great way to spend a beautiful fall morning. My camera phone and I are not getting along so these aren't the best pictures, but Eli loved the boat ride. 

Andy is always up for something new. He had a great time, too. 

We also rode the train that circles the park. We had to wait patiently for the train to load and the boys were more than happy to pose. I was very proud of them. They listened well and didn't complain about the long walk to the parking lot. I think they would've stayed all day but Eli isn't quite ready for that, yet. We will definitely go back. 

Steve spent the weekend backpacking a portion of the Appalachian trail with his good friend, Jon. He has many wonderful pictures and great memories of a successful trip. It isn't often that he gets to spend time with his friend enjoying God's magnificent creation. I'm glad he went and we are happy to have him home. 

Stay tuned for more reports of our grand adventures. The boys are on a three week break from school, Steve is on sabbatical as he prepares to change jobs and the weather forecast is incredible. Can't wait to see what the rest of October brings for us. 

The Pumpkin Obsession

 Eli is fascinated with pumpkins. As soon as they started appearing in stores and on doorsteps, he openly declares his affections. "Punkin!" He shouts as soon as he spots one. His preschool teacher has a small stuffed one sitting on a table outside his classroom. He can't resist hugging it, squeezing, talking about it to all his friends. Last week his class walked across the street from his school to the pumpkin patch. He came home with two more pumpkins pictured here. I don't know what he's going to do when he realizes that his new little friends will eventually shrivel up. Eek.

 I would prefer to have his pumpkins with him at all times. I draw the line at putting pumpkins in his crib.

This is one happy little boy. 

The Zoo, A Boy in a Basket and Brotherly Love

Catchy title, I know. I have I mentioned I'm writing a novel? The title is the hardest part. I'm was on blogging hiatus for a few weeks. Not gonna lie, there's been some heartache in the hive. September was a bit rough. But October is off to a wonderful start. God is good. All the time.  

 Friends of ours invited us to the zoo last weekend. Andy and I stayed home to battle a stomach bug. Just keepin' it real. The others were not deterred by a little rain. (By the way, Seattle, you can have your weather back. We're all done here). This is Luke saving his friend from the wicked Bison.

 Eli loves dinosaurs so Steve couldn't resist a photo op in front of this giant poster. 

 I sent the camera with Steve and asked for photo documentation of Eli's first trip to the zoo. Perhaps I should've been more specific. On the other hand, you trap a kid in a stroller for half a day and you get what you get, right?

 The elephants. Apparently the giraffes couldn't come out and visit because it's too muddy and giraffes can't walk in the mud??? No one wanted to speculate about what happens to a giraffe that falls in the mud. 

 Eli has morphed in recent weeks from sweet, go with the flow toddler to opinionated almost three year old. He has a fetish with containers now, dragging a basket around and filling it with toys until it is too heavy for him to move. We introduced him to the laundry basket yesterday because it is a little more sturdy. 

 He is doing very well at pre-school and names all of his new friends in the car on the way to school. Very cute.

Moments like these are few and far between around here. Luke has a lot of homework these days and it's hard to keep the younger ones entertained and reasonably quiet while Luke moans and groans tries to finish before dark. Andy orchestrated a game of dress up this afternoon and they were more than happy to pose. Adorable.