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Buzz says it all. And no, I would'nt change a thing! Here's a little glimpse into our life lately as we get ready for Spring. Basically, this is a small sampling of the pictures on my camera from the last week or so. A friendly warning before you forge ahead(or, scroll below)...there will be clutter!

 

 This past weekend we got a gorgeous taste of Spring. Saturday morning greeted us with plenty of sunshine and so we took advantage. First, we loaded up the boys and their scooters and tried out our local skatepark for the first time. My instagram contained the hashtag #accidentwaitingtohappen because truly I'm not ready to enter this new space of boy world. After riding around a few minutes we played at the park before grabbing a few cupcakes from a new bakery in town and heading home. The above picture was taken post nap, pre-bath(thus the lack of clothing) and was fast gone. I'm still working on pulling out the artsy craftsy genes. However, it was fun while it lasted!

And here...well this is the perfect picture of an everyday occurance in this household. Iron man racing cars in his bed(who knows how many are parked underneath those sheets!). Bennett is pictured below, sporting his infamous "whodoneit" face...guilty as charged, I believe he jammed some cheerios in that unfortunate jack in the box.

The sillies last all day with this littlest boy. From using his tactical maneuvers to avoid getting dressed, to playing pretend on the potty(no comment), this boy keeps me on my toes.

This is our couch most mornings. Otherwise captioned "I spy." I may or  may not have picked up a few things before taking this picture lol, but such is life with littles. I try to pick up before we leave the house, but this is a more accurate picture of what we sit on in real life...clotheshangers!

This morning we went to the library. I've said it before and I'll say it again, we love our local library! I've included these pictures here because these books are dearly loved in our house, and I can't imagine a normal week without storytime. Rain or shine, the library is always open!

How adorable is this picture below? My handsome big boy was insistent on wearing his bow-tie this particular morning to look nice for a sweet friend of his. They grow up so fast!

Lastly, I couldn't do a completely sporadic overview of our life lately without this pup. This is an older picture, but it captures this doggie's everyday space very well. That is, when he's not terrorizing the boy's toys or laying in wait near the breakfast table.

That's all folks. I hope to start posting more often...I see home improvement projects on the horizon!

Stop and smell the...lunchable?

Sometimes, motherhood can prove an monotanous task. Coffee, cheerios, wipe, change, bathe, laundry, Yooooo Gabba Gabba, snack, repeat...I love my job as a stay at home mom and would'nt change it for the world. Looking down at the shaggy haired boy attached to my leg while I attempt to load the dishwasher, I'm a lucky girl. A bigger boy's voice from the top of the stairs calling "I need to you wipe my booty!!" Yep, lucky again.

But even I'm not superwoman. Sometimes, this task gets wearisome. It's a heavy load raising these precious gifts(heck, it's tiring just to take them to Aldi by myself!). And yet, I'm happy to say I caught small, bright break in the clouds today over this little one's lunchable. Small wonders.

 Just take it in-look at that face! In the business of the mundane, underneath the whining and mess of the morning, look at what I was missing.

 Cheese?! Literally, I asked him to say cheese and he shows off the real thing. Ha!

 How sweet this boy is, and how blessed I am to be his mommy.

Today I'm thankful for this tiny moment to blur the business around me and stop and smell the...lunchable.

#RealLife

On Resolutions...

“The way to do a great deal is to keep on doing a little. The way to do nothing at all, is to be continually resolving that you will do everything.” 
~Charles Spurgeon

The longest blog EVER!

It's been a while. Suffice it to say that it's been a busy season, and so the blogging waters have been still and quiet. Bloggers know that in this place, the question of where to start can be overwhelming. Do you skip the unblogged months and jump with two feet back into the present-hide Halloween under the rug? Perhaps a photo update(a personal favorite)? Or, do you attempt to tackle the past and get it all out for posterity's sake? In this moment, I have many words to share and an abundance of pictures to sprinkle them with. In keeping with my intentions here to capture these special memories, I've decided it just wouldn't be right to skip over the Whilrlygig festival and our 7th annual visit to the State Fair. So here we go, on a tritp to the longest blog post EVER. Get excited!

I left off my last post with our annual end of summer vacay to Myrtle beach. We bid adieu to Summer and have since embraced Fall with open arms.

Chris' countdown to the fair ended in late October. This year we went on a Friday afternoon, and afterwards decided we like the weekday mornings much better. Chris' reasoning was for the crowds, mine for the pictures-I just hated losing the light so fast! Anywho, our fair food this year consisted of deep fried oreos, corn on the cob(my must have), a turkey leg(for Chris, obviously), and cotton candy. And we let Evan pick out a ride-spinning dragons it was!  Ahh, the state fair. What can I say except-it's tradition. 

 

Speaking of the fair, we celebrated Wilson's local version this past weekend at the Whirlygig festival. This year our church had a booth and gave out f-r-e-e coffee.

Moving onto Halloween... Now that I have two small kiddos to dress up, it's become a holiday favorite. It was so much fun this year. Between costume party playdates, Evan's Halloween parade at preschool, and several trunk or treats on the big night, we got great mileage out of our costumes this year. By fervent request, Evan was a teenage mutant ninja turtle this year-Raphael- and Bennett took the Tigger costume for another spin. They were beyond adorable. It was really just fun-plain and simple, sugar coated fun.

In other news, Fall is in full swing and man, is it a breath of fresh air. Daylight savings time I could do without, but otherwise I am loving Fall up and down all day long. The crisp air, the colorful leaves, smells of cinnamon and the warmth of coffee when you're actually cold, cozy socks...yes please! Light sweater, no jacket weather is officially in and I'm taking in every moment. Note to self, must get some more long sleeve tees!

Enjoying Wilson's Dean's farm(above) and s'mores with dear friends from church(below).

Evan is 3 and a half now and I've gotta say- not my favorite age. I used to think every age and stage my children hit was my favorite...not so much 3 and a half. In full disclosure, it may be the day talking. Today was a difficult day to be 3 years old! Thankfully though, most days are full of sillies and learning new things. I love that he is loving his preschool so much. Each week they review a new letter of the alphabet and we've had a ton of fun picking out show and tell items and hanging up all of his new artwork and backpack goodies. He is really into superhero's and ninja turtles lately, and is finally fitting into his 3T sized clothes. Almost daily I have moments of "I can't believe what a big boy I have." With big boy hair to boot. Underneath all of these new teachable moments, I am so thankful for my sweet boo who loves his mommy much, who is so friendly, tender hearted, kind and compassionate. Now, I may need a looking glass to find these qualities on days like today, when sharing is hard and sitting still unthinkable-but rest assured, they are there.

(Forts are his new thing)

Bennett will be my baby forever. He is getting so big and I'm in denial. True to his "B Bear" nickname, he has the appetite-and if occasion calls for it the attitude- of a bear. He is always on the go and is a feisty little guy-a Denice the menace in the making I think. If he's not being engaged almost constantly, he's getting into trouble. Silence.is.deadly. But oh do those blonde curls make up for a multitude of sins! That smile? I melt. He has us all under his spell and we are in big trouble. In other news, his vocabulary is exploding by the day, and he's finally packin on the pounds and catching up with the growth chart. He loves bathtime, books, and his big brother(whose name he can say fairly well). The biggest thing I'd like to point out about Bennett now is that he is almost 21 months, that is to say the same age Evan was when he came home from the hospital. Wow, talk about full circle! It's a milestone of sorts.

A few other circles on our calendar over the last month or so was a trip to Hillridge farms for pumpkin picking, hayrides, popcorn pools and more with my MOPS mamas, a fun getaway to Greenville with a girlfriend for a first homeshool conference(complete with lunch at Panera-yum!), and more recently gathering with our church to pack shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.

Whew, I feel mostly caught up, lighter. It's a small victory, but like conquering that leaning load of laundry, it feels good to cross it off of my mental to do. Write longest blog EVER
-check!