Times Flies

So I know it's been a week and a half since our last post and so much has happened.  I'll apologize in advance for the length of the blog and the lack of goodies because I'm trying to play catch-up, but time flies when you're having fun.  So last blog we left off at Grandma and Grandpa Oettel's in Kentucky.  The kids were having so much fun, mom suggested I just fly back to NC for the weekend and leave the kids with them.  I jumped on the idea of a weekend without kids.  Nate and I had a fantastic weekend!  It was so nice knowing the kids were being well taken care of and having some time to just focus all our attention on each other.  Not to mention me getting to sleep through the night for three whole nights!!  WOOHOO!  The kids did fantastic and barely even noticed I was gone.  I wasn't there for their weekend, but I did get to see some pictures of all the fun they had.

The kids enjoyed playing outside as much as they could (the heat was a little much).  Gunner got to ride his bike (which he loves) and Grace got to go for some wagon rides. 

When Gunner was tired of riding, Grandma and Grandpa improvised and created their own "sit-n-stand". I was pretty impressed. 

Grandpa didn't get to enjoy the museum with us the first time, so everyone went again while I was gone for the weekend.  Here's Grace hitching a ride in the pretend grocery store. 



And Gunner doing some shopping...

And it wouldn't be Grandma and Grandpa's without a visit to the park.

I was so excited to get back to see the kids on Monday (although the weekend away was beyond incredible).  The rest of the week was pretty warm, but we managed to squeeze in more fun.  We went to "Maggie's Jungle" one day to see all the animals.  The kids LOVED it! 

And the heat definitely called for ice cream.  Gunner enjoyed his very own ice cream cone. 



Grace loved the swing at Grandma and Grandpa's (as did Gunner). 

We even took a trip to see the horses. 

We had such a fun visit, but we had to make our way back to NC, this time with Haley in tow.  She's going to be staying with us for a few weeks.  So Thursday, bright and early (2 am), we headed back to NC.  I'll create another post to update this past weekend, but for now, I'll end this post here.  I wish I had time and room to upload all the fun pictures, but at least you can get a taste of all the fun we had on our visit, time sure flies when you're having fun. 



Road Trip

I wanted to post a quick blog to share all the fun we've had the past few days.  Nate knew he was going to be gone all week in the field, so the kids and I decided to take a road trip to Kentucky.  So Monday at 3:45 am we hit the road for the 13.5 hour drive.  I needed to know if I could survive the drive with any kind of sanity so when Nate's deployed it's always an option.  Well, we survived and the drive went AMAZING.  The scenery was incredible.

And the kids were wonderful.  Between books, toys, snacks, and the dvd player, they were fantastic. 

The funny thing was, Gunner really had no idea what was going on, so his face was priceless when he realized we were at Grandma and Grandpa's house. 

Gunner and Grace are also loving the fact that their cousins Natalie and Haley are here visiting too.  So they've had two more people to dote on them. 

It has been super hot, but the kids don't mind too much because they have the pool to cool off in.  

Gunner has also enjoyed getting to hang with the bigger kids, including enjoying ice cream together.

And playing on the big kid stuff at the park.  

Yesterday we ventured to the museum in Clarksville and the kids had a ball!!  They had so many cute things there.  Gunner was in his glory with the model trains and train table.  He didn't want to leave. 

Grace enjoyed herself as well. 

The coolest part was the "Bubble Cave" where you put yourself inside a bubble. 

All the excitement tuckered out Miss Grace. 



We have had so much fun the past few days in Kentucky.  I'm sure I'll have much more to blog about as the days go on.  This weekend I'm actually flying back to North Carolina to enjoy a kid-free weekend with Nate.  I'm nervous to leave the kids, but I'm sure they won't mind with all the fun going on at Grandma and Grandpa's.  :)

Back to Reality

This was our first week back to reality.  Grandma left, Nate was back to “normal” hours (including 2 overnights) so it was a lot of time with just me and the kids.  We faired pretty well though I must say.  J  I did learn a great lesson in the fact that I need to carry the camera with me more (and a charged battery helps too).  Unfortunately, the consequence of that lesson is that I don’t have many pictures to document our week, but hopefully next week will be better.  We met a few mommies in the area with kids Gunner’s age, which was really nice.  We went to story hour at the library (which Grace just adores all the singing).  I even managed to work out every other day, which is a huge accomplishment.  Yesterday was the first day I actually had a charged battery and managed to snap a few pictures.  I love catching Gunner and Grace playing together for a few reasons 1. It’s amazing when Gunner isn’t taking something away from her and 2. It’s so cute to watch how they interact together. 

Yesterday was gorgeous outside so in the afternoon we ventured out in the backyard.  I filled up the water table and the kids had a ball together (until Gunner dumped water over Grace’s head, but she’s a tough cookie). 

After playing for awhile, Grace was tuckered out and went down for a nap.  Gunner went for a nice drive in his cozy coupe.

And enjoyed a nice snack at his picnic table.

Nate had another overnight last night so the kids and I headed to a church cookout.  Our "Life Group" (aka Bible Study group) does a cookout for a children's home on Emerald Isle.  It was really nice and the kids had a blast!  Although I didn't get any pictures, it was a great time, we even ended up staying until after 8.  Of course, that didn't make any difference in wake up time this morning.  But Gunner did just wake up from a 3 hour nap!  I was able to catch a couple pictures of Grace while Gunner was napping.  She is into EVERYTHING these days.  She loves to pull herself up and is starting to "cruise" a little bit. 

But, no matter what she's always sporting a smile...

Grandma's Visit

The kids and I had a fantastic week this past week, mostly because GRANDMA WAS HERE!!  We were so happy to have company and even more so because it was Grandma.  Nate was even glad to have Grandma visit because it meant we got some free time to ourselves too.  :)  The kids loved having someone to dote on them 24/7 (as if they're not spoiled enough). 

Gunner wasn't afraid to show Grandma the crazy things he likes to do, like playing in Grace's walker and running up and down the hall with it.  Grandma thought it was extra funny when he asked for blueberries and was shoving them in his mouth as if he hadn't been fed in days. 

Grace showed Grandma how much she's growing and all the new things she's into as well.  She even got a little time to play with the push toy when Gunner was distracted (he's not very good about sharing with her, but that's a whole other story). 

She's not actually pushing it, but she was standing up holding it, so I'm sure it won't be long before she's cruising down the hall with it.  One day Grandma and I went shopping and it was hands down the best shopping trip ever, you'll see why...

Althought I must add that prior to this blessing, the kids were not the happiest.  :)  But it was great to go shopping while they were napping.  Now if only I could figure out how to do this at the grocery store, I would be set.  Grandma was amazed at how "tech savvy" Gunner is (between the Ipod touch and the Ipad, she couldn't believe what he could do).

While Grace on the other hand, amazed Grandma with her eating.  She definitely is over the baby food and just wanted real food.  Here she is covered with avacado. 

 Nate and I finally got some kitchen storage so the kids helped us move some things around.  Gunner and Grandma built a beautiful can tower.

The kids loved showing Grandma around, we even went to a new park we found.  Grandma tried to get Grace to walk a little, but she's too distracted with trying to find things to put in her mouth...

But Grandma did get a good picture of the four of us enjoying the swings. 

Nothing like getting in on the kid fun.  One night while Nate and I were able to get away for a few hours, Grandma introduced Gunner to fingerpainting.  He's not a big fan of getting his hands messy so I was interested to see how it turned out.  Grandma got great documentation...

At first, just one finger, very unsure.

Then, warming up a little, but the face definitely shows his uncertainty...

But, then he realized, "this is a lot of fun"...

I love this picture of him!  So animated.  The last full day Grandma was here we took her to the aquarium and beach.  She loved seeing Gunner so engaged with the fish (Grace too!)

We had to take Grandma to the beach so she could see what we meant when we said it was nothing like California beaches.  She was amazed and couldn't believe it either. 

All in all we had a wonderful visit and were so sad we had to take her to the airport today!  She will surely be missed!  I had to smile this afternoon when Gunner was counting his crackers (he counted everything with Grandma: crackers, fish, shoes, hands, everything!).  But it's so cute to see him soaking everything in.  We can't wait to see Grandma again or have any other visitors for that matter (hint hint people!).

July Already?!

Not sure if I'm the only one, but I can not believe it's July already... the 6th at that!  We had a wonderful holiday weekend.  Nate had a four day weekend, which was a great way to ease back into work.  On Saturday we went to Emerald Isle again.  We bought some new vibram five fingers, which are AMAZING and headed for a run along the beach. 

After the run, we (of course) took the kids for a swim. 

Gunner loves his new swim vest (so much easier to play around than with water wings).

Baxter even tagged along, as most beaches out here are dog friendly as long as they're on a leash.  Although Baxter hates the ocean, he had fun on the run and laying in the sand. 

Sunday we went to church and then just hung around the house.  I love watching the kids play.  Gunner lined his trucks up on the train track (so meticulously).

And when that got old, he went for a jump on the couch (which he thinks is his own trampoline).  I do love the action shot I was able to catch. 

Grace is getting all over the house now that she's an expert crawler.  I even made her a cute Fourth of July bow to sport all weekend. 

On Monday we got the best Fourth of July present, Grandma Oettel came to town!!  Although I don't have many pictures of her.  We took the kids to base for their festivities.  Gunner had a blast on all the blow up things (bounce houses, blow up slides, obstacle courses...) and the best part FUNNEL CAKE.  If you notice he's covered in powdered sugar. 

Grace was having fun playing in the grass and people watching.  I tried a million times to get a picture of her teeth (both bottom ones popped through).  This is the best I could get though....

We didn't dare risk the fireworks with Grace, plus both kids were tired and it was only 7:00.  Tuesday we had fun at the park with Grandma (I even snuck in a picture of her). 

And the park definitely makes me realize how big Gunner is getting.  He climbed it all alone (all while giving Grandma a heart attack).  :)

And Grace did her usual napping, but I love the sleeping shots. 

I'll try to take lots of pictures this week while Grandma Oettel is visiting, but no promises. :)  Hope everyone had a safe and wonderful holiday weekend.