Hurricane Getaway

The last week was pretty stressful with the anticipation of Hurricane Irene.  Nate was in Virginia all week for work, so it was just the kids and I at home, watching the news intently.  We were debating whether to go or stay and were getting mixed messages from the news (would the hurricane shift, would it be a category 4, how much destruction would come....).  The news was on constantly, but this picture was priceless.

Grace was laying on the boppy having her bottle and Gunner wanted to do the same.  So I dug out the old "breast friend" and they enjoyed their milk while watching the weather channel.  Too cute though!  Well, we decided to leave town and have a "hurricane getaway."  So we headed up to Chapel Hill (beautiful area by the way!).  We were lucky enough to find a pet friendly hotel with rooms available.  Nothing like sharing a hotel with two kids and a dog...

It was nice to get away though and spend some family time together and not worry about the storm.  The hotel even had a pool so the kids had fun with that (Grace even had fun just playing with her pool floaty in the room). :)

Gunner learned to swim with just his floaties (not holding on) so it was a huge success.  Grandma and Grandpa's pool this summer definitely set the foundation.  He was kicking his feet and swimming all around the pool. 



While Grace enjoyed exploring the pool area more than being in the water.

Of course with being out of town, we had to eat out alot, but Gunner managed to find the bright side to that, he gets to eat whatever he wants, like corn on the cob!





And all the fun and travel made Grace exhausted, but dinner is the perfect naptime!

We were anxious to get home and assess the damage.  The drive home we saw areas with lots of damage and others that seemed like they had barely any, so we were ready to get home and see what situation we would have.  God was definitely watching over our house, we had no damage (aside from a few shingles missing and a few branches down)! 

It was really only a days yardwork to clean up the mess, but we were fortunate that we didn't even lose power at the house.  All in all, we had a fantastic weekend away and we were so blessed to come home to no damage.  God is good! 

Playing Hard

The past week has been a rollercoaster of fun and crazy.  Nate has been working lots of hours (lots of overnights) so the kids and I have had lots of time to just hang out.  The kids definitely miss daddy but I’ve been doing my best to keep them busy with playdates and park visits and fun at home.  Last week the weather finally broke so we had a few nice days to play outside.  The first evening outside was amazing, as if we hadn’t been outside in forever!

Being outside is so nice, but just incase you were worried, we have plenty of toys to keep us busy inside too.

As I mentioned in the last post, we had been up in Raleigh and while there we ventured to “Build A Bear” and made some new friends for the kids.  Gunner picked out his own bear, so it was adorable when he picked the camo one (and surprisingly, there was absolutely no coaxing).  We named his little guy Daryl and when you squeeze his hand it says “Good Night Gunner, I love you!” with daddy’s voice of course.  We’re hoping it’s a great thing when daddy’s deployed.  Grace’s little bear we named Annabell and she also has daddy’s voice saying “Good night Grace, I love you!”

Gunner’s new favorite thing is to help me in the kitchen whenever I let him.  One morning he found the muffin mix in the cabinet and insisted on making “cupcakes” for breakfast.  It was really cute. 

 When daddy is home, he is of course, the best thing since sliced bread. J  As you can see from the picture, Grace loves just being able to “play” with daddy’s face.

Gunner likes to show daddy how silly he is and the fun new things we discover as the best toys (like laundry baskets).

Of course, when daddy’s not around, mommy is okay for entertainment. J  Last Friday we ventured to the track on base for mommy to squeeze in a little workout.  Gunner loved riding his truck around the track (and mommy loved that he was burning so much energy). And Grace of course, is just happy to play around and I was able to get this really cute pic.

Home ownership has brought so many new “jobs”, but this weekend Nate got to get buy himself a few special “toys” to help with the tedious tasks including a hedge trimmer and riding mower.  Most of Sunday was spent in the yard, but the kids enjoyed just watching him through the window. 

Tonight when daddy came home Gunner decided to put on daddy’s boots and tell us he was “going to work” as he headed toward the door.  It was precious!

I have a few adorable pictures of the kids with Baxter that I love but really don’t fit in the blog, but I’m gonna throw them in for your viewing pleasure anyway. I have to mention that our dog is a saint!J 

Gone in a Flash

Haley's visit has come and gone in a flash. We enjoyed having her here to visit and she was such a huge help! We had a great visit and the kids had so much fun. Our last week was spent doing lots of fun things.  Besides the normal fun of playing around the house we were able to make it to the aquarium again (this time with our friend Sara and kids Maddie and Caleb). 

Grace had a “stroller buddy” to hang with, which was nice for a change. 

Haley even had a chance to “be a kid” and enjoy the aquarium.

We were there in time to see the deep sea dive and Gunner was enthralled with the divers.  At the end of their dive, one of the divers swam along the window giving the kids high fives.  It was priceless!

Later that evening Haley wanted to make cupcakes, so we turned it into a big production so her and Gunner could be involved in the whole process.  He LOVED helping out and wanted to do everything Haley did (which was normal for her whole visit).  I did get a few good pictures of them helping though.

And of course, you can’t make cupcakes without enjoying them.

The weather was pretty hot last week (although we’re finally getting a break from the humidity the last few days) but we were able to make a few trips to the park. 

Haley’s last day we had wanted to venture to the beach again, but the weather just did not cooperate, so plan B was to try out this new place called “Jump in Jax” which has tons of inflatable bounce houses and obstacle courses, games, and toys. 

It was a blast, really perfect for a rainy day.  Saturday we had to track up to Raleigh (a 2.5 hour drive) to take Haley to the airport.  Gunner was so sad when she had to leave.  He even woke up this morning asking for her.  When I told him she had to go bye bye, of course the next question was "Where's Daddy?"  He's so cute sometimes!

Another week already?!

So as hard as it for me to believe, it's been almost a week since my last blog post.  Time is definitely flying by lately.  Haley has been with us the whole past week and in some ways three kids is alot, but in other ways, the extra set of hands (although small) is such a huge help.  Nate is in the field all this week so I'm looking forward to the little bit of help she offers.  The past week has flown by, but I only have pictures of a few days.  The weather has been really warm, so we've been getting to the park when we can.

As you can see from Haley's picture, it gets HOT really quick.  So the park doesn't last long.  Usually after about 30 minutes the kids are dripping sweat and asking to leave.

We bought this new thing called the "Sili Squeeze" which is basically like the food pouches (with applesauce and baby food) except it's reusable and you can put whatever you want in it.  Grace hasn't quite figured out how to work it yet, but as you can see, Gunner really enjoyed it.

Then last week we ventured to the aquarium for Pirate Night.  It was a great break from the heat and Gunner loves the fish (we're actually headed there again this week with some other friends of ours). 

And it wouldn't be Pirate Night without mustaches. :)

On Saturday we ventured to the beach on base for "Customer Appreciation Day" including free hawaiian ices (wish I had taken an after shot of Gunner, his was red), bounce houses, games, bingo, face painting, ect. 

Gunner was much to busy to wait to get his face painted, but Haley had no problem waiting. 

They also had a blow up water slide (which of course was a huge hit).

And Grace was her usual "crabby" self. :)

Which reminds  me, I have an adorable video from the other night when she was just laughing hysterically at Gunner and Haley "falling" on the couch.  Mind you, this went on for a good 20 minutes, although I could never get a great video. 

All in all we've had a great week.  We have about 5 more days to enjoy Haley before she leaves us on Saturday.  I don't know what the kids are going to do without her!  They are definitely going to miss her (as am I).