Halloween

The boys had a great time trick-or-treating. I don't think they realized how much candy we were talking about, until we did it

Mulch, anyone?

We needed mulch. And since we were paying to have it delivered, we decided we might as well get a whole lot of mulch. Scott was a good sport and moved the whole pile from our front yard to the backyard around the arbor and playset. We ordered enough to mulch around the entire playset, and mulch some new planting beds we dug up. Spencer was in dirt heaven....climbing up the pile then sliding down and climbing back up again.

Hanging out

I woke up one morning to find Clark in Spencer's crib playing with Buzz Lightyear. When asked what he was doing he said "Hanging out with Spencer". He even tossed in a Mr. Potato Head for Spencer to play with before climbing in himself.

Fearless

Spencer's favorite parts of this park are these steps, and the twisty slide coming off the tallest tower. He would crawl up the steps, climb his way up to the tower, slide down the twisty slide and walk back to the steps and it do all over again.

Lake Gaston

The favorite activity during our one-day stay at Lake Gaston was fishing. We didn't catch anything, but it was fun to cast off and reel the line back in....over....and over.....and over again.

The Farm

Today we went on a field trip for school to BaaMoo Farm. We got to milk a cow (well you could if you were brave enough- cows are rather large creatures) and take a hay ride. Spencer held onto me for dear life during the ride, but he would go right up to any animal we encountered. He especially loved the dogs. I think I might get sucked into buying a dog when he can talk a little better.

We got to feed the baby cows, and look at some pigs. They were good sports and snorted for us- which Clark thought was hilarious. Then we fed some goats and sheep and got to pet them as well. Then we gathered some eggs from the hen house. After all the eggs were gathered we fed the chickens. Clark was very brave and held the corn in his hands for them to pluck out. Spencer was brave too, but he has chubbier fingers and got bit. He wasn't too fond of chickens after that.

As a reward for all their hard work, Spencer and Clark got to pick a pumpkin to take home with them. Overall, it was a very fun outing.

Guess who's a big boy now?

Spencer is 18 months old. He was a little hesitant at nursery on Sunday but once I found him a ball to play with he was good to go. He can say "momma" "ball" "no" and "hi". He can walk pretty fast, and is working on jumping. He hasn't actually left the ground yet, but is very persistent. He has recently tried juming off the couch. The extra height didn't do anything for his jumping skills, but he had lots of fun anyway. Monkey is still his best friend in the whole world.

The museum we never been to before

This photo is from Clark's favorite museum. They have a bunch of old vehicles the kids can play in: race car, fire truck, police car, airplane (just the nose), and mail truck. And they have tons of other fun stuff for kids to play with.

Grandparents

Clark and Spencer had lots of fun with Grandma and Grandpa.

who's that masked man?

Clark earned a disguise for completeing his summer reading program.

Six dollars of tomatoes

On the drive home from Charleston we stopped at a farmers market. We bought a few peaches, some corn, and 25 pounds of tomatoes (I couldn't resisit- such a good price!) I am currently drying the tomatoes in our food dehydrator (they taste just like sun dried tomatoes) and have plans for spaghetti sauce and chicken balti- lots of it!

Aquarium

While in Charleston we visited the aquarium. Spencer loved walking up and down the halls to look at all the fish.

Charleston

After the beach we drove down to Charleson and met my parents. We took a tour of Fort Sumter (accesible by boat). Aparrently the island wasn't there to begin with...they had to pile granite onto a sandbank to build it up. This was the site of the first shots of the civil war. Charleston is a nice city, with lots of big old historic houses (with itty bitty yards).

Battleship

We started vacation with a stay at the beach with some friends. Clark and Spencer were terrified of the ocean, but loved playing in the sand....and at the pool. Clark learned how to jump into the water and started kicking his feet and paddling with his arms. While there we toured a battleship in the area. That ship is HUGE! It has a 2000 person capacity, with a bakery, barbershop, soda fountain, and bunk beds stacked up to 4 high.

clowning around

Spencer provides some riveting entertainment during mealtime. (Due to recent ant sightings we have since moved his table away from the door to the patio)

Fun at the park

I took the kids to a new park today. It was 40 minutes away, but boasted a carousel, train ride, gem stone mining, and a bunch of other kid friendly activities. So, we went. Clark had some fun riding the train and carousel, and playing on the playset. Spencer had fun on the playset, but wasn't too keen on everything else. We're trying to transition from two naps to one, and I think he was a little worn out towards the end.

Grow! Grow! Grow!

We've got strawberries, tomatos, peppers, zuchinni, cucumbers, corn, peas, and sunflowers. So far, the peas are delicious. Clark is my little helper- and waters the garden with me most days.

Cruisin' the driveway

Clark and Spence love to play outside. Clark rides his new scooter and is getting pretty good at it. Spencer practices walking, and will occasionally get a ride on Clark's scooter (when Clark's not looking.)