Just today

Just thought I would recap a few funny things that my children have said today. Before nap time I always read them a book on the couch. I told them to go sit down and the phone rang. While I was on the phone I heard this argument:

Emerson: "1,2,3,4"
Cullen: "1,2,3,5"
Emerson: *louder* "1,2,3,4"
Cullen: *louder* "1,2,3,5"
Emerson: *even louder* 1,2,3,4"
Cullen: *louder still* "1,2,3,5"
Emerson: *screams* "1,2,3,4"
Cullen: *scream back* "1,2,3,5"
This just shows you how hard headed they really are. Neither one is willing to budge on their version of counting and they are both willing to scream their convictions at the top of their voice in the hopes of breaking the other. I had to stop the scream fest because I was afraid it might end in blood shed. And, by the way, Cullen is convinced that 4 is a nonessential number, he refuses to say it or even repeat it!
Then I put them down for a nap which neither child seemed to be interested in. Cullen jabbered away in his crib for a full 30 minutes before going to sleep and Emerson got up at least a dozen times thinking of new ideas on how to avoid her nap. One of those trips out of her room I told her to go back to bed, lay down and read a book, her reply "Mama, I can't read yet." Duh?! What was I thinking??? haha

And then again tonight as Emerson was avoiding bedtime I told her to go to her room and get her pajamas on. She starts tiptoeing as slowly as possible from the room and says "well, you know I walk very slowly." Oh, what a kid!!!

Boy on the beach

More pictures of my little man hanging out with me on the beach in moment, but first let me explain why there will be no pictures of him enjoying the surf. . .


We got to the beach on a Sunday afternoon and after we unpacked all the cars and "moved in" for the week we decided to take the kids down to the beach. It had been a year since either of them had been to the beach and played in the sand. I really thought that Cullen would love it this year since he's so active and loves playing in dirt and water. We got down to the beach and I could tell the surf was rough (there was a storm in the Bahamas causing some serious undertow) so we walked along the beach holding hands and looking at the water. We decided to go walk where the waves would barely cover our toes when whoosh a wave crashed and came rushing towards us. I grabbed on tighter to each little hand and held on. (Bear in mind that the water was only a couple inches deep when it got to us.) Those couple of inches of water combined with the rough seas and shifting sand was quite a match for my 2 little ones. All of the sudden Cullen fell and was rolled by the very shallow water and Emerson had fallen but my grip was so tight that her little legs were going one way and my hand was pulling her tiny arm the other way. The poor child probably felt like I was ripping her shoulder out of joint! But poor Cullen got the worst of it since we couldn't quite hold on long enough. He was soaking wet and covered in sand. He had sand in every crack and crevice of his little body. His chubby cheeks and hair were covered in sand and he was terrified from the whole event. The next day we tried getting him onto the beach but he was hysterical. Every time he even saw the ocean he would start crying and shaking and saying "the water get you, Mama". He was breaking my heart. I don't think he ever got out of a lap the next day at the beach and it took him until the last day until he was brave enough to come within about 20 feet of the water. So I don't think he is going to be doing any surfing any time soon! But despite the traumatic experience with the ocean, Cullen did manage to have a good time playing in the sand and he loved the water at the pool (I'll post those pictures later).

My favorite picture of him on the beach. He's just so darn cute!!!

See how far we are from the water!

Holding up the umbrella really makes him thirsty. . .haha!

And hungry!

And here he is trying to escape back to the safe haven (aka really nice condo)!

PS Yes, I know he's really far away in the last picture but I had to show his great escape from the scary beach! I watched him walk almost all the way to the walkway back which lead to the condo. It was a pretty good distance from us but there was hardly anyone around and I wanted to see just how far he would go, which was apparently to the elevator of the condo! When I realized he wasn't planning on coming back I stopped him before he stepped onto the walkway. I yelled out his name and told him to come back and he did. He started be-bopping back as though it was no big deal. One of the funniest things was that a couple with their 2 very small children stopped to watch the whole event when they didn't think anyone else was. I saw the lady looking very concerned and walking towards Cullen when I stood up so she would realize a parent was around. When the lady saw me she just smiled and probably tried to memorize my face so she could call DFACS when she got back to her condo, hahaha!!!

Drum roll please

The moment you've all been waiting for. . . more pictures of 2 of the most adorable children ever! :)

Hugs and Kisses

I grew up in a huggy, lovey family. As a child I saw my grandmothers at least once a week if not more since we lived so close. Each time we saw them we hugged hello and hugged goodbye. It was some unwritten rule and ritual which I did and still do! Now that I have children I have apparently passed down the same ideas about the hugging for greetings and departures. Yesterday Emerson and Cullen stayed with my mother in law while I went to visit a friend who had just given birth (to a very cute baby girl, I might add!). I got back a few hours later and loaded the kids into the car when this happened. . .

Que the drama princess:
Emerson: *begin dramatic whimper* "Mama, you forgot to give Oma a kiss."
Me: (thinking she means she forgot to give her a kiss) "It's okay, we'll see her soon."
Emerson: (with more conviction) "No Mama, you didn't give Oma a kiss. You need to drive back in the driveway and tell her goodbye."
Me: (laughing) It's okay baby, I told her goodbye."
Emerson: "No you didn't."
Me: (still laughing) "It's okay, I will next time."
Emerson: (relaxes) "Okay."

Moral of the story--don't teach your child to do something unless you yourself are going to lead by example.

***Oma, I'll give you a hug next time I leave your house so that I will be saying goodbye the "right" way!

Geocaching in the mountains!

This way to the trail!

The very narrow and steep trail!

Tripp rockin' the trail!

We found the cache hidden somewhere in the midst of all these trees!

Ready, set the timer, run to the rock and smile!!!

Tripp and I have discovered the fun of geocaching (thanks Aunt Judy!). So, while we were in the mountains we left the kiddies with my parents and went off in search of a cache. We ended up climbing 1/4 of a mile up a very steep and narrow trail (part of the Bartram Trail) and ended up next to a waterfall, which you should see behind us in the last picture but you may have to strain your eyes since it was nearly dry due to the horrible drought. The hike was quite a little trek but it was so much fun. It got us out in nature, exercising, and on a hunt, what more could you ask for?!

Back in the saddle

We're back from our summer adventure to the beach! It was nice and refreshing. The weather was good and the kids loved swimming in the pool and playing on the beach. Now that our summer is drawing to a close, I'm going to get back in the saddle of blogging. Check back tomorrow for a new post with pictures!

We went to the mountains a couple of weeks ago. While we were there we took a day trip to Cherokee, NC. It was hot so we stopped at the river that runs through the town and decided to get in and cool off. The water was freezing but my children and a ton of other kids didn't seem to notice. It was very shallow I walked in and it took my breath away. Of course it wasn't so bad once the frostbite set in and my feet were numb. HA! :) Here's a few pictures of the kids having a blast!

Mouth full of river water. . .

Spitting out the parasite water! ha ha

Calling "Emson"Yes, he is a very white child.
The water was freezing but the kids LOVED it!

Computer issues

Our computer is having some "issues". Sorry I haven't been able to post pictures but for some reason our computer won't upload pictures or videos right now. I promise to get some new pictures up ASAP.

Hope she doesn't repeat that!

For some reason Tripp and I allowed the kids to stay up and watch the new show "Wipeout" on ABC last night. If you know us well then you know that Tripp and I hardly ever watch TV in the evenings and never let our children watch. This is mainly because Tripp has lots of studying from school, I don't really like shows I have to keep up with every week and the language and subject content are just a little too risque for our tastes. If the TV is ever on in the evenings while the kids are awake we try to keep the volume low so no one learns one of those words. Last night we didn't think we had to worry, wrong! Here's what happened:

Girl on TV on game show as she jumps over obstacle: "I'm kicking my own ass."
Emerson, who ironically hasn't repeated anything from the show up until this point: "I'm kicking my own add."
Me: wide-eyed look at Daddy hoping he can come up with something clever to say
Daddy: wide-eyed look with hand covering mouth as he tries not to belly laugh.
Me: eyes widen more and look of "oh my gosh, why did we let her watch this?! look"
Daddy to Emerson: "Yea, add (emphasis on the D) like add and subtract." laughs to make Emerson think that add is indeed a funny word
Emerson: "Yea, add." then giggles to indicate she sort of thinks it's funny but isn't sure why?!

Whew, one crisis diverted only a bazillion more to go!!! :)

Appearing soon. . .

. . .more pictures and video!!! Sorry I've been away to the mountains and now I'm back but recovering from some weird stomach bug. Whew, it's been a long couple of weeks but I promise I actually have some new pictures to post very soon. I will try to get the time and energy to do it tomorrow.