New kicks and muffs

Even though Mason's face doesn't necessarily show how excited he is (this is Mason's "cheese" face), he's pretty excited about his new shoes. His first pair of real sneakers. Mason has been a shoe boy for a long time now. He regularly brings me his shoes and says "Shoes" with absolute clarity. With these new Saucony's, he can run even faster.They look pretty sporty, too!

Levi got new shoes, too (thanks, B1G1 half off). These are Tsukihoshi shoes. Made in Japan, lightweight and machine washable. The big Velcro flap is easy for him to open and shut and he seems to really like these shoes. The boys also got new boots but I haven't taken pictures of those yet.

Another purchase for the boys (seems like these guys get all the fun stuff lately!)...earmuffs that reduce the loud sounds, which is important because theses guys LOVE riding the lawnmower with Ashley.

Ashley and Levi arriving with the lawnmowing truck (always proud of the family business and thankful at the same time that we have these resources).

The boys didn't even want to wait for Ashley to back the mower off. They charged up the truck ramp to make sure they'd get their ride.

They kept the muffs on for the entire mowing of the yard (and we have a lot of grass to mow now, especially compared with our old yard!).

There they are, zooming around the right side of the house.

Loving the end of the summer at our house

A month or so ago we had the Ranger at our house (usually used by the Heritage guys) and the boys had a big time going on nightly adventures. In these pictures, we had just gotten back from riding all the way to the park on the backroads.

Check out Levi's windblown look!

Ashley has been busy building the boys a fort. We had a picnic one Saturday to break in the space. I've got more pictures of a completed structure but that's another post!

Our friends Stan and Lyndsey came over for supper a while back. Hunter is 3 (almost 4) and Hadley (here with her daddy) is 5 months.

I took this picture heading towards the interstate from our house. Everything about it reminded me of when I worked in Vermont at the Tyler Place because that area of Vermont (north of Burlington) is flat farmland, which makes for awesome views of the sky.

Another evening I was particularly enamored with our house. I haven't shared pictures of it in a while so you'll see that it definitely looks established on the land now. The early evening summer sun was perfect for picture taking.

The boys getting a ride on the Bobcat. Mason is obsessed with the Bobcat. When it's parked on our property, he shouts (Mason speaks in one volume....LOUD) "Bob-Bat!!" and makes a charge for it. When Ashley's dad came one morning to take it back to the shop, Mason screamed and hollered about Da driving the Bobcat up on the trailer (without him) and taking it away. Boys and their toys...

Another good picture of the house. If you look closely in the foreground, you can see our grapevines. They've "t-ed" off nicely and really add great structure to our yard. Can't wait for them to actually produce grapes!

And through the front woods you can see where the fort is (to the right of the driveway as you come up the hill to our house). More pictures to come!

So we've been blessed with a few fall-like days so far. In South Carolina we don't get a very long fall so I relish any day that has low humidity, sunshine and slight crispness to the air.

Fantastic Wedding Weekend for a Favorite Friend!

This past weekend one of my favorite friends got married. Jennifer and I have known each other since high school when we ran track and were in youth group together (both of those things were where I made the majority of my friends). She met her soulmate, Scotty, on Match.com like Ashley and I did and I couldn't have been happier to be a part of their special weekend. The fun started on Friday with the rehearsal. Ashley and I looking spiffier than usual here.

What a beautiful bride! Through and through because she's a great person inside, too.

Most of us bridesmaids. Left to right- Scotty's sister Beth Ann, Jeani Pereda, me and Charity Greico.

It was a "wedding in the round"--a really unique arrangement that made for a very meaningful ceremony.

These two love each other so much!

Mama (who read at Jennifer's wedding) and me. Wow, I haven't worn this much makeup since dance competitions in middle school. I felt like I had to scrape it off...but it did make for pretty pictures!

The sweet Jennifer and her dad, photographed before the wedding.

Doing the bridesmaid thing. Loved our dresses!

In one part of the ceremony, both sets of parents stood with Jennifer. Her dress was gorgeous!

My parents looking top-notch! They had a great time!

Cool thing at the wedding...a photo booth! We got to take pictures for the frames that were gifts at the table. Such fun!

Papa and Ashley found the bar and shared shots with my friend Kirsten's husband, Murat, who is from Turkey. They had a lot of fun!

Family picture!

Kirsten and Murat. It was fun to catch up with Kirsten--we were close friends at UNC and always valued our long walks & talks together.

Just an awesome wedding!! Plated dinner, live band and lots of dancing!!

Levi's 3rd Year of Preschool Begins

Levi started his third year of preschool the week after Labor Day. This is his third preschool and though, I never thought I would be the mama who switched her kid from school to school, I'm so happy we made this change. He'll be going two mornings a week. And on Wednesdays we'll (Mason, too) go to the local primary school's parents/kids preschool program. I'm excited about all of this!

We went to the open house for both programs the Friday before Labor Day. Levi AND Mason had a big time exploring the new places. These pictures are taken at his two-day week preschool.

Lots of colorful, educational things on the walls. During circle time they talk about the weather, learn their Bible verse, review their letters and numbers, say the Pledge of Allegiance, etc.

A book nook...

And a colorful place for coloring, eating lunch and hanging out with friends.

Another plus to this preschool is they have nice wide hallways with a lounge-type space in the middle. The boys loved this activity cube!

I really loved this apple tree...look closely...someone took real tree branches to make this tree with fake apples. How cool is that?!

Also in the hallway...numbers explaining the days of Creation.

This is how I pictured a school preschool program would be. The space is so open and airy, the teachers are warm and friendly, and the other parents seem down-to-earth and willing to help out.

Levi showing off one of the playgrounds.

Here he is, ready to go to school on his first Tuesday. Backpack on, lunch box in hand.

"Checking in" at school...they have to unclip their ladybug (name) from the clothesline and velcro it to a leaf.

On the way back to pick him up from the first day, we hit a road block. A tree fell across the road and we had to take a detour. For once, I was running early so I wasn't late to pick him up!

There were a lot of days this summer when I thought I was going to lose it because Levi kept bothering Mason, and vice versa. As much as I try to come up with new things to do, there is only so much I can do to keep their days engaging and interesting. That's why preschool is so needed. Levi gets to have his own time with friends his age and Mason gets to have my focused attention. And even better, I know Levi is super happy in his preschool. I didn't feel that way last year so I'm even more aware how important finding a good place is!

Go West, Young Man (and his mama)

Going west is a rite of passage for many folks and Levi has already done it twice now, thanks to Joshua and Kelsey's wedding and then our latest trip the last weekend in August. 

I decided Levi was old enough to take the trip again because he's becoming much more self-sufficient (basically potty trained, can entertain himself in a variety of settings, and though I don't like it, he's dropped his nap). Ashley (and his mom) watched Mason while we were gone Wednesday afternoon through Sunday evening. We flew out of the Columbia airport and had a QUICK connection in ATL (thankful I took the umbrella stroller at the last minute and wore my Crocs because I was that lady dashing madly through the airport). We arrived in Denver around 5:30 (7:30 back in SC) and Kelsey picked us up. I was so happy to see her (and Joshua later)...and their new house! My brother redid the kitchen--isn't it amazing?!

Levi hit the jackpot with toys from Uncle Joshua and Aunt Kelsey. His favorites? The set of Caterpillar construction equipment. Here he is, playing in their backyard. He woke up at  5 a.m. Thursday, 6 a.m. Friday and 7 a.m. Saturday and Sunday :o) so we got lots of good playing outside time before anyone else woke up!

Joshua finally has a (small) yard to mow!

Thursday morning, Levi and I hung out with Joshua while he worked. We had an hour to kill while he was at one job so Levi and I took a walk to a nearby park, passing this really cool yard in Boulder.

Levi playing with the equipment. Boulder and Superior (where Joshua lives) are great for walking around. Every where you go there's a beautiful view!

We ate supper with Kelsey's sister, brother-in-law and niece. Here is Levi making friends with Payton (who is Mason's age) and sharing Aunt Kelsey.

Cole (Payton's dad) and Joshua play in a basketball league on Thursday nights. It was fun to go watch him play!

I haven't seen Joshua play since he played JV at UNC so I thought it was extra cool to see my brother on the court again.

Kelsey and Shannon...such pretty sisters!

Joshua's truck and dumping trailer. Levi liked this, as you can imagine! Levi hung out with his Uncle Joshua while Kelsey put some highlights in my hair (she's a hairdresser).

Friday afternoon we went to the Denver Aquarium. Here's Levi with his Colorado family!

Inside.

Levi and Payton checking out some fish.

Oooh...shark!

And an orangutan (not real)...random!

Joshua cracked me up because he paid $1 to run the Aquarium cam :o)

Jellyfish....I detest these but it's a cool picture!

Another funny dive mask picture. Classic Levi face.

In high school, Joshua had an old CJ-5 Jeep. He sold that one but has now bought another one, this one a Levi's edition. How cool is that?!

Levi drew a flower for Pepper, Joshua's dog. This is the first drawing that he's done where he intentionally made something. I was so impressed!

Pepper, pleased with her flower drawing.

Saturday morning I drove over to see my friend Erica who lives in Arvada.

We worked together at the Tyler Place in 2000 and have kept in touch sporadically. She's one of those great friends who I can not talk to for a long time but then when we get to hang out, it's like we just saw each other last week. And now she's a mama of boy (Gavin, 6 months) so we share that!

Saturday after breakfast at Erica's, Joshua and Kelsey took Levi and I to see the Wild Animal Sanctuary, a place where rescued lions, tigers, bears, wolves, etc. are brought for rehabilitation and a peaceful life.

It was a really interesting place. Out in the middle of nowhere! Here you can see the tigers in the place they start their new lives, adjusting to a better life.

Lions...the idea behind this place is it's about the animals. Visitors are secondary so you get to walk above them and see them and they don't feel the pressure to perform.

Joshua and Kelsey talking to one of the volunteers.

On the way back, we saw this Stealth Bomber flying overhead, waiting for its turn at the local airshow. Cool!

That night we ate supper at the Cheesecake Factory on Pearl Street in Boulder. It was my first time eating there (glad that I looked at the menu online before we went). Delicious!

From where we were sitting at the restaurant, we could see the man making balloon animals. Levi asked him for a lion--this one was pretty good! Roar!!

Levi also got the chance to be a Boulder Boy and romp around the splash pad. By the end he was pretty cold but he had a great time!

Leaving Boulder. Love it!

We left Sunday morning on the 10:30 flight and were back to our house by 6:30 p.m. It was a fantastic trip! Levi was a GREAT traveler!

Bye Colorado! See you soon, I hope!