Happy Halloween!

It's apparently the year of Spiderman!  There is no way to express Brody's excitement for trying on his costume this morning for the first time and wearing it to school.  He was literally shaking with anticipation.  So without further ado...I present to you Spiderman!

I am expecting to pick up a sweaty, tired little Spiderman after school and I will spend the day trying to think of ways I can lure him out of his costume to take a back tonight!  If anyone has any tips, let me know!

Happy Halloween!

I Think We're Outnumbered!

A few weekends ago there was a miraculous opening in everyone's calendars and all of my girlfriends from high school were able to come to the house for the ultimate play date.  We spent a few hours eating good food, catching up, and chasing our kids around - seven in total (all age 3 or under) not counting the three in utero!  I'll let you guess what three are expecting!  We were certainly outnumbered!  It was a great day though and the kids had a blast playing with each other.  It made me wish that we all lived closer to one another and that life would slow down a bit so we would have a chance to see each other more often.

Here are some pictures of the kids (all stinkin' adorable if I do say so myself!)

Brody and Jackson going up the ladder.

Ella giving Maya a push on the swing.

Brody and Jackson peaking through the tower (all you can see is Brody's hat!)

Jackson loving the slide.

 Brody, Damon, and Molly in the sandbox.

Maya, showing the boys how it's done.

Brody and Damon

Jackson!

Eli and his Mama

 Maya and Ella on the swings.

Molly and her Mama!

Bro and Jackson on the swing.

The whole crew! One of these pictures is bound to have all of them looking in the right direction...

from left to right: Brody, Jackson, Molly, Eli, Maya, Damon, and Ella.

Oak Hill

Since our hike up Kearsarge went so well, we decided to try a hike closer to home.  Oak Hill is nearly in our back yard and is normally about an hour and a half hike (from what I understand).  We learned that three year old legs significantly lengthen the travel time.  I think it took us three hours round trip!  In his defense it was a little more challenging hike for Brody than Kearsarge. However because of this, he felt it was appropraite to sit down in the middle of the trail about halfway up and refuse to walk another step (isn't 3 grand?)!  He said his legs hurt and he didn't know how to walk anymore. At the promise of chocolate at the top (a little trick we learned from Auntie Laura), he picked himself up and we eventually made it to the top.

All in all (minus the halfway standoff) it was a great little hike.

Brody is showing you the "chocolate" he is eating at the top!

And this is when he realized that the "chocolate" was really only tiny pieces in a granola bar and he's thinking "WTF mom? I can't believe I hiked all the way up here for a stinkin' granola bar!"

But then he got to climb the fire tower and once again everything was right in the world!

 All the excitement and exercise knocked him right out though.  Thankfully Daddy is strong and was able to carry him on his back the rest of way down.

One last beach day

We said goodbye to the beach season this year with a fabulous warm fall day at York. I was able to snap pictures of the boys from the comfort of our beach blanket while thay ran around and in and out of the water.  Ryan and Brody are two peas in pod these days. Brody's "mommy phase" has officially passed (if he ever had one).  It is all about Daddy now.  Good thing he's got such a great one!

 Oooh look...Mommy finally got a moment with Brody to steal a hug and a kiss!

It was short-lived though, back to Daddy time! 

 The final dip in the ocean for the season...see you next year beach!

Heading to the Mountains

We got the family together and headed to Mt. Kearsarge in Warner last weekend.  Brody was very excited to hike his first mountain!  He did great.  He hiked the entire way up by himself and more than halfway back down before he needed a shoulder ride from Daddy!  He climbed the steep rocks, jumped the streams, and kept up with everyone.  Every once in a while I could hear him talking to himself (he gets that from his Pa!), giving himself little pep talks "I can do it!" he would say under his breath!  And then every now and then he would shout out "Hike!"  It was a little chilly at the top, but the views were well worth it!

Brody is in good form and high spirits at the beginning of the hike

Brody and Wilder stop for a quick photo!

Belle, Wilder, and Bro at one of the look outs along the way.

Belle and Brody at the top!

He was pretty proud of himself!

Moms and babes!  (I mean babies, but we do still look pretty good!)

Auntie Joan and the kids!

Mimi and the kids!

The rest of the gang

Having a snack back at the truck.

And after all that hiking, we stopped to pick apples at Gould Hill.  There was more playing than picking, but the kids had a blast and were worn out by the time we got home!

Brody and Wilder somehow had enough energy to run around and wrestle at the orchard!

All in all, a perfect September day!