Sister of Brothers

james (look of horror): "mommy, WHAT are you putting on caroline???"

me: "they're called tights! girls were them under dresses!"

(long pause....disturbed looks from both boys...followed by bouts of hysterical laughter)

ben david: "hahahahaha....caroline is wearing sock pants!!!!"

james: "caroline, you have to wear sock pants!! that is so silly!"

nice. baby girl is in for a long few years over here...

Oh Christmas Tree!!

in what has become an annual tradition with the anderson family, we ventured out the day after thanksgiving to blowing rock, nc to scout out the best christmas tree!!

i am happy to say, it was a GREAT success:)

we came home with two fabulous trees, lots of great memories and even some sunburn:)

on this unusually warm november day, we enjoyed a great hike to find a tree in the mountains, a fun hayride, some kettle corn and hot (yes hot) chocolate...despite the 70 degree temps:)

from there we ventured to downtown blowing rock for a mellow mushroom picnic at the local park!!

all in all...a very enjoyable day....this is one tradition we always look forward to:)

back at home, there was tree decorating and sugar cookies!!

One Last Hurrah!!!

once again, we kicked off september with our annual:

Emmrich/Anderson/Wright Ocean Isle Beach Trip!!!

after multiple hurricane threats and rain in the forecast, we once again enjoyed perfect temps and weather all week long!!

hmmmm...where to begin to recount all the fun...

here is a list of just a few of the many exciting activites we enjoyed:

1) crab hunts at dark

2) sand pits to play in

3) beach volleyball..anderson vs. wrights (andersons took the trophy this year but we are already in training for next year, so WATCH OUT!!:)

4) minature golf and ice cream (with a special appearance from marmie and poppy!)

5) skit night!!! always a hit...special performance this year by grandmommie and poppie...costumes and all!!!

6) pizza and movie night

7) badminton lessons

8) family kickball

9) ben and evan having contests such as:

-who could dunk the other in the pool first

-ripstick challenges

-anything else you can think of that you'd expect your kids to be doing vs your husbands

10) family devotions

11) surfing

12) skim boarding

13) boogy boarding

14) craft time with nonnie

15) and of course....family beach photos! we will start with those pics and then move on to the fun beach ones...

brothers who are these newlyweds??

our standard beach pose...tradition since our engagement!
8 grandkids...wow!! our 2 favorite people!! we love you grandmommie and poppie!
can somebody tell me...when did she grow up? our family my boys the whole crew! 3 little monkeys sitting in the sand beautiful sunset some serious body surfing going on here..

this is the life!!

what?? i think they are a perfect fit!:)

as my friend sara noticed...great form james!!

here they are...in full costume impersonating my sister and i!!

pretty lady

beach bum

adah hard at work making breakfast

annascott and caroline snuck off together and had a great time raiding grandmommie's makeup case...do you think this is her color??

brittian helping caroline get sand out of her ear

adah and her dad enjoying some ice cream

this girl can swing her club!

cheeesssseeee!!!

looking relaxed and refreshed!

grandmommie and caroline enoying a quiet walk together

all in all...we had a great trip!! already looking forward to next year!!

Zucchini Drama

as of late we have noticed our sweet youngest has managed to "fly under the rader" a bit with not eating her veggies. with all the chaos of 3 little people at the dinner hour, it is not difficult to go undetected in this regard.

so...we are making a concerted effort to remedy this problem. last night was a big standoff....little miss c refusing to eat her zucchini (gagging dramatically each time she tried to) and ben and i insisting she do it or not get her ice cream from the ice cream truck we had purchased earlier (big treat for her).

tears, tears and more tears....

time after time, ben would give her the chance to try her food, she'd refuse and have to be removed from the table d/t excessive crying and disobedience.

after this had occured multiple times...the following conversation was overheard:

james: "wow.....think she's having a hard day."

ben david: "is that three time outs???? oh...this is SOOOO EMBARRASSSING!!! (using big words out of context is a new thing around here)...pause. "bless her heart."

re-enter caroline...crying begins again...

ben david: "it's ok, it's ok...just take a deep breath!!! bee-bee is here...do you want me to feed you??" (ever the caretaker)

and so goes the dinner table scene..trying, comical, all part of growing up i suppose. oh, and for the record..the standoff ended with no zucchini being eaten and no ice cream.

iron will my friends, iron will...

the circus

in a nutshell...that about sums up this blog in many ways!;) as of late, our boys have had several days when they just can't seem to take a nap. this results in quiet (or not so quiet in this case) time. after some book reading and playing in their own rooms, it is a SPECIAL treat to have some playtime together. this particular day, was greeted by ben david about 1/2 through this playtime and presented with a letter (that i sadly do not have a photo of as he gave it to my mom:). i opened my envelope and was informed that this was my ticket to the circus. it was a picture (much like the ones i've posted ) of a clown...kind of a scary one that.

so, ignorning this breaking of the "don't leave your room during quiet time" rule in view of how cute he was (and my curiousity) , i walked on down to the bonus room/james' room for the "circus." there were signs on the door which, according to my ringmasters indicated:

1) no mice allowed

2) this is the circus

upon entering, i was greeted with some leftover popcorn (part of the "quiet time" special snack that day) and was entertained by a very interesting act in which james was some sort of animal that ben david was attempting to get to cross over a canyon of sorts. hmmmm...

while the pictures aren't great...you get the idea! more are less...i just wanted to capture this in photo and writing. i know there will soon come a day when i'll be wishing the "circus" was still being performed in my bonus room by two little boys who are growing up way too fast!:)

Four Years Old!!!

We celebrated our James-man turning 4yo this weekend!! It is hard to believe 4 years have passed since this sweet boy was born. our tow-headed middle is a lot of fun in every way! he is full of energy, tender-hearted, a super big brother, a super little brother, determined, athletic, funny, sweet.....and still a mama's boy:)

this particular birthday was made extra special as the boys had their very first trip to a "real" movie theater!! we went together to see winnie the pooh and had a GREAT time!!

the festivites continued later that afternoon with a family pool party complete with pizza, a batman cake (thank you HT), bow and arrow toy, cool lego car and 2 pet frogs!!

thanks to our buddies for coming out in the HEAT to celebrate our sweet james williams!!