Brothers Gotta Hug!!!

Eli and Emmett are such great brothers and friends. They talk and make noises together, they fight and hit each other, they play together and most of all they love each other!!!

One arm brother hug.

Awe, hugging for the camera.

Emmett is using two arms and leaning away like he is trying to pick Eli up!!

Vati's 60th!

After our Anniversary we spent the night in Durham and celebrated Vati's 60th birthday! We had a yummy Bar-B-Que lunch out and then we all gave him his gift, a new bench for his pond.

The birthday boy.

A cute pic of Paige playing with a ball.

Vati and Mutti on the new bench.

Old man and (most of) his grandkids.

A cute pic of Alison and Paige.

6 Years!!!

We celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary with an awesome day of rock climbing!!! Alison watched the boys and even took them and Doc to Durham for us while Andrea and I went to Pilot Mountain State Park. The weather was cold and rainy but it was awesome; no crowds, all routes were open and we got to "climb" with little embarrassment :-) It was such a fun way to spend our anniversary with my adventure partner!!!

Perfect day: Chick-fil-a breakfast and coffee, cold enough to wear my North Face 1/4 zip, and on our way to rock climb!!!

Andrea ready for a rappel.... did I mention she is not a big fan of heights...

Partway down, she did great!!

Now climbing up.

Me climbing up...

Rappelling down.

On another rappel.

We climbed very easy routes and realized exactly how out of shape we are!! It was a lot of fun. After Pilot Mountain we had a fun dinner at Chili's and got to spend a little time with the Bakers before heading to Durham to celebrate Andrea's dad's 60th B-Day.

Cute Boys

These are some cute pics of the boys reading a new book from Grandma Gwinn and wearing new shirts from Grandma Mutti.

Snuggles

My parents came for a visit in mid-September and this is the only picture from their stay. Emmett was being super cuddly with grandpa one morning. Emmett is much more of a cuddler than Eli was!

Eli goes to the Dentist

This is not Eli's first trip to the dentist but it was his first trip when anything got done. Last time he sat in the chair and looked at the tools and such but that is it. This time he had his teeth cleaned and a fluoride treatment. He did so good!! The Dentist and hygienist both raved about how well he did and the Dentist even said he may have been the best 3 year old he had ever had!!!

Eli getting a cleaning.

He remembered and requested sun glasses like on his first trip!

Fluoride treatment.

Museum of Life and Science

Shortly after Labor Day we spent a couple of days in Durham hanging out and going to the dentist. One of the days we went to the Museum of Life and Science. Andrea had not been in a long time and this was mine and the boys first trip. I was really surprised at the quality and quantity of exhibits and activities, it is a great museum! We went with Laura and her girls and Carla and one of her girls; the boys and I were really out numbered! After our morning at the museum we were able to meet the other two hubbies, Jon and Austin, at Chick-fil-a!! It was a very fun day!

Emma in the butterfly house.

One of the many butterflies.

The gang. I think it is funny that Laura and Carla are on their phones. This is the only time I saw them on the phones, they were trying to get in touch with their husbands to set up our Chick-fil-a meeting.

Close Ups

These are some pictures from early September when Andrea and the boys were hanging out with the Renfrows. Emmett does not have a close up because he was napping. You know the regular characters so there is no need to caption pictures ;-)

This was Andrea and Alison's first shopping trip with 5 kids; Paige is in a second cart with the food. It was an adventure, apparently there was a lot of cart swapping and other shenanigans.

Playground

Thanks to some very generous grandparents the boys now have a playground at the house!! It is super cool and we love it! The boys already liked to be outside and now they like to be outside even more!! Eli likes to pretend it is a pirate ship and climb the rock wall. Emmett can already climb the stairs and slide down by himself, he is the daredevil!! We even have a few resident lizards on the playground and we all love watching them.

Emmett at the sand table.

Before...

After...

Emmett on the tire swing!

Cars Memory

This pic is for Auntie Jill. She gave Eli Cars Memory and he loves playing it. He is so funny... he loves games, books, puzzles and at the same time he is full of energy and can be so crazy and energetic he makes your head spin!!

Emmett looking adorable!!

These are some cute pics of Emmett playing with Eli's Woody hat from the birthday party. They are so cute I can't think of any fun or witty captions....

Reading "Goodnight Gorilla"

Eli's Third Birthday!!!

We cannot believe Eli is already three!!! He is growing so fast. We had a family party at the house and it was a good time. The theme was Toy Story and Andrea's parents and the Renfrows came over for the afternoon and dinner. Eli got a lot of Dinosaur Train and Cars toys.

The birthday boy.

Looking cute as he opens presents.

Eli and Claire opening a present. In looking at the picture it looks like Claire has already figured out what the gift is and Eli is still trying to get it unwrapped.

Emmett, Claire and Wyatt playing with the new Dinosaur Train set.

Eli playing with some new tools.

Cake time!!

Emmett and some cake.

Playing in the Chair

This is a fun video of the boys playing/wrestling in one of the chairs.

Emmett....

It seems like the second child is usually more adventuresome and daring than the first and Emmett definitely lived up to this! On this day in early August Emmett pushed this box across the living room and stood at the door trying to open it.... he wasn't even walking on his own yet....

40th Anniversary

From Kentucky we drove to Durham to celebrate Dan and Mary's 40th Wedding Anniversary. We took them to Maggiano's and walked around the Streets at Southpoint for a while. It was a great meal and good time with family.

Vati making breakfast, you can't stay too clean!

Mutti and Vati and all their grandkids.

The whole gang.

The happily married couple and Emmett.

Yummy dessert.

MY bride enjoying the meal.

Emmett loves sweets!!

Eli licked his plate clean.

Wyatt

Matt and Claire

Me

Alison