Five Year Anniversary Trip

We went on a little trip for our anniversary.  It was a grand total of about 28 hours long and Elizabeth came along and ruined our night, but it was still a nice little getaway.  We went to the Pocono Mountains about 2 hours northeast and stayed at a little bed and breakfast.  Not my favorite place, but it worked.

The next day we went to the Bushkill Waterfalls which were amazing, even at $12.50 a person.  It was a nice little stroll that took us about 3 hours because we wanted to go slowly.  It was nice and shady the entire time with cool mist in the air at the waterfalls.  Some people were surprised that we were doing such a "rigorous" hike with our little baby.  We told them that it was nothing compared to hiking Zion's while pregnant and carrying Charlie in the blazing heat.

Here is the largest main falls.

I loved all of the moss and greenery.

There were some very cool rocks under the water that had a copper color to them from being under the water.

There wasn't food allowed on the trail, but Elizabeth still ate :)

These are part of the roots for a large tree.  They looked awesome with how they have grown over the rocks. 

Charles thought this snake was pretty cool.  Especially because it has smoky blue eyes.  But really the only good snake is a dead snake.

I have no idea how a tree would have grown all twisty, but it sure looked cool.

I like Elizabeth's half smile.

And then her ridiculous face.

She decided to rest in a tree for a while because of all of her hiking :)  Charles is propping her up.

Sadness, but oh so cute.

These type of bridge walkways were everywhere and that why it was $12.50 a person I presume.

The water looks like Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh.

It was a very fun 28 hours away from the boys and on the way home we stopped at the world's largest Cabela's in Hamburg, PA and bought a gun safe.  

After Five Years of Marriage...

After five years of marriage a few things have changed since our wedding day (July 18th).  Here is a list of a few of those things.

- Have three adorable children.
- Both of us are wearing one pant size larger.
- We have both lost a lot of hair; Annette's grows back though.
- We have lost about 2,000 hours of sleep that we will never get back.
- Have lived in five different homes and two states.
- Annette has gained a total of 90 lbs and lost it all.  Charles has gained 15 lbs and lost all of it.
- Each have completed a degree.  Annette got her bachelors and Charles his masters.
- Had four different cars.
- Charles has bought Annette 25 pairs of high heels and five pairs of boots (Annette loves his hobby).
- Charles has worked for six different companies.
- Bought or given four different strollers.
- Potty trained one child.
- Moved across the country.
- Still haven't gone on a real honeymoon.
- Grown three gardens.

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

What the Boys Say

Charlie: "I want to type books on your computer."

Henry: "Happy hippo!"

Charlie: "Daddy, you have hair on your naked." (Charlie saw the hair on Charles' chest)

Annette: "Charlie your hair is long, we need to cut it."

Charlie: "No, I want a mane."

And here's a cute picture of Elizabeth just because a blog post isn't fully complete without a little bit of Elizabeth.

Happy Independence Day

For the 4th of July we decided to stay home and do home projects.  Charlie decided he wanted to do the dishes.

We had a fun BBQ outside.  The boys like to bring their chairs outside while Charles grills.

The master chef.

Elizabeth was happy inside.

And Annette ate and ate.

We had fun doing sparklers outside.  Charlie enjoyed it a lot.

Henry was a little uncertain about them and only wanted to do one.

The boys played with Elizabeth as we continued texturing our kitchen.

Cuteness!

I love this little hat on Henry.  Also, we went to bed early on Friday night and the boys slept through all of the fireworks.  I love having great little sleepers.

Henry and Charlie like to dance.  Dancing doesn't usually end this way, but you never know what is going to happen with kids.

http://youtu.be/KQbP5S43XHg

Henry and Charlie like to say the word, "boys" softly and then loudly over and over again.  They were a little distracted in the movie, but you get the idea.

http://youtu.be/1g-GPpF56zA

Cuteness in the Flesh

Could you ask for a more beautiful little girl?  Nope.  They just don't come any more precious than this.  Charles thinks that she should do baby modeling :)

Happy Birthday Charlie!

As a parent I get very excited about my children's birthdays.  I love to look back and reflect on how much they have learned and grown in the last year.

Charlie's vocabulary is gigantic and he is doing well at putting together sentences.  I love watching the little wheels turn in his head as he formulates what he is saying.  He loves to talk and talk and talk.  He doesn't close his mouth sometimes.  (Charlie with his birthday presents.)

I love it when he is playing and then will randomly start talking about something that is not related at all to what he is doing.  He is really thinking about the things of life and contemplating them.  I love it when he shares his thought with me.  The one that he seems to contemplate the most is Christ.  He will tell me how Jesus was hurt by the bad men and then he died.  He will tell me that, then pause.  He follows it up by telling me that Jesus was resurrected and is alive again.  I love that he is thinking about these things.

Charlie is such a sweet boy.  He loves to be soft and gentle with Elizabeth.  He will lovingly touch her head, cheeks, hands, and feet.  He loves to smile at her and tells me whenever she is learning to talk.

Charlie is such a manly boy.  He really gets into his playing and will act very masculine.  He flexes his muscles, stomps around, and talks in a "deep" voice.  (Charlie pretending to be asleep at the table so I will take his photo like I was doing for Henry as he slept at the table.)

Charlie is learning how important it is to always communicate by using words.  He is getting better about not crying and just matter-of-factly communicating to me what he needs or wants.  He loves getting praised for doing it right.  He is getting really good at talking to Henry about who was playing with what toy instead of stealing toys and hitting.

Charlie is so amazing at using the potty!  Potty training has been the number one hardest thing as a parent so far for me.  But he accomplished it after nine very long months.  I am so proud of him. 

Charlie is a great brother to Henry.  He plays well with him and they love to wrestle and roll around together.  He has learned the lesson that if he plays rough he will probably get hurt and it is okay.  He is good at showing his affection for Henry with random hugs during the day.

Charlie enjoys being read to.  He enjoys school time where he is learning about the sounds the letters make and how certain letters combine to make different sounds like "ch" for Charlie.  He "reads" Go, Dog. Go! by repeating every word after I say it while I point to the words.  He enjoys learning and is always wanting it to be school time all of the time.  (No wonder people think they are twins.)

Charlie loves to play outside with his dump truck and train hauling dirt from here to there.  Playing outside is a top favorite activity for him.

Charlie is an amazing, happy boy who loves to learn.  Happy 3rd birthday Charlie!

Birthday morning!

Here is my attempt at a "zebra" cupcake.

Charlie totally looks like Charles!

That smile is totally the same!