Camping

     After Weston's week of uninterrupted study time and a week of finals, he had about a week and a half of vacation time so what do we do? CAMPING!!!! A couple from church had recommended a few places that we could go to and we decided New River Gorge National River. It was a beautiful and magical place, at least to me. On the website it said that it was a primitive campsite so there was no running water but it was free. We were a little nervous that it would all be taken by the time we got there. Luckily we left during the week so we were actually just one of two campers. The campground was completely covered in sand and the kids enjoyed that a lot! The best part was how close we were to the river. If you don't already know this about Madeline, then I should let you know, she LOVES water. She wanted to go to it so badly. After setting up the tent, we went and Mads just had a blast. We knew the river would be close so we had packed our swimsuits but we never got in. The kids didn't have any life vests but I thought "we'll stay close to the kids, it'll be okay. It'll be fun!" but then I got too nervous. We settled for dipping our feet in the river instead. We, of course, had fun with our making of the campfire because it took FOREVER, but we still ended up with a delicious meal that was at least partially cooked. In the morning we went on our hike that was along Glade Creek. Our inclination of course is to go down to it and throw rocks at it, so we did. We kept adventuring through our trail and stopped at a small waterfall with a pool. Before we got there we found ourselves some awesome walking sticks, which came in very handy in our excursion through the rocky pool. We had a couple of fun slippery rocks that humbled our hiking egos, a couple of times. We took the hit, learned, then used the sticks to help.

Preschool

     This is clearly late ,but Oliver started preschool and it must be documented. His class consists of three other kids that he already knew, and I think that definitely helped with the adjustment of preschool.  He goes four times a week, Monday through Thursday from 9 am ttil 12:30pm. At first I was thinking this would be a lot for him all at once but he LOVED it.

     His first day was adorable. He was excited although a little dazed by how early, according to our standards of course, he needed to get up. And I've been learning a lot of who he is, things that I may have missed otherwise. For example, he's a perfectionist in little boy standards. This is probably common among other kids his age I don't know, but he really likes to have things a certain way.

This was from his first day and I was surprised by how clear and deliberate his placements were with his pasta. Who knew? I didn't. He also loves patterns.
     They also practice writing their names, which Oliver already knew how, but only with all caps. Every morning they have to write it properly and it has improved greatly. Before then I would try to help him do it lower case and he just didn't want to do it. I think he just needed someone that wasn't me.

He doesn't always talk about it but when I ask him if he wants to go to school in the morning it almost always with a very enthusiastic yes. I am so grateful for the mom in our ward who wanted to do this and for turning her home into a little preschool. She has been great teacher for him and is very patient with all of them. Couldn't have asked for a better first time experience of sending a child to school.

Pure Sugar Joy

Summer has come and ended but filled with lots of new memories. So over the next few posts I will try to go over all of favorite moments.

    First off lets start with Winston-Salem! Stephen, Deneka and Mama Beck came of visit us for a few days and we got to explore Winston-Salem with them.  We, of course, went to Krispey Kreme. After the kids had their first few bites it seemed as though sugar was directly poured into their system. Madeline and Oliver were smiling from ear to ear. With Madeline's small stature, the sugar hit her hard and fast. She just starts to spin, literally and then ran into a glass door! It was hilarious! We also got to see where Krispey Kreme had its first store and we found the kettle! We walked around Old Salem and tried their famous sugar cake. I don't think we capped our sugar limit yet though. Oliver also had the chance to show off his mad bicycle skills at the park and everyone were quite impressed. Oliver enjoyed have an audience.

Madeline eying the chocolate donut with sprinkles.

Happy child

               Craziness ensuing.

Pure sugar joy.

We found the kettle! Thanks Weston for finding it.

These were some tall corn stalks.

Weston is 30

I've been slacking and I realized that the next birthday in our family is tomorrow so I wanted to get this in before then.


     Weston is 30!! And we had a blast. We made our tradition of german chocolate cake. Originally it was supposed to be a Father's Day cake but Madeline's birthday will be so close to it and sometimes be on the day so we just scooted it down to Weston's birthday.
     So for his birthday I wanted to do a surprise camp out for him at the state park that he wanted but with last minute plans it didn't work out and I eventually needed some input from him. We searched for some close campgrounds close and found one about an hour away called Stone Mountain. It was pretty perfect. The road was called something like Frank parkway and the lot we reserved was 30. We had a blast and the kids just love to camp. We got to see a couple of rabbits scurry into the tall grass. Mads especially enjoyed that part. We set up our tent had ourselves some tinfoil dinners and then off to bed. Sometime during the night it began to dump rain and it didn't let up at all. Morning came and Oliver just had the biggest grin on his face and said, "We're camping outside in the rain!!" He absolutely loved it...because he was dry. Weston and I made the executive decision to go for the hike like we planned and Oliver didn't enjoy that very much. Lucky for him it was a short hike, about a mile long and it lead us to a beautiful waterfall which we didn't take any pictures of because my phone with the waterproof case was dead and we didn't want to take out the nice camera. But now its written down so we can remember. Overall, it was a wonderful pre-birthday celebration since his actually birthday was on a Sunday.
     Oliver, Madeline and I were trying to be sneaky about Weston's presents so they would be a surprise but he asks way too many questions. For his birthday he got a Tanuki, a Japanese figurine of a raccoon dog, i think. It's suppose to bring luck or something. Weston really likes the story behind it. He chose that one himself. I got him so a bike shirt and short for his commute to school so he wouldn't be so stanky. Now he can make friends without being too self conscious. ^_^
    Now for the mushy: Weston is the love of my life and I can't imagine my life without him. Yes it's cliche but it's true. He's kind and thoughtful and the only person that will laugh at my jokes. My jokes aren't that funny but for some reason he gets it. He's perfect! Am I right?  AND he's the best father a woman can ask for. The kids light up every time he comes home. And all the kids in the playground only ever want to play with him when he comes. He's the fun one. Which is fine by me. It's hard work being the fun one. He's a good man. I thank God everyday that he chose me to share the adventures of life.

Weston snickered a little after he took this picture and said, "well it's not the most flattering because of how you stuck out your hip." I couldn't be mad cause it was true. He did hesitate a little before he told me.

Summer + Pool Time = a nice break

Since we've been here the kids and I have been having a lot of fun going to the pools. At first it was hard to convince either Madeline or Oliver to dunk their heads underwater until we got goggles. Oh the magic of goggles. Oliver is a pro at it and he doesn't plug his nose. It might not seem like a big deal but Weston refuses, refuse is a strong word, but he really doesn't enjoy going underwater without plugging his nose. Anyway basically it's awesome that he doesn't plug his nose because then it makes teaching how to swim a little bit easier. We've been watching some youtube videos with astronauts explaining the changes and differences of being in space with the lack of gravity, and so he likes to think he's in space when he goes under and pretends to float. It's really cute. He also dances underwater. I would really like to capture that moment but it's a little difficult to get. Oh well. I'll just have to take a mental picture. Madeline likes to do it too but not nearly as much as Oliver. However, when they are taking a bath she's more apt to doing it. She must feel safer when it's not so deep, smart kid. On the awesome days that we do go swimming, the little people are so exhausted bedtime/naptime is a piece of cake. Then I get to have a nice, quiet, peaceful break. It really is quite nice. We love pools.

This is the only picture I got of them swimming. I need one of Mads.

Cow Appreciation Day

            It was cow appreciation day sometime ago at Chik-fil-A and it was so much fun. We had a friend tell us about it and basically you dress up as a cow and you get a free meal. So when we woke up we were excited to get our little get up together. However, when you procrastinate it's never looks the way you had imagined it in your head. Luckily I don't have harsh critics. They still enjoyed making the masks, dressing like cows and getting a free meal. A great day for cows and sharing it with new friends. MMOOoooOOO!

 Sadly I didn't take a lot of pictures but at least these ones look cute.
     

Little Biker Man

      Over the past few months Oliver has been using his birthday bike as a balance bike. When we first got it we had taken it for a few spins around Philly with the training wheels, unfortunately the training wheels kept coming loose. The sidewalks are not the kindest to the poor wheels and so one minute Oliver felt invincible and the next he would be on the ground frustrated. Our practice path wasn't exactly the safest because of the busy cars so we had taken off the pedals and training wheels and just went down our very long hall. Then he decided to take a hiatus until we moved here in NC. Oliver got the itch to try biking again and so we brought it to the park near our home and I wanted to see if he could just ride down the hills. And he could! I was so shocked and amazed. He had his balance down, for riding straight at least. After at least a week of hurling himself down the grassy hills we decided it was time to put the pedals back on. We started off on the hills then flat ground and now he's biking! Not perfect,  he definitely still takes some spills but he's tough most of the time at least. It hurts to fall. When he starts feeling overly confident about his abilities he falls a little bit more often and it's just so funny to watch.That wasn't very nice of me, but it's true. He also gets this crazy-eyed determination to bike as fast as his legs will take him. I look at him and I just know he's imagining that he's a superhero in some radical superhero contraption he has built himself. This milestone makes me so proud and excited for him but also a little scared, because it means that he really is growing up and there's no stopping it. Mostly, we're just feeling really proud of our little

 biker man. 

Mr. Twinkles, Two, and Corni

      We bought our first family pet, GUPPIES! We got it the day before Madeline's birthday. I was thinking it could be one of her presents but it was our first pet so it should be a family pet. So we had been thinking for a while that we wanted a pet, but we didn't want one that required too much commitment so we would go back and forth between some sort of reptile or something aquatic or a gerbil or something. Just something small. Someday we will have dogs or cats or both, it hasn't been the right time yet. On the Friday before Mad's birthday Weston had a study group so we dropped him off and the kids and I were supposed to run some errands. It was a little before dinner time so the kids were at that odd transition between normal children and inconsolable crazy children. So, of course, the best thing to do, instead of doing an errand they were anticipating, we had an impromptu pit stop at PetSmart. About and hour later we came out with two Guppies, a bowl, gravel, small live water plants, water conditioner, and tropical fish food (*note: notice I did not buy a fish net which will later traumatize my poor boy). (o.0) No we never did our errand, we just went straight home set up our bowl got everything ready and lo and behold our first family pet, two guppies, Mr. Twinkles, named by Oliver, and Two, by Mads.
      The kids adored their two little fishes and Mads could not stop staring and giggling.

Unfortunately, they only stayed with us for six days. I had noticed that Mr. Twinkles started to swim slower and sideways and I knew that he wasn't going to last long. I thought that maybe if I cleaned their bowl it might give him a fighting chance. This is where a fish net would have come in handy of course. I scooped both fish out just fine with the cup. It was putting them back in, for some reason, was a little tricky. Two made it in ok, but Mr. Twinkles fell into the sink. Oliver was watching the whole time and his eyes grew big while I tried to put him back in the bowl. It must have been a lot of trauma for the both of them because Oliver wont let me live it down about not having a net after Mr. Twinkles died the next day. I didn't bring any attention to it until after Mads' birthday so he was floating in the bowl for a couple of days which may have been the reason why Two followed suit. It broke Oliver's heart to see Mr. Twinkles floating and he refused to flush him down the toilet because then he would be in with all the poop and pee. He didn't really want to bury him either, because if we moved to another house we wouldn't be able to bring him with us.

Eventually he decided that we could bury him in the back yard and had a little memorial service. Madeline wasn't too shaken up, she was just worried about Oliver. After the memorial service Oliver says, " So can we get another fishy?" I guess the mourning process for little children are quite short. He moved on as soon as we got our new female Betta fish, Corni (named by Oliver). I'm proud to say we've had her now for more than six days and she seems to be doing well. Yay us!

 

 

Madeline's TWO!

It's July so obviously now is the time to write about Mads' June birthday. We decorated the house and spent some quality time together. We had some chocolate brownie cupcakes that didn't really turn out the way I wanted but the kids loved it so it was just fine. Madeline loved the attention and Oliver just loves birthdays so it was fun seeing them celebrating together. We got some gifts from the grandparents and birthday cards and it made Madeline really happy. I just can't believe she's two already. I am so in love with her and I am so stinkin' blessed to have her. She's caring and sweet and always takes note of other people. Whenever she asks for a Popsicle she never leaves without another for Oliver. She's a sweet, stubborn, fierce, loveable, thoughtful little girl. We have truly been blessed to have her join our little family.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADELINE

So far so good

    Weston has completed two weeks of PA school and we have survived. Well it really hasn't been too bad since first week was mostly orientation. This last week, however, has been overwhelming sometimes for Weston, since they have started their anatomy boot camp. Needless to say I think he is doing a great job and it definitely will be an ongoing learning experience after the three weeks are over. We are all buckling down, mostly Weston, to allow some study time and getting used to him not being around as much. It's okay though, it's just for two years then we'll be done. Such an amazing feeling knowing there is an end. On the other hand, for me, I will be going back to school soon. I'm hoping to start some online classes this year after we get a better schedule and routine for the kids. It is yet to be determined what I will be studying, but I just need to get back into the groove of homework and such. Weston will be having his first exam on Monday so throw us good vibes his way, he'll appreciate it.

  

A part of his orientation was held in a nearby park

     The kids are enjoying their increase in running space that at times they don't know what to do with it. We somehow end up being cramped in a small room playing with toys those funny little tikes. When we do go outside I enjoy watching them play and skip and dig. We even had a time when we went outside and saw  our neighbor's outside cat hunching over something. So I went towards it and it had a dead baby rabbit! Oh the circle of life, right in our backyard. It was a good teaching moment. We've been biking to church which only takes us twenty minutes. When we arrived the first time we overheard a child say, 'oh that's dangerous!' Oops. We still do it but we will take the car (this is for the grandparents) if the weather doesn't permit us to do it safely. Overall, we are adjusting and enjoying our new adventures.

  

A short vacation

    My lovely parents were so kind enough to come out here for a couple of weeks during our move to help us get settled in and how grateful we were for it. It got quiet pretty quick after they left which was a little sad but we definitely enjoyed having them here. AND they really wanted to watch the kids by themselves so they kind of shooed us out of the door and have a mini vacation together (we wanted one too but we're not very good at planning).
     We knew we wanted to camp so we had all of our equipment ready and headed towards the mountains up north. BEAUTIFUL! It is absolutely beautiful. We ended up in Virginia and drove through the Blue Ridge Parkway. I cannot even describe to you how green and luscious everything was. It was calming and renewing to the soul and it was much needed. Our first night we found a campground that was thankfully opened. We were trying to beat the Memorial Day rush by going a few days earlier unfortunately most campgrounds didn't open until Memorial Day weekend. Luckily we stopped by an information center and, boy, did these two people know their stuff! I guess it is their job after all but we would have missed some wonderful sites if it were not for them. Back to the camping: since we were somewhat early we had the pick of the campgrounds, it was wonderful. Once we picked our spot and were getting our tent out, it started pouring and continued pouring all through the night til early morning.  Our rain flap wasn't on very well because we were desperately trying not to get drenched. We failed by the way. But it was some of the most fun we've had in a long time. We just kept laughing and laughing trying to get it on. We needed to stake the flap down and the spot we thought was great had a plethora of rocks that made it problematic. Needless to say we had a mostly dry night with minimal puddleage inside. It's a shame we didn't get any photos.
     The next day when we packed up, our tent was soaking but we needed to pack it up anyway because it was about to rain again. We knew that our tent was going to stink just sitting there in the car, but what are you going to do. It's part of the adventure.  We hiked up Peaks of Otter. It is a two hour hike up and one hour down, according to the brochure but we killed it. It took us 45 minutes up and 30 minutes down. I'm not trying to brag or anything but it was just so awesome! After that we drove to a bed and breakfast in Williamsburg, VA where we met some great people and a cordial and comic host. We had told him that we have two little people and he told us; "It's good to leave your kids once in a while but if you don't miss them then you've got trouble." Good thing we missed the kids.
       We went to Busch Gardens and rode some bone rattling roller coasters several times. It was also raining so it wasn't too crowded, which was perfect for us. Got a couple of ponchos and off we went. We also went outlet shopping and came out with a few great deals, then stayed at a hotel the next night and walked over to colonial Williamsburg. After all that excitement we headed home. Thanks to Lolo and Lola for making it happen.

At the top of Otters Peak

"Spread my wings and fly away! I believe I can soar!"

Bentley Manor was outstanding!

Weston ran up the dragon house in behalf of Oliver.

The Governors Palace in Colonial Williamsburg

Down south to NC

      

 Thank you Philly for all the amazing memories!

The beautiful skyline of Philly in the early morning on our way home.

After all the fun and games with the fam bam we did not miss a beat, we got home, woke up and started loading the truck. Luckily we had been packing for a few weeks prior to our vacation so most of everything had been in boxes ready to go. Unfortunately, there are always leftover trinkets that need to get packed. Despite it all we chugged through it all especially with the help of some awesome friends. I didn't get any pictures of her but my wonderful friend Rachel Tucker that kept on packing all of my trinkets while we loaded the trunk.

This guy right here is the tetris king of U-hauls. We had so much extra space. Thanks for keeping our stuff together. You guys are the best.

         After a day of loading we took a break and had to make an important pit stop, The Pop Shop. We absolutely love it and Oliver asked us," Are we going to have a Pop Shop around the corner in our new place too?" Well so far not yet. On our second day of packing we finally said our goodbyes to a city that will always have a place in our hearts. We were not there for too long but it definitely left an impression on us, one that will be with us forever. We love you Philadelphia! We will be back, but for now we have a new chapter ahead of us.

Loaded and ready to leave!

       The funny thing about this move is the day we came for the interview, which I may have mentioned previously, Weston did not think we would even get in and yet here we are. Off we go to Winston-Salem. The drive wasn't too bad. We had to make few stops because we were worn out from taking our wonderful things, that we clearly couldn't live without, down three flights of stairs. When we finally got to our new abode we had members from church arriving at the same time to help us unload. What took us two days only took us about 45 minutes. It was incredible (plus there weren't any stairs for us to deal with) and I love this gospel where I can always feel like I have a family away from family that is always willing to lend a helping hand. I'm truly grateful for our Savior that has blessed us with this new chapter. It will be difficult for the both of us, but I know the end will be sweet because of all the upcoming late nights, loving support, laughs and maybe cries that will go into it. It will be worth it. I'm excited for new memories, a little shy to make new friends, nervous for Oliver's and Weston's (which he already had and did awesome) first day of school, and grateful that we could go through this new journey/adventure together.

Smells and looks beautiful out here.

Home

       Hello Winston-Salem! The Becks are here and it's going to be fun.