Initiative

Yesterday as we were leaving the mall Cameron saw a McDonald's bag floating away on the breeze.  He ran after it and threw it away.  Wow, I was impressed by this because he'd never done this before.  He told me, "That's not good to throw your trash out like that."  Then today he picked up an empty juice box from the van floor and threw it away.  He told me, "I took initiative."  I was impressed, and thankfully I had some background on where he had learned this.  On Wednesday night at Thrive, our church's Wednesday evening program, they had talked about taking initiative and it obviously rubbed off on him!

The beauty of fall

I love fall, it is one of my favorite seasons.  I love the mild weather, the vibrant colors and even football.  At our house in Coralville we had no trees when we moved in, so we planted some.  One of my requirements when choosing the trees was that they would be beautiful in the fall.  Well, when we moved to Iowa City, I fell in love with all the mature trees on our street, and even the gorgeous ones in our yard.  So, I had to post a few pictures that I took of our trees and some from our neighborhood as well.

Fall is also the beginning of preparation for wonderful family time and holidays.  I am making Christmas lists and beginning to think about Christmas shopping.  Also, it means the return of hot chocolate and tea and cozy evenings at home in front of a crackling fire.  Who wouldn't love fall?

Bottomless Pit

Lately Cameron has become a bottomless pit.  It amazes Ryan and I how much food he can pack away!  For example, today at lunch he ate 3 1/2 hot dogs, some peaches and 1/2 banana.  Where does he put it all?  I can't even fathom what our grocery bills will be in a few years.  I guess he's a growing boy.

Hilton Head Island

Ryan and I had the chance to go to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina last week with some of our good friends, Jared and Mandi.  They had been there for a few weeks with their entire family and then we got to join them on Wednesday.  They kept Oliver with them, but their other kids went home with their grandparents.  It was gorgeous weather, perfect for the beach and the pool!  This was my first time to see the Atlantic Ocean in person, not just from an airplane.  We didn't do too much, which was perfect, we wanted to relax and see the island.  

 Some houses on the beach

We rode bikes on the beach, the sand was packed and very easy to ride on.  There were trails everywhere, so biking was a great option for us.

A horseshoe crab

Mandi and I (and Oliver in the sling) on the beach

Ryan and I at the condo

 Jared, Mandi and Oliver

Feathered Friends

We recently got a bird feeder for our back yard.  The kids love birds and they even know the different kinds, so I thought it would be fun to attract them so the kids could see.  I didn't know it would become the neighborhood hangout for all the birds.  I have already filled the feeder twice and it needs to be filled again; it's been hanging empty for the past few days.  There are no birds in the pictures, but I just had to snap some pictures so we could track the progress of the feed.

Saturday, 4:00pm

Sunday, 6:00 pm

Looks like we will be able to bird watch all winter!

Apple Orchard

Saturday was a good, but chilly day for the apple orchard.  This is an annual event in our family that our kids look forward to for quite some time.  We've actually had to cancel a few times, so we went even with the chilly weather.  Lauren was loving the apples again this year, just like she did last year.  She didn't want to share her apple, but as you will see in the picture it was gigantic, so we made her share.

Hannah and Aubrey going ahead, who can wait for the slow grownups?

 Lauren enjoying her gigantic apple

 A good family picture on the first try!

 This is what you get when you try to get a picture of all the kids moving

 Does anyone see a future here? Just kidding!