What have we been doing?

Well friends (mostly self), before I get any more behind I am going to write a small note about some of the fun things we have done since arriving to NH with accompanying pictures.  They may be a repeat from another blog post, but this time I have pics added in.

#1: Hanging out on the porch A LOT with all the rain.  The kids love to sit out on our front porch on the camping chairs and watch the pouring rain.  Every now and again they throw their rain boots on and run out into the rain :)

#2: Apple picking.  Within a week of being in New Hampshire, we met some fun new friends that took us apple picking at another lady in our Ward's house.  She had two huge trees that were filled with apples to be picked.  We had a great time getting to know people in our area and ended up scoring with two bags filled to the brim.  The best part was the yummy applesauce that we made at Maren's house!

 Our cute friend, Miss Leah Bean. She was my little buddy and hung out next to me for part of the time.  I sure love her sweet smile and the icing on the cake is her cute little laugh that she does!  We sure love her.

#3: Meeting some of the most FANTASTIC women around and having a girls night out within weeks of moving.  We all went and saw "The Help" at the Nugget Theater in downtown Hanover.  The movie theater was tiny and the food was unimpressive, but the company was perfect. Now if only we could plan another one......

{Michelle, Maren, Tiffany-me, and Andrea}

#4: Getting to hang out with these two cute little fireman feet, instead of unpacking boxes.  I cherished all the time I got to spend with my children during my "in-between jobs" period of time.  I know I should have accomplished even more during that time, but man was it nice to sit and play with my babies!

#5: Spending time with the coolest ever Daddy, that took the children down to an old train station while Momma was at work.  The kids all came home talking about the fun they had!

Robby

 Eli

Maddie with Robby {not really sure what she is trying to do?}

#6: Boy Haircuts.  I sure dread the time when Jesse pulls out the clippers and announces it is time for the boys to have haircuts.  This time it was a complete surprise; when I left for work the boys had hair and when I was finished, their hair was nearly all gone.  I am so glad that both of their hair grows incredibly quickly

#7: Our beautiful, mystical sunsets such as this.  We are incredibly lucky to live in such a beautiful place.  Now as the colors on the trees change, it has only gotten prettier!

#8: Bringing the painter out of Robby {or rather artist as Miss M would say}.  Robby has gradually picked up the patience and joy of drawing/coloring/etc!  His newest fave is water-painting during the day; him and Eli will spending hours painting the day away :)

#9: The infamous blackberries that Maddie spent HOURS collecting when we first arrived here in August. We froze some of them, added some to our salads, and ate the rest....yummy!  The blackberries are gone of course from our forest backyard, but we can't wait until next summer to send the children out to pick them once again!

#10: As you can tell we get LOTS and LOTS of rain around these parts and our rain boots have become a staple accessory around our house. The best part is the kids already had these in AZ, it was just a dress up item before.  Now I just need to pick myself up some stylish boots of my own and I can run outside and play with them!

{R and M on one of the many cold, rainy days}

#11: "Morano Gelato" trips with the boys.  There is this really amazing Gelato shop in downtown Hanover.  We love parking near the main street and window shopping along the street.  When we are finished, we typically will stop by our gelato shop and enjoy a bite.  The boys love the chocolate flavor and my fave is Caramel and Chocolate Chip.  

{I could just EAT up this little face of his}

12: Park time: we have enjoyed this unique little playground right next to Home Depot and the boys love how it actually has a sandbox built into it.  It has been an adjustment for the kids to go to parks that have bark chips on the ground, instead of the typical sand we are accustomed to in Arizona.  The boys LOVE the fact that this park has a spot for them to dig, build and enjoy themselves.  Miss M also loves their swings and is pretty proud that she can "pump" all by herself! 

#13: Getting used to my cell phone constantly slipping out of my hands and into my four-year-olds paws.  Robby has successfully learned how to use my cell phone almost as well as I do, and is always asking me to borrow it.  He loves to play the games, map quest our location, and shop at the market for apps. As J's school prepared to start in August, it seemed as though there was some kind of event to attend on a daily basis.  To cope with this, we began to let Robby play on our phones to entertain him at these big events.  Now he thinks it is a right of his to have some kind of phone time each and every day :)

{Our cute little neighbor girl, Natalia, with Robby at one of the Tuck barbeques.  She was so cute and kept picking up my kids soda and saying "mine?"  Natalia and Eli are only a few weeks apart in age and they crack me up when they are together.  Natalia speaks Spanish primarily at home and so when they argue/fight she will yell at him in Spanish and he yells back in English}

#14:  Lake Pinneo the end of August.  We met up with a bunch of families (minus hubbies) at the Lake before the weather turned cooler.  The kids all jumped in the water and we ended up staying all morning into early afternoon.  We had a blast and were glad we could participate in one final "warm weather" activity before the fall/winter came.  Robby still talks about going back to the Lake with his swimsuit; I am afraid he would be in for a real surprise this time around.  The hurricane that came a few months back, completely wiped out this cute little beach we went to :(

 {Eli's famous dead-man hang he did on the tire swing for probably 45 minutes that day- he is white-trashing it in a diaper}

#15: Friday Sing at Mt Lebanon Elementary School.  Maddie's school is kind of "small town" and on Friday's all the children meet in the gym and sing songs together for about 30 minutes.  It is really cute; one of the school staff members pulls out their guitar and they sing there way through song after song.  Parents and family are all invited and you can have your student come sit with you during the sing time.  We finally went to this a week ago Friday.  Miss M was sooo excited to see that we came and proudly sat right next to me the entire time.  She had the biggest grin on her face as she showed me all the songs she could sing.  Her favorite song is "Yellow Submarine".  The boys were pretty good at the school as well, so we may just have to come back next time I am off work on a Friday!