Conway, NC

In the middle of September,  Hurricane Florence came barreling through North Carolina.  In the beginning of October, we took the kids to Myrtle beach for five days.  It was over a six hour drive but we were able to pick up Ethan on our way out.  Robert and the big kids spent  three and a half days mucking out houses in Conway for homes that had flooded.

There was one home where they spent 7 hours straight.  Apparently, it was a home of a hoarder, and there was rotting animal food/feces/and who knows what else in the basement.  They had to take everything out to the studs.  They worked so hard out there.

Now...while they worked their tails off, somebody had to watch the little boys.  sigh.  How could I refuse?  It's a dirty job, but I felt up to the task.

Look at these trouble makers!

Every afternoon and night we took large bubble baths.  We really, really, really, really miss owning a bath in our house.  Really.

And in the morning...we got treated to amazing sunrises.

When they all left 

We had to split our time between the beach and the lazy pool at the hotel.  It was hard.

More baths!  (I even took some baths...but relax... I didn't take any pictures.)

This was their favorite meal.  They have a top Ramen dance which is pretty impressive.

Alaina came out for a couple of pretty sunrises.

Austin made it to the porch.

Fare thee well, Conway.

The end of September Ethan went to his first Homecoming with a cute  girl named Juliette Perkins.  They went with a large group and they had such a fun night.  The girls all made this awesome dinner (actually, it was the girls moms...let's just say that how it is.)  

Here they are.  So cute.

Ethan is looking a little too old for my taste.  What happened to my sweet little buddy?

Just a little bit of advice for those of you who may not have had a kid go to a dance before.  Those corsages?  Yeah.  Apparently, you can't get them the day of the dance.  Weird, right?  Well, I didn't realize this and there I was, in a bit of a pickle.  So...in the store I youtubed how to make your own corsage and bought myself a few flowers.  One hot glue gun and thirty minutes later, I had this little beauty.  It wasn't too bad.  I guess one of the flowers didn't make it through the night, but let's face it...it wasn't too bad on the fly. 

Waiting for the bus is always an adventure for my little boys.  They love playing super-heros and villains.  They love having magical powers.  I love watching them play, letting their imaginations go wild.  I wrote this little memory right after I dropped them off the bus one day.  The pictures of from a different day, but playing similar games.

It's been raining all morning and now it is sprinkling lightly.  Jason is out with his messy hair and school bag.  Emmett is there in his green striped pjs and tennies.  They jump on the crack to become superheroes.  They touch their toes and run their hands over their bodies.

Zooooop!  Then it begins...

"I see the end of the world."  Emmet says.  'Slash the stop sign."  Jace replies. "Tornado the stop sign!" Emmett adds.   Em jumps up and give Jason a hug, "Team work!"  And then they slash the sidewalk and they tornado the sidewalk.  Next, they slash and tornado the street.  Moving on they slash and tornado the grass.

"Speed walk!" Someone shouts.  They go up and down the driveway, first in a fast walk then soon in a run.  "Oh no!"  they say..."Lava!"  Not to be taken down by the lava, they yell, "Flying power!"  They fly over the lava.  Emmett grabs my leg, "I'll save you with my flying power.  Jason grabs the other leg.  "I'll save you too. Force field!"   I'm lifted over the hot lava to safety.  "Now you can be a super hero" they tell me.  I am walked over to the the magic crack.  They touch my toes and run their hands up to my shoulders....Zooooop!   I can fly now too!  I have a magic shield to protect me from the lava.

Too soon, the bus comes and takes my oldest superhero.  The younger one skips down to the house, humming a new tune.

At the door he proclaims, "We can go save the world...let's get all the cars and line them up... "  To save them?  To destroy them?  I'm not sure if my super hero just turned into a villain, but it doesn't seem to matter.  The enthusiasm remains the same.