Beautiful September Weather = Lots of Outdoor Activities!

I love September. Especially this September, after having kind of a disappointing summer with the weather. This week we enjoyed an entire week without rain! Don’t get me wrong – I love that the rain helps things grow green and lush, as shown in some of these pictures, but sometimes it is just too much. I have felt so motivated lately to take the boys out in the jogging stroller and get some exercise.

I don’t love running, but lately I’ve tried to jog more, with the hope that I can get in decent shape before winter hits us. I need to already be in the habit so that I can drag myself and the kids out to the gym, even when it’s 20 degrees and snowy/icy/gross for six months. The highlight of the week was jogging for 2 miles while pushing the boys in the stroller – I haven’t done this in a long time and it felt good.

Hooray for beautiful weather! Sunny and 70 degrees is just about perfect, especially with a touch of humidity. My skin feels so hydrated.

Yesterday Ben came home from work a little earlier, so we took advantage of the time and walked to the park. The boys had a great time swinging, sliding, climbing, and digging in the sand.

Charlie loves being in the swing.

Eli is not a huge climber, but he wants to be better. So he practices a lot at the park. I think it’s interesting how some kids seem to be born with climbing instincts, while others take longer to develop that. Eli is definitely a cautious child – I was the same way and still am. I don’t like hopping from rock to rock in a river like Ben does when he’s fishing. I go slowly…carefully… and feel lucky that I’m not slipping as I go along.

More of Charlie on the swing:

And his first time on the slide (with a little help):

I feel like some of his baby chub is already starting to fade away as he is crawling and active. Eli was the same way (very chubby as a baby, but skinny once he was moving). I weighed them this week - Charlie was 19.6 pounds and Eli was 27 pounds. Sorry Eli, Charlie's gaining on you... :)

At least the rolls haven’t disappeared completely – he still has some nice ones hanging around :)

Avoiding putting his knees on the scratchy sand:

Eli and Ben dug a very deep hole in the sand. Eli loved it.

Charlie liked finding little sticks in the sand. I had to work hard to keep him from eating them (or the sand).

The deep hole:

Pushing the sand back into the deep hole:

Making large machinery noises:

It was a great Friday evening!