Beach Zoo

Harper feeding a goat.

Harper petting a wolf. I was really surprised at how large it was! Huge!!

Harper and Peerli feeding a duck. Harper was afraid the duck was going to bite her.

We didn't use zoom for this picture...we really were able to get this close to the birds. They weren't in cages!

This was so much fun for all of us! I would recommend it to anyone looking for something different to do at the beach.

Beach Fun

Okay, so I'm more than a little late with this post, but things have been really busy at the Carter house! We took a trip to the beach in early October. My parent's, Caitlin, and her boyfriend Dylan joined us for the beginning of the week and our friends, Peerli and Brent came at the end. We had so much fun! Honestly, October is my favorite time of the year to go to the beach. The water is crystal clear and usually calm, there are no crowds, and by that time of year we all can use a little fun in the sun! Harper LOVES the beach! It's especially fun when she's got people like my Mom, Dylan, and Dat-Dat to keep her entertained! She spent hours playing in the sand and water with them. We all went and hunted crabs one night, Harper was afraid of and amazed by the crabs. She would chase them with her little flash light until they got to close to her, then

she would take of running in the opposite direction. Every time she saw a hole in the sand she would ask "Is that a crab house?" So cute!! We took her to an Alvin's Island and let her pick out a hermit crab to take home, she was so excited but hides in a chair when ever we let it wander around on the carpet.

While Brent and Peerli were there we decided to go to a zoo. I was a little hesitant to visit a zoo at the beach, but I'm so glad we did! It was wonderful. All of the animals were really close up and Harper got to feed ducks and other birds and pet a wolf! She thought this was the best thing! It was pretty fun for the adults as well...how often do you get the opportunity to pet a wolf?!?

Overall, this was a wonderful and much needed vacation for us all! Each year is more and more fun with Harper. I can't wait to see what next is like!

Bathing Beauty! This is Harper's first little two-piece bathing suit! Thanks Grammie!!

All ready for crab hunting!

Busy Girl

Harper and Grammie.
Harper "reading" to Ensley. Don't you love how interested Ensley appears to be!

Bad Hair Day!! Sometimes a hat is the only thing that can control Harper's "frizz".

Dress Up

This summer, Harper's school had theme dress-up days every Friday. Harper loved to dress up, though she didn't usually come home in her costume!

Lake Fun

We spend most of our summer weekends at the lake. Harper LOVES the lake!! She would rather swim in the dirty lake water than in a pool. I HATE swimming in the lake, but for my child, I have learned to just "grin and bare it". We spent the Fourth of July with Randy, Stacy, and Riley. Harper helped Daddy drive the boat while the sound of the motor put Riley to sleep. We are so lucky to have the lake so close by!!

Summer Days

Harper had a busy, fun-filled summer. She spent a lot of weekends beating the heat in Nana's pool or her little baby pool in our drive way. She also went fishing in our ponds after school. She loves to fish and can cast and reel her rod better than me!

Daddy's Little Helper

Little Ham

Harper is becoming a little ham. She "cheeses" for the camera when ever it comes out. Between her silly faces and crazy hair we're laughing all the time. I'm sure that in about ten years she'll hate that we have these, but for now they're hilarious and really show-off Harper's personality!

Little Priss

Somehow Harper has turned into quite the little priss. She's never liked to get dirty and always wants us to wash her hands, but here lately she is really interested in dressing up, make-up and other girly things. She loves for us to paint her fingers and toes. She even managed to get them painted while at school last week...I have NO idea how!! Well, Saturday morning I had to go to work and Harper was hanging out in the bathroom while I got ready. She wanted to put on make-up, so I gave her an empty container and brush...of course she needed the mirror. She quickly realized that the make up container was empty and requested more, I gave in and allowed her to play with some old eye shadow. She worked very hard to accomplish her "look". Everything got a coat of pink lip gloss and brown eyeshadow. I even caught her painting her toenails with the lip gloss! I cannot figure out where this phase is coming from, don't get me wrong I like my clothes, purses, and shoes...but I don't even wear makeup on the weekends and you're lucky if I paint my toes. I'm hoping she'll grow out of this...it could become a very expensive habit to support!

Fishing Fun

Harper loves to fish and we are lucky enough to have several stocked lakes in our neighborhood. Now that the weather is getting warm we are starting to get outside more, this past weekend we went fishing with Randy, Stacy, and Riley in our ponds. The fish weren't really biting, but we still had fun.

Harper does really well casting her pink Barbie fishing pole. Of course she doesn't leave the line out long enough to ever catch anything, she has too much fun reeling and casting. She is not afraid of the fish at all. Whenever one is caught she runs over to touch it. I guess despite the pink rod and reel, she's not too girly! We have a hard time keeping bait around with Harper. She fishes out the minnows from the bucket and releases them into the lake. She's not so fond of the crickets, she won't touch them. It's so much fun to see her growing up and enjoying activities like fishing.