Camping

Well, we've made it to Ocean Lakes Campground. We had some issues getting here but we are all here safe and sound! (Well, Mom and Bill aren't here yet but they should be here by mid afternoon).



1st - We got ready to pull out of the drive way at about 2:15 yesterday afternoon. If you've seen our yard you remember that it's mostly dirt right now. If you remember, we just got a lot of rain. Well, Brent put the truck in gear and pushed the gas. We didn't go anywhere. With the golf cart on the back of the truck we couldn't pull the camper out of the mud. After slipping and sliding around for a bit, Brent called Adam. He brought the big green truck from Joe's just down the driveway from us and hooked the chain up he truck and pulled us out. We were finally on the road at about 2:30 pm!



2nd - We stopped at Hardee's in Bisco, NC. That is supposed to be fast food??? We were all (us and Kevin, Kim, and Morgan) getting our food to go. Even so, it took us 30 MINUTES to go in, order, wait on our food, and then get back on the road! Then, as we are just finally getting settled in the truck and on our way again, Peter very stealthily begins to steal my french fries one at a time to eat!



3rd - We got to the campground at about 7pm, went straight to our campsite to hook up - the electric outlet for the camper was corroded. We called seurity who tested it and then said that maintenance would come first thing in the morning to change the plug. They did...at about 8am this morning. Luckily, I was already awake.



I will post pictures later.

Halloween Trivia

How much candy corn do Americans eat annually?

What is the chocolate favorite among Trick-or-Treaters?

How much does the average American household spend on Halloween candy?

No one knows this but...

My friend Alaina made me think of a great blog topic to post when she mentioned the Fisher Price dollhouse.

You know I don't have a daughter....yet. Not sure if this baby will be a girl BUT one of the reasons that I have secretly been sad about not having a girl is:

I'm sad that I might not have the opportunity to purchase and play with a dollhouse like this one pictured above.

Did you know? I heard on the radio this week that there is going to be a Tanger Outlets built in Mebane. That's exciting! I wish they were going to be built somewhere like Winston-Salem or Concord but Mebane is not too far and it will give me a good reason to make a trip in that direction to see Christy and Brandi.

Fall camping trip

It's time for one of our favorite times of the year here at our house. We are excited about going back to the Ocean Lakes campground. We all LOVE this fall trip that we've done for the past several years. It's really neat to go camping over Halloween because lots of people go all out and decorate their campsites. Some of them must spend hundreds of dollars. Even more people post a sign at their campsite so that trick or treaters will know that they are giving out treats. It's nice because we can get the benefit of letting the kids dress up and trick or treat AND we can pass out candy at our site. This year Brent and I are especially excited to go on this trip because we are ready for a break. When you are building a house in the front yard of your current house, you really can't get away from the work involved so this trip will help us recharge before the final phase of the house construction. I will try to take lots of pictures to post. This will be the last camping trip until next Spring. We usually go camping for Easter but since Baby is due the beginning of April, I'm not sure how that will work out. If we can go somewhere I'm sure we will. That's another fun camping tradition that we've initiated. When we go back to Ocean Lakes next summer for our annual week at the beach we will have a new member of our family. In fact, Nolan said the other day that me and Baby wouldn't get to go to the beach next year. You wanna bet, Nolan??? You're not going to the beach without us! He is correct, though, that Baby will be only about 3 months old. It will be a "fun" adventure for all of us, I'm sure!!

Big decisions...

For the last month the boys have been thinking about what they want to dress up for on Halloween. Nolan first picked Harry Potter and I was really excited about this because I think he would make a GREAT Harry Potter. But then we went to a consignment sale and he picked out Jango Fett which was fine with me because it was $2!

Elijah has been a little more complicated. He's wanted to be all of the following: Bumblebee (Transformer), Bob the builder, train engineer, Lowe's worker, indian, cowboy, Thomas the train. I think he's finally decided on an indian but I can't say that he won't change his mind 10 more times between now and then. Once we get to the beach, however, his options will be much more limited since I'm not taking the attire required for ALL of these.

Month 6

Elijah wanted "his baby" to have the same ceiling fan as he does.

Floor tile done in master bathroom. Tile shower still to be done. Cabinets have been installed. Countertops should come this week.

Brent's "getting ready" area.

my "getting ready" area

We are both looking forward to our own "space" in the bathroom!!! We already have a debate going about whose will be the neatest.

Living room ceiling fans.

Beam for back screened-in porch

Doesn't the fireplace look good???

Entertainment center in living room. I love this!

Can't wait to relax by the fire.

Full Bathroom Cabinet. Countertops should be put in this week.

Cabinets in the laundry room.

Cabinets in 1/2 bath in Nolan's room

Our favorite part. The cubbies and coat hooks just inside the house from the garage entrance. This is a dream come true!! There are 4 cubbies and soon to be 5 members of the family. Mom just lost her cubby! That's okay.

???

I'm sitting here listening to my children playing with each other. They are loud, they are running, at times they are squealing, once there was a ball that almost went in the pot of soup. Brent is trying to watch television and of course can't hear what they are saying. The volume keeps going up and up. I'm just trying to sit here and enjoy my bowl of taco soup. So, what do you think I'm thinking?

Hmmm....There are a lot of positive things I'm thinking...I'm happy that they are getting along. I'm happy that they aren't asking me to get up and do something for me. I'm happy that they are 2 healthy boys without physical disabilities.

Now, I'm also thinking a couple of other things such as: Oh no, I'm going to have another one! What will I do when there are 3? Will I ever have time to sit down? Will one of them be left out? If it's a boy, can I handle THREE boys??? If it's a girl, what will she do? Will she act like a girl or will she just learn to act rough with the boys?

Another thing I'm thinking is - when we move into the new house, will they make use of and enjoy some private space or will they still want to be right where I am??

I'm really not sure how to answer any of these questions, but that's okay. As a friend posted on facebook today "God doesn't want us to try our best, He wants us to trust in Him." At this time in my life, that's definitely what I need to do! Trust and feel honored that He will bless us with another amazing creation that we get to call our own for awhile. Trust that I will know how to handle 3 children. Trust that I am doing the right things to be a good mother.

Dixie Classic Fair 2009

This past Tuesday evening, my mom and stepdad and I took the boys to the Dixie Classic Fair. We bought them an armband and they had a blast. It's the first year that they've both been able to ride most of them by themselves. Even though it was a rainy day it turned out to be a good evening at the fair. They went to the dentist earlier in the day so this was their treat.
I couldn't believe that they would ride these dragons by themselves but they did and they loved it.

This was probably the calmest ride that they rode but they liked it too!

This is the kids' version of the "Himalaya". It really goes fast but both of the boys thought it was wonderful! The closest thing to a roller coaster we've worked them up to!

They really are having a blast although it doesn't look like Nolan's real thrilled right here.

Nolan's favorites were the fun houses and this is one of them.

Supper was everyone's choice - Nolan chose pizza and Elijah chose a corn dog.

There was a circus event that was held several times a day as part of the fair. Wamboldt's circus, I think it was called. Elijah loved this part. He especially loved the tigers!

This is Pearl who was my favorite of the four tigers.

The dogs were also really cute.

This is another fun house that Nolan went through. Elijah started to go through but didn't get too far before turning around and heading back out.

Papaw and Grandma enjoyed watching the boys have a fun time, I think.

Here we are back at the Himalaya ride. The boys had to do it again! This time Nolan took his glasses off because the first time he had to hold onto them most of the time.

The boys loved this ride even though it was malfunctioning.

Nolan coming down the slide.

This is the fire truck ride. Grandma had to ride this one with them because of Elijah's height. What a good sport!!

Elijah got to be the engineer of the train which he loved!

Here is Elijah riding the dump truck. (This may actually become reality one day!)

Nolan and Elijah wanted to ride the double decker ferris wheel. Do you think it was full and they had to sit here? No, they are the only people I've ever known who chose to sit here. There was only 2 more people on the whole ride!!

Upon seeing this pumpkin at the fair the other night, Nolan said, "Wow, someone really had some inspiration for that one!" Where does he get these big words? So, all that reading is doing some good, I guess.


Also, the other day when Nolan was home from school. He walked up to me and said, "Because my ear's fractured..." "Wait a minute, your ear is what?" He quickly restates the sentence and says, "I mean, because my ear is infected..." I thought that was too cute!

Yay, we have a front yard!

Garage door with lights on either side

Dining Room Chandelier - I'm not sure about the plastic bags. What do you think? Should we keep them?

A little more work done on the fireplace

More of the front yard

Flood lights

Light in the Breakfast Nook area

Light fixtures, washer, dryer, pedestals

Concrete finally poured outside the basement...

The tree in frontof the camper was moved from the front of the house to where you see it now. Hopefully this will make up for the pin oak tree that Brent lost at the begining of construction!

Garage light fixture up close

Elijah wanted his picture made beside of the light.