These are the days...

Sorry it's been so long between posts, I really have no good excuse though.  Wish I could say we are just SO busy, but we're not.  Just trying to make friends and basically set up life here in Temple...that means everything from getting new drivers licenses to figuring out how to pay our water bill to finding new doctors.  We've had several playdates this week already which have been so needed on my part--can't speak for Charlotte!  We go to Austin about twice a week these days--also needed :)  It's been such a joy and blessing to have family so near at this point in our lives.  We love seeing my folks so regularly!  Here are a few snapshots of our life in this season...

Charlotte learning to put on her own clothes, empty the hamper, and wear everything all at once.  She literally has 7 pieces of clothing on one leg! 

I've been wanting to do this for a long time--make playdough.  It was so easy and it turned out really well.  Click here for the recipe.  Watching her play hard is really one of my favorite things in the world!

Then Chris and I had a turn...guess who is who's and who we made!

I knew Charlotte had a thing for "to go" cups and water (which is the only way we can last at a restaurant these days), but the other day after she caught her finger in the car door handle I asked for a water from Sonic (30 cent charge, by the way!) while I ordered my usual: a lime slush.  It must have been the special Sonic ice in that cup because she could not get enough and wailed when the cup failed fell apart after all the lovin' :)

We've had some long days and I'm considering a mother's day out program...and I only have one kid! Yikes.  Any thoughts?

Temple, Texas Folks

Hello there!  We're still alive, promise.  Just busy settling in and trying to get the lay of the land!  I know it's been years since I've updated this thing so here goes an effort to keep things going :)  I sort of got to a point where there was too much to write about and didn't really know how to pick and choose what to put up on this here blog.  But for now, I figure something is better than nothing.  So please excuse the lack of detail and gaps in time.  We are adjusting to life in a smaller town and while something are progressive and more efficient, others are not and we dearly miss our community and friends and life in NC.  That being said, we are LOVING being closer to family and spending lots of time doing just that.

Swimming in the apartment pool in 100 degree + weather = more of a bathtime experience than actual refreshment.

Charlotte tearing around our apartment in her new kicks. 

Realizing that we have even fewer toys now than we did in NC, I wanted to get her something that she could really play with!  She loves the used Little People farm we got on craigslist!

Bathtime!  This time in the actual tub :)

Lack of friends and social calendar = more time to craft.  Check out dearcharlotte for some gift ideas!

More to come soon I hope!

Lots To Do=Lots of Procrastinating

Chris' mom sent us a dress similar to one she had a year ago AND we had the bouncy seat out for our yard sale so here are some comparison shots...

Last week we hiked up to North Knob at Windy Gap.  We were hoofing it in the middle of 300 sweaty, stinky high schoolers to see what we could see and enjoy the journey.  It was tougher than we expected (in a good way!), Charlotte did great, and the view amazing.  So much fun!!  They even fed us on the way down and Chris ran into the old GJ area director...and that's the small Young Life world we are going to miss so much.

We are slowly packing up but haven't been able to throw ourselves in fully yet.  Meanwhile, Charlotte's enjoying all the cardboard!

We did have our yard sale though so that's making it a little easier to see what all we need to put in boxes!  We ended up making out pretty well (a BIG thanks to the Womacks for letting us sell stuff for you) and I got to see the salesman side of Chris that I've heard so much about!  "Since you bought that, why don't you just pick up something else on the way to your car?"  We were prepared for some rain, but thank goodness we never needed to use plan B.

This is just a cute little series showing her devotion to her sippy cup, the couch, and her ever-changing physical abilities!

We've got some fun videos to post but I can't get them on youtube temporarily, so check back later. 

Can't believe we've got a week left.  Whoa.

School's Out for Summer!

Well it has been for a few weeks already and it's taken some getting used to--being around each other all day, but it's also been so fun and relaxing.  We basically feel like we are on vacation in our home town :) 

Charlotte is WAY into books right now which is great because it means she'll sit still in your lap for an extended period of time!  She literally pulls all her books off the shelf multiple times a day (guess I should stop putting them back multiple times a day!). 

Here's a snapshot of what we've been doing with our days... 

SPLASHEVILLE!

It's this great fountain with many spouts that shoot randomly and you can sort of choose to get to how wet you want to get.  It's downtown in front of the courthouse and city building and SO fun. Apparently we were on the news this day but we never saw it.

We've been playing with friends and celebrating birthdays...

And learning how to jump...

Happy 4th Everyone!

One of the Funnest Things I Did Last Week...

...was go to an Etsy craft party celebrating Etsy's 5th anniversary!  Robin and I shared a table and had a ball meeting other etsyers and fun craft-types in downtown Asheville.  It's always inspiring to be around others with that itch who are trying to get their stuff out there!  It's also been fun watching Dear Charlotte evolve since last fall.  Now I'm doing more hair pieces--not like wigs or anything, just hair accessories :)

ps--http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/is-funnest-a-word.aspx

Allergy Season

We're a bit sniffly around here with some record pollen!  Even Charlotte is catching on...

Holding Pattern

For those of you don't know or believe that we live in the country, check out this turkey in our backyard.  Just one...thank goodness!  Wonder where he is now?

It's definitely feels like summertime around here, complete with an afternoon storm yesterday!  We are all kind of waiting around to sell the house and for Chris to be out of school (June 15!!).  In the meantime, we're trying to keep cool.

Happy Memorial Day!

Random Pictures

We've been busy here trying to get our house on the market and begin the moving process.  So far though, it's been on the market about 3 weeks and we've only gotten 1 1/2 calls on it...seriously that's it.  Guess the market is tougher than we thought.  We are going to have to try some creative marketing in the near future.  Our latest plan is a campaign called "pick your neighbor" :)  This is where we deliver flyers to our neighbors with a handwritten note with something to this effect, but basically asking them to pass the flyer along if they know anyone looking for a great (!) house.  Anyway, in the meantime we are stuck between not knowing where things are (packed up in the shed or some other weird spot in case we have a showing), knowing where things are and deciding it's too much trouble to get it out, use it, and put it back right away (toaster), cleaning and weeding on a somewhat regular basis, and all of this for nothing...yet.  Chris is giving me grief because I sold our guest bed and dresser already since I thought this process was going to move much faster.  So in case you thought about coming to visit...it's the couch or your own air mattress :)

Anywho, here are some pictures collected over the last several weeks...

Watching dad mow.

I call this one the "Dollie Series".  PS--this doll needs some underroos.

Notice cute toes (above).

Just playing in the yard, enjoying the day!

Taken this last weekend sometime at Craggy Pinnacle.  Please don't make fun of my outfit--it was freezing and thankfully I had 2 sweatshirts in the truck of my car...Chris meanwhile, donned a sweater set for dry cleaning, also in trunk.

Mother's Day, we had some sweet friends over for a picnic and some lounging.  This shot was taken post lunch, pre-dessert (strawberry shortcake).

Homer opted for lounging on the left out blankets after chasing Bailey, their 2 year old, for several hours!

Hope all you moms had a great day!