Summer So Far

We have been out of town for almost 3 weeks, and are getting ready to go again.  Here is my quick attempt at updating my blog before I get too far behind.

As soon as school got out, we headed north to Virginia to spend a weekend with Eric's brother and family.  Here they are at the BMX track.  (That's the kind of stuff you do when you have boys.)  We also spent a full day in downtown Washington DC, but my sister-in-law has all those good pics.  We are going to get to see these cousins again very soon in Minnesota.


Eric headed for China for almost 3 weeks.  (Here he is at the great wall with a picture Hailey drew of the great wall.  Funny the things we do for our kids.)

So the kids

So the kids and I headed to grandpa's farm in Missouri for riding 4 wheelers and playing in the river.
Reunion with old friends in Missouri.  (These were our neighbors in Idaho, but we are all from the same central area of the United States and found ourselves in the same place at the same time..so they came down to Grandpa's house for a couple of nights and played in the river with us.)

We had a big family reunion down a my Grandpa's river with all of the extended cousins.  For some reason I did not take any pictures of that.  But here is my sister and I with our girls. 

Hanging out with more cousins (my brother's kids) in OKC.

Our Beautiful new cousin Ruthie. (Hattie took this picture).

  Driving thru Smoky Mountain National Park on the Way home.  (Pretty...but the Smokies have nothing on the Tetons...or any Rocky Mountains for that matter.) 

Finally home at our neighborhood pool....where it is so hot that the pool is like bathwater.  Not really much relief, but the kids still have fun!

Spiderman turns 3

This is one tired boy...2 nights before his birthday in his Spiderman PJs.

Can't believe it's already another year. 

Celebrating with new friends from across the street...and some new friends that came with us from Idaho.

Sad to not have a baby any more....but so glad for no more diapers!! We are definitely entering a new phase of life and it kinda feels good. 

Idaho Potatoes

So yesterday I was shopping in Wal-Mart by myself and I bought a bag of potatoes.  The label of course said "Real Idaho Potatoes."  As I said the name aloud a wave of emotion came over me and I had to fight back the tears right there in the vegetable aisle.

                                                                                                                                                                                  Idaho Idaho potatoes have a lot different meaning for me now. 

 It's our friends who are potato farmers, It was the potato field across from my house, it was tractor's on the road, it was the entire school dismissed for harvest, ......it was the small town of Aberdeen, ID.    I know we were there only a few years, but they were good years. We miss our country life.

 This morning I walked into the girls room and they were talking about all the things they missed about Aberdeen.  Their friends of course, but also living in the country.  Hattie said "now we just live in a neighborhood, we can't ride our fourwheeler a long ways."  Hailey said, "We can't chase butterfiles for a long ways, and we'll never have a rock driveway again."     

I'm really learing that this is a grieving process, it really is like losing a loved one...saying goodbye to a season of life and friends that you care about.  Just writing about it makes me sad.  Don't get me wrong we are all very healthy, happy, together, Eric loves his new job, we have a nice house, and the kids do actually love living in a neighborhood and riding their bikes around the cul-de-sac..  But it doesn't erase 7 years in Idaho. 

All of our friends from church...so many years and adventures together, watching each other kids grow up. Ten---s, Callan------s, Rein-----s, ....so many good memories.   I think about all of you often.  My kids often mention all of your kids by name & how much they miss them.  This morning Hattie said " I miss all the times we went to campgrounds with K---"....(SURVIVOR).  Me too Hattie.  Me too.  Those are memories we will never forget.  It's like a wound that is hard to heal .  Hard to forget 7 years and just let it go. 

Miss the Tetons.

 Miss going to Yellowstone twice a year.  Miss Snow Skiing.

 Miss our house. 

Miss my good friend and  neighbor and her girls and their sheep and horses.  Miss all my Biblestudy friends (J, C, K, D, M, S).  So thankful that you still make an effort to keep in touch!  (I wish we could all just live close together. Guess that is what heaven is for.)

You are on my mind.  I have not and will not forget! 

(I was telling Eric is seems like the stages of our life will be remembered by the states wehave  lived in.  The Arkansas years will be remembered as the pre-kid years...so many good memories of adventure racing, waterpark, FCA Biblestudy, PGCC, The Shoe....s, The Patter....s, The Euban....s.  And we still keep in touch with our friends from that season of life.  The Idaho years are our pre-school kid years....UBC, Survivor, and all our friends fom Idaho.  The Carolina years look like they will be our kid's Elementary age years.....We'll see after that.  Minnesota is looking like the junior and high school years for our kids.....but who knows what tomorrow holds.) 

The States of our Lives.....Life is an adventure.

The Equestrian

Hattie has been taking horse riding lessons. She has probably been 10 times...these pics are from week 3. We all love it. Such a peaceful setting..and great horses. Definitely money well spent. She has to go catch her own horse, brush saddle, and clean it's hooves all by herself. And then after riding, take the saddle back off, brush the horse again and then walk it back out to the pasture. The horses are very good so she is getting very confident...she doen't realize that all horses

aren't quite that easy. (These are older and ridden everyday by little girls who don't know what they're doing. As she gets better he'll put her on more spirited horses.)

Learning to post. (In English riding there is no saddle horn to hold on to. )

I love riding horses and am wondering if this is more for her or me. The more we are out there, the more I really want our own land and pasture and horse. I was lying in bed this morning on my birthday and thinking what is it that would I really like to do for my birthday. I really want to ride. I think next week I am just going to ask if I can pay & ride with Hattie during her lesson time...she may hate that.

To the Beach

Spring Break! Grandma & Granpa Winter came to visit and we headed to Charleston, SC.

We splurged a little for ocean front rooms, but decided that life is short and it's worth watching the sun come up over the ocean and listening to waves at night.

A little cold for boogie boarding...we did give it a go.

Just right for playing in the sand.

Dad always builds cool sandcastles.Patriot's Point.

Definitely recommend touring the aircraft carrier. I think we spent 3 or 4 hours there.

Who was with us taking all of these pictures. Grandma & Grandpa of course. This is from the deck of the aircraft carrier in front of the bridge in Charleston Harbor.

There is a really cool park under the Bay bridge, with a replica of the bridge for the kids to play on.Tired troops waiting for mom. This was at a really cool water front restaraunt called Reds.

Hot!

On Saturday we played in the river behind our house. It's been in the mid 80's here & my kids were in swimsuits. If our neighbors could have seen us, they would rgeally have thought that the rednecks have moved in. Most of the neighbors don't even know there is a river down there. We are the only ones with a path that leads down to a green way that is along the river.

In case you were wondering how Zoey was adapting to city life.....she is loving the land behind our house. Yes, she is confined to a small yard, but we let her run when we go walking in the woods behind our house. As you can see she really enjoys playing in the river.

It looks muddy, but it is really sand, and Hailey enjoyed finding clams in the sand. I know this looks gross...but the kids loved it!

We checked the weather back in Idaho and saw that it was 35 & snowing. So NC is good & bad. Good because it's only March and the warm weather is nice, but I am really dreading summer. We have had to go out & buy new wardrobes for everybody. Was not prepared for warm weather this early. Hattie was really upset with me because I kept sending her to school in long sleeve shirts and jeans and all the other kids were wearing shorts & T-shirts. In Idaho, you could wear long sleeve shirts from the start of school all the way through May. We don't have a lot of summer school clothes. And she has outgrown last years summer clothes. Leif also didn't have any shorts...and I have had a hard time convincing him to wear them. Yesterday he finally said" Mom I'm hot...I want to wear skirts." I said "You mean shorts?" "Yes. Shorts." It's funny because he always says "Yes." (Eric and I never say "Yes." I'm not sure where he gets his proper grammar, but it's cute. Maybe Nickjr. is good for something.)

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We Made It!

I think we actually arrived in North Carolina four weeks ago. It was kind of like entering the promised land. It was a beautiful sunny day and the kids were so excited. There was a really nice welcome center with a big grassy hill and they kept rolling down the hill.(We had already been on the road for 2 1/2 weeks. We took our time getting through the rockies and then were in Minnesota for a week and a half.)

We drove up to the Residence Inn and Hattie said, "Finally, home sweet home!" And that's where we lived with our dog for 2 1/2 weeks. So glad that is over with!! We arrived on Tuesday night and after registering and getting our ducks in a row, Hattie started school & Eric started work on Thursday.

After much internet research we ended up visiting a church right across the street from our hotel...and so far that is where we keep going back to. We love the pastor, I am in a Bible study on Tuesday morning and Wednseday nights and the kids are in Awanas. We are making friends fast. I'm so thankful that we are getting plugged in right away. There is instant comradship with brothers and sisters in Christ.

After 2 1/2 weeks in our hotel we finally got to close and move into our new house. So exciting to unpack our suitcases after 5 weeks on the "road". What we love about this house is that it backs up to the woods and a river, so nobody is behind us and it has a "country" feel. Coming from 10 acres in Aberdeen Idaho to the suburban south has been a big transition. But so far, instead of playing out back in the woods, my kids are constantly out front riding their bikes up and down the sidewalks and around the culde-sac. They love being in a neighborhood with lots of kids. So I guess the woods are mostly for me. We really love eating out on the covered porch and listening to the birds during the day and the frogs at night.

It's funny because even though we moved to the Bible belt (churches everywhere, and even every public school has a sign out front saying that a church meets there on Sundays.), our neighborhood is mostly transplants from New York & Pennsylvania. We haven't met any on our street who go to church. I have never met so many New Yorkers in my life. We feel like we have moved right into a mission field (aren't we all in a mission field) and it's kind of fun.

Hailey is in a Christian pre-school 2 days a week with some friends from Bible study and then Hailey, Leif, & I go to a really good "story time" every Wednesday @ the library by Eric's work and then eat lunch with Eric.

Evidently my internet is too slow to load pictures..so I guess that is all I can post for now. Going to have to figure that out!

My quiet time today was on John 10:10 " I have come that they might have life and have it abundantly." May you have the abundant life of Jesus flowing in you and out of you into the lives of others around you. (Especially your spouses and children.) Have a Great Day!