Father's Day Weekend-2011

Clayton with the doggies, Duey and Basil

We spent Father's Day weekend in Raleigh with our besties, the Barnes'.  I let Clayton open his gift early on Saturday in case he got to go golfing that evening.  The boys and I got him an awesome pair of golf shoes.  Unfortunately, they were too nice.  He ended up exchanging them at an Ecco store in Myrtle Beach for a pair that looked more like street shoes.  The best part of that transaction was that I got a pair too.  The store was having a buy one, get one pair 1/2 off sale.  So for the price of the pair he originally had, we both got a pair. :)

Jason and Natascha have a boat so we spent that Saturday out on Lake Jordan.  It was a blast!  The sun was hot so we all got in the water to cool down.

Big E and Hayden

Jasmine and Hayden

Hayden

Emerson and Clayton

Clayton

Jason

Walking home after school (Colorado)

I sure will miss living so close to their school.

Pictures for my kids' sake

The view of the Rockies from the main entrance into Pioneer Ridge

Before we left Colorado, I drove around our neighborhood and took pics so that my kids wouldn't forget their former surroundings.  I took pics from the entry to our neighborhood, past the school and the turn onto our street.  It was the same path that I took on a daily basis for the past 4 years.  It may have felt routine at the time but eventually I know it will be forgotten, thus the photos.  I have a lot more photos than this but here are a few.

The view just before you get to the school

My kiddos' elementary school

Our street sign as you round the curve

Bad Blogger

While I am sorry I haven't posted anything on here in a long time, I am glad that I have been too busy to do so.  We have been everywhere since arriving in NC.  Life has been moving way too fast.  Many weeks have been spent with our besties the Barnes', my aunt and uncle, my parents, and my cousin Christine and her family.  It's been such a blessing.  The boys love being here and so do we.  From backyard barbecues and swimming in pools to boating on the lake and playing at the beach, we are so happy to be back. I have too many photos to update my blog appropriately, so I am just going to upload random things from my camera and my iPhone for you all to see.  It will likely be out of order but I don't have the time to sort it all out.

Even though I haven't been blogging lately, I still Facebook like a pro.  If you want to keep up with little ole me and my family, FB is where you will find us most of the time.  Feel free to friend request me if you haven't already done so. :)

Myrtle Beach 6/25-7/2/11

Clayton's company told us to take vacation early on since they would likely need him throughout the rest of the year (since they are starting up a new machine in Concord and they haven't hired hardly anyone to run it yet). The Barnes' and us decided to head to Myrtle Beach, SC for a week.  We got a condo in Barefoot Landing, thanks to Natascha.  Jason's twin sister, Mandy, and her husband Mark, joined us for the second half of the trip and we had a fabulous time.  We played on the beach, swam in the pool, ate lots of good food, and shopped quite a bit.

Mark teaching Hayden to play the tuba

Hayden

Broadway at the Beach

Captain Sullenberger's Plane-Flight 1549

As my cousins and I were heading up to Boone last Friday, we saw tons of people standing all around highway 77. We couldn't figure out what the heck was going on so we stopped on an overpass and asked one of the spectators. He explained that the plane that went down into the Hudson River in NY would be going through there soon. We drove on and eventually passed it. How cool is that?! It was on the way to an aviation museum in Charlotte. Here is an interesting article in the Charlotte Observer about it: link

Road Trip

We are making the long trek from Colorado to North Carolina today.  It's going to take 3 days according to the way we have the trip mapped out.  I hate riding in the car for very long so this is going to be sheer torture.  Why are we driving when we could be flying?  That is a good question.  Clayton's company pays for everything including plane tickets for all of us but yet here we are driving.  Blah.  CJ wanted an easy way to bring his golf clubs and Xbox 360 so now he gets his wish.  Heck, I should have flown with the kids while he drove.  That would have been a better plan.

We haven't sold the house in Colorado so we can't buy our next one yet.  We are moving into a company owned apartment in a nice area of Charlotte.  It is fully furnished and we don't have to worry about anything.  It will be nice but I can't imagine living in an apartment again.  I can't stand noise from neighbors (crying babies, loud music, barking dogs, etc.) so this may lead me to intruding on my family in High Point, lol.  While staying in this area of Charlotte, we are going to be really close to Carowinds (huge amusement park with lots of roller coasters and a water park) so I plan to buy us season passes so that me and the boys can play all summer.

Wish us luck.  I will try to update whenever I can.  

Easter Sunday

We headed out to Sidney, Nebraska to spend Easter with Steve, Sandy, Virgie and Bea. On our way, we picked up Stephanie in Cheyenne, Wyoming. We brought along an egg dying kit to decorate 2 dozen eggs. We ate way too much while there. Sandy made all kinds of goodies and we overindulged. I wish I could have more ham and brisket now. Just thinking about it makes me drool, lol. Have I ever mentioned how much I love holiday feasts?

Aunt Steph helping the boys

It's All Relative

My Cousin Sheila and Aunt Judy came to visit last week. We had a blast catching up. They helped me keep my house spotless for showings while they were here. The pics I took were at JB's in Greeley. I knew Judy would get a kick out of it. It's an old restaurant that looks like you stepped back into the 70's. Dark brown paneling with carpet on the walls, orange pleather seats, telephone ordering and car hops outside make it an interesting place, to say the least, lol.

Sorry these pics aren't the best.  I took them with my iPhone.

Clayton ordering us up some grub

A Walking Tour of Our Home (for posterity's sake)

 For the most part, we have really enjoyed our house here in Colorado. Oh, did I forget to mention that we are moving back to NC? Sorry, I haven't updated my blog in so long but yes, we are moving! The house goes up on the market tomorrow. I hope it sells quickly but I know the reality of today's market. Couple that with the fact that the builder is still building in my neighborhood and it makes it even harder to sell. Oh well, I am going to pretend that I don't know that and maybe a miracle will happen. Our previous two homes sold in under a month and I would give anything for that to happen again. So anyway, the realtor's photographer came out yesterday to take our MLS photos so my house was purged of almost all personal belongings. It looks empty and spacious. I decided to take my own photos so that I would have them for memories. There are a lot of pics so scroll through the many posts below if you want to see them. If you are in the market for a house in the Johnstown area, I can send you more info. Our house is a Cabernet model in the Pioneer Ridge community.

BTW, we have a full unfinished basement but I couldn't bring myself to take photos.  It is loaded with all the things that the realtor told me to get rid of for showings (which seemed like everything!).

The kitchen

The hallway to the front door

The hallway from the kitchen to the laundry, 1/2 bath and craft room/office

1/2 bath

Laundry Room/Craft Room

 Laundry room (door leads out to the garage)
Notice the kegerator next to the washer? Clayton loves pouring beer for himself everyday, lol.

 Utility sink in laundry room

 Craft room/Office

Living Room/Formal Dining Room

 The living room (play area/loft above)

 Formal dining room