Other September Pictures

When I was planning for our vacation it worked out for us to go the first week of September and since my birthday was the week we got back I decided to take that week off too. So, I had a two week vacation - week 1 at the Outer Banks and week 2 at home. It was really nice. The only downside was that Chad had to leave right after we got home from vacation for a work conference. Thankfully we was flying home on my birthday so we got to spend that evening together. Here are some pictures from my birthday and other September events:

The beautiful birthday flowers Chad got me!

He also got me this cute birthday Pusheen.

Some cat and garden pictures:

The second week that I was off on vacation we decided to hike Crowder's mountain. Chad used to do it all the time a few years ago and I had just successfully climbed Hatteras, so we decided to do it. It was fun for the first bit, but by the time we were actually climbing Crowder's I wasn't having fun. On the way back down the trail to our car I was seriously wishing we hadn't done it at all. It kicked my ass! Then a few days later I woke up with the worst shoulder pain of my life. Thankfully I was able to get a massage and see my chiropractor - he said I had a rib out of alignment and it was from breathing so hard while we were doing Crowder's (seriously.)! Maybe one day we'll do Crowder's again, but for now I think we need to find some easier hiking...


A few weeks after our vacation we had the opportunity to see Jake Shimabukuro in concert in Greensboro. Jake is a Hawaiian ukulele player who is unbelievable. My Mom introduced us to his music and while I did like it and appreciate his talent, I was blown away seeing him perform live. It is almost unbelievable what he is able to do with that one small instrument. It was a great show and I'm really glad we had the opportunity to see him live in concert!

September Outer Banks Vacation

Despite both of us growing up in North Carolina and LOVING the beach, neither Chad or I had ever been to the Outer Banks. So, this year we decided to change that rent a house in the Outer Banks for our vacation. We decided on Corolla based on the recommendation of some friends of ours who like to stay in Duck, which is about 10-15 minutes south of Corolla. The day before we left for the Outer Banks Hurricane Hermine came through, but thankfully there was no damage to Corolla other than minor debris on the roads. It did make the surf pretty rough the first few days we were there though. The house we rented was great and it was right across the street from the beach. We really had a great time and could have easily stayed longer. We did a lot, but still didn't get to do everything on our list. Wrightsville is where I grew up going as a kid and that will probably always be my favorite beach, but we really enjoyed the Outer Banks and I would definitely like to go back and explore more of that area. Here are our pictures from our awesome Outer Banks vacation:



The first few days we just relaxed at the house and explored the town of Corolla.


Chad came up with a great way to haul all our beach gear to the beach - he tied everything to handtrucks and we pulled it down the road and onto the beach. It made it SO much easier to get everything out there!


On Day 4 of our vacation we went to the NC Aquarium in Manteo and explored a little around that area.


On Day 5 we went to the Wright Brothers Memorial and Jockey's Ridge State Park. That evening when we walked on the beach it was so beautiful. Because of the hurricane that came through right before our trip there was a LOT of dead horseshoe crabs and other debris on the beach.


On our last full day we went to the Hatteras lighthouse, Bodie lighhouse, and Jeannette's Pier, which is part of the NC Aquariums. I am TERRIFIED of heights, but really wanted to climb one of the lighthouses while we were there. After doing a little research I found that Hatteras was the only one that had solid stairs (the others were like grates). I decided I would do it. It wasn't easy, but I did it with LOTS of encouragement from Chad! Going back down was actually harder than going up, but I was so proud of myself for temporarily conquering my fears. I mean I am VERY afraid of heights, so this was a big deal. Chad insisted that I get a shirt that said "I climbed the Hatteras lighthouse" and a certificate! It was a really great way to end our vacation here.



We really had such a great time! This was the first vacation we've taken since we've been married other than our honeymoon where we didn't stay with or see any family. Not that I don't love my family, but it was REALLY nice to just be on vacation and do our own thing every day. Plus, it was really cool to see a new part of North Carolina and experience a different beach. Definitely worth seeing and I'm sure we'll be going back sometime.

August 2016

Here are a few pictures from our garden in August, including a visit from a turtle friend:




We were also able to take a quick trip to Wrightsville Beach to see my Mom and my Grandmother now that my Mom has moved back to NC:

July 2016 Garden and Cat Pictures

So, no month is complete without some cat pictures! And since we're in the middle of summer we've also got some garden pictures too.

We got some curtains for the sliding glass doors in our living room and Sandy is enjoying "hiding" behind the curtains!

Even in the summer, the cats love to snuggle!

Lacey Sturm Concert July 20, 2016

I'm a big fan of the band Flyleaf, so when I found out the former lead singer, Lacey Sturm, had a solo album out I was excited to hear it and she definitely didn't disappoint! If you ever have the chance to see her perform live - DO IT! She is so unbelievably talented and gifted and her music is so profound. We REALLY enjoyed the show! The concert was at the Greene Street Club in Greensboro, NC and it was a nice, smaller venue so you really could see the stage from pretty much anywhere inside. Here are some pictures from the Lacey concert:

July Birthdays

We have lots of July birthdays in our family. My brother, Chad, and Chad's Grandmother Rudy are the main ones we celebrate. My Mom moved back to NC in May, so she was able to come up to Charlotte for Fielding's birthday:

We also had a cookout at our house to celebrate Fielding and Chad's birthdays with my Dad:

Chad's Grandmother Ruby turned 90 this year! So, Chad's Mom organized a birthday party at the campground she and my Father-in-law stay at for most of the year. Here are some pictures from Ruby's 90th birthday:

Chad's birthday is near the end of July, so we celebrated by grilling some steaks at home:

Putting the birthday boy to work grilling!

Chad's gifts and cake.

4th of July 2016

One of our favorite holidays is the 4th of July. We've been celebrating with the same friends for the past 10+ years. This year we all watched the parade together and some of our friends neighbors hosted an after-parade pancake breakfast, so we went to that too. That will be a new tradition to add to our normal 4th of July traditions! On the night of 4th of July we watched the fireworks in Harrisburg with our friend Becca and her 3 kids - her husband had to work. Two of her kids have birthdays near the 4th of July, so we usually give them their gifts on the 4th. Here are our pictures from the 4th of July this year:

Father's Day 2016

My Dad moved back to Charlotte from the beach earlier this year. It was nice to get to actually see him on Father's Day since we haven't been able to do that for the past 6 or 7 years. We just took him out to dinner and hung out for awhile. Now that he's back in Charlotte we'll be able to spend more holidays together.

Me, my Dad, and my brother Fielding on Father's Day.

June 2016 Garden Pictures

Our garden is really doing well. We got our first harvest from our garden on June 4 and were quickly getting a LOT of produce every day! Here are a few pictures from our garden in June:





Last year we made around 60 pints of pickles to give as gifts and they were so popular that we decided to plant more cucumber plants this year and try to sell our pickles. We started making pickles within a week or so of getting the first cucumbers from the garden. Hopefully we'll be able to sell our pickles and maybe make a little extra money this year!

Some of our homemade pickles!

Other May 2016 Pictures

No month is complete without cat pictures!  Here are some pictures of Sandy & Roxy from May:



Our garden is doing really well. We've had LOTS of rain, which also meant lots of bugs, but overall the garden is growing and we should be close to harvesting some veggies soon.


We've been having lots of problems with squirrels eating all of the birdseed in the feeders on our deck. We bought a garden sprayer to spray them with water to deter them, but they come right back. This spring we saw a very young squirrel and he was so cute I just didn't have the heart to run him off. He often comes pretty close to the door on our deck and lets us get pretty close. Here are a few pictures of him:

May 2016 Events

We had quite a few events in May. Chad's cousin Kristin got re-married, we went to our younger niece's chorus concert where she had a solo, and we saw Better Than Ezra in Winston-Salem. Here are pictures from our May events:


Chad's cousin Kristin got re-married and it was a beautiful day at a really pretty venue. We had had a lot of rain recently, but the weather was perfect that day. It's always nice to have a reason to get all dressed up!


Our younger niece Karissa goes to the same high school Chad and his sister Amy graduated from because she's in a special STEM program (our older niece goes to the high school that is closer to their house). Karissa had a solo in a recent chorus concert and it worked out for us to attend. It was weird for Chad because he hadn't been back to his old high school since he graduated in 1992! I wish I had brought our camera because we had really good seats, but I did the best I could with my phone!


I was SO excited to get to see one of my favorite bands, Better Than Ezra, on Memorial Day weekend! The concert was in Bailey park in downtown Winston-Salem, NC. We lucked out in finding a parking spot within walking distance of the park and some good restaurants. The last time we saw BTE was in 2003 or 2004 also in Winston-Salem - we saw them twice around the same time and then not again until this time. The concert was SO good and they played songs from all their albums, plus a few covers. They are a very entertaining band to see live! Hopefully it won't be another 12 years before we get to see them again!

16th Wedding Anniversary

Chad & I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary this year. I can't believe it's been 16 years! The week of our anniversary Chad surprised me with these beautiful flowers and a card that made me laugh out loud! We've definitely had our ups and downs over the past 16 years, but NO ONE gets me like Chad or makes me laugh like he does!

The flowers after they opened up more.

The card is kind of an inside joke - click here for the inspiration behind it.

I also scanned some of our professional wedding pictures too. When I look back at those pictures I can't believe how young we were! Here are a few I scanned for our anniversary this year:

2016 Garden Planting

One of my favorite days of the year is when we plant our vegetable garden in the spring! We buy most of our plants as seedlings from our local farmer's market plant sale. The last 2 years it's worked out that the plant sale was the weekend after the Mother Earth News fair, which is great timing. We plant a few things from seed too. This year we planted extra cucumber plants because we're hoping to maybe sell our homemade pickles this year. Here are pictures from our garden planting day:




Spring is also when a few perennial flowers that pre-date us come up at our house. This year I took a few pictures of the irises that are planted on the edge of our yard.

Mother Earth News Fair 2016

After going to the Mother Earth News Fair in Asheville last year for the first time we decided to make that an annual event for us. There are SO many awesome workshops and speakers that we are interested in and Joel Salatin is usually the closing speaker, which is reason enough to go! This year we stayed at a hotel within walking distance because we had to fight so much traffic last year and that was really nice. The only downside to the fair was that it was REALLY cold and windy on the first day - like 26 for the high and VERY windy. Basically, we ended up changing the sessions we attended based on what was inside because it was just WAY too cold to be outside long. The second day was still cold, but MUCH better than day one! We also found out that a new Sierra Nevada Brewery was just a few minutes down the road from our hotel. It was really nice and I wish we had had more time to do some of their brewery tours, but Chad did buy a growler and tried a few of their beers during our trip. We really enjoyed going to the fair despite the cold. Here are some pictures:

Driving up to Asheville for the Mother Earth News Fair.

Here are pictures from the Sierra Nevada Brewery.

Most of the pictures are from day 2 because day 1 was SO cold!

At the fair these are the sessions we attended:

Saturday

Compost your way to better soil (didn't stay for the whole thing - too cold!)

General Hive Inspection (too cold, so rescheduled for day 2)

Rocket Mass Heaters (because it was inside)

Extending the Harvest: creating a 4 season garden

Sunday

Kombucha demo workshop

Live package of bees installed demo (probably the MOST helpful session)

Achieving Complete Self-Sufficiency

Benchmarks of Truth - Joel Salatin

April Cat Picture

Chad sent me this picture one day when I was working and it's one of my all time favorite pictures of the cats! They are SO CUTE!!!

Easter at Meck 2016

We love our church! We've been going to Mecklenburg Community Church for 14 years now, which is hard to believe. For major holidays like Easter and Christmas we offer multiple services at all our locations so that we can accommodate more people. As always the Easter service was great this year. Here are a few pictures:

Me & Chad at the Easter service.

Pictures from inside the service we attended.

March Cat Pictures

We had some great weather in March, so we were able to open the windows and let in the fresh air. The cats LOVE when we have the windows open. Here are some pictures of the cats enjoying the great spring weather:

Sandy LOVES to lay on rugs!

March Garden Prep

We are trying to be better about taking care of our garden year round and not waiting until just before planting to prepare. So, in March Chad topped off the beds with more compost and got a bunch of mulch to fill in the paths around the beds. He also added some paving stones in front of the gate to help it not get muddy and washed out from rain.

Chad adding mulch to the garden paths.

We saw one of our frog friends in the garden!

February Cat Pictures

No month is complete without some pictures of Sandy & Roxy! They are the best cats and when it's colder they LOVE to snuggle - with each other and with us. Here are a few pictures of the cats from February:

February Hawk Pictures

In February I happened to catch a big hawk in our backyard. I was able to get a few pictures before it flew away. I love seeing them around our house and neighborhood!

Valentine's Day 2016

We don't make a huge deal out of Valentine's Day and usually don't even try to go out to eat on the actual holiday so we can avoid the crowds. This year since Valentine's Day fell on a Sunday I knew all the restaurants would be insane. The first week of February I won a Nothing But Noodles gift card through a Facebook contest, so we decided to use that on Valentine's Day for lunch. That is one of my absolute favorite restaurants and I was SO excited to win that gift card! Chad also got me some beautiful roses too. Here are our pictures from Valentine's Day:

Enjoying our Valentine's lunch at Nothing But Noodles!

January 2016

So, we finally got a few snow days in January! It started snowing overnight on Thursday January 21 and continued into Friday. It started as freezing rain, then snow, then sleet on Friday. It was really icy, but enough snow to make everything pretty. It was nice to get a longer weekend because of the snow days too. I really enjoyed watching all the birds on the bird feeders during the snow. We saw so many birds! Here are pictures from our snow day:



About a week or so after the snow days I was getting ready to leave for work and happened to see 2 hawks in our front yard. I grabbed the camera and was trying to take pictures through the blinds - which is why some of the pictures are not as good quality. The hawks were HUGE and just hung out in the front yard for awhile before flying away. I see them all the time, but it's hard to get a decent picture of them. Here are the pictures I got that day:


And no month is complete without cat pictures! Here are some pictures of Sandy & Roxy from January:

Christmas 2015

We've had some crazy weather this year and Christmas was so warm that it just didn't feel like Christmas time. It was in the upper 70's and some people were even turning their A/C on! It never got hot enough in our house to merit turning the A/C on, but it was definitely weird with it being so warm on Christmas. Our tradition is that Christmas Eve is for me and Chad - we go to the Christmas Eve service at church, out to eat, then drive around looking at Christmas lights. Here are pictures from Christmas at our house:




On Christmas Day we had lunch with Chad's family at his parent's house. Then my brother came over to our house in the evening so we could Skype with my Mom and Mike and open presents that way with them. There was SUCH a beautiful full moon on Christmas night. I took some pictures, but they just don't even do it justice. Here are pictures from Christmas Day:

Behold the Lamb of God Concert 2015

My absolute favorite Christmas tradition is going to the Behold the Lamb of God concert. We've gone to this concert for the past 11 years now. This year was the first year it wasn't at our church. It was so popular that even doing 2 back to back concerts last year it sold out the first day the tickets were available. This year it was at Ovens Auditorium, which was fine, but the tickets were MUCH more expensive because of all the extra fees and it cost $10 to park. It's not like it's not worth it, but we like to buy extra tickets and treat friends to the concert and with it being so much more expensive we couldn't do that this year. I also enjoy concerts in a smaller venue, so it wasn't quite as enjoyable, but we still love it and will go every year as long as we can. Here are the pictures from this year's concert:

Friends Christmas Party 2015

We've been doing this Christmas party with the same friends for at least the past 8 years. It's gotten harder and harder to all get together regularly, but we always have this party and we always watch the 4th of July parade together. I'm so thankful for these great friends! Here are some pictures of our Christmas party this year hosted by Paul & Kelly:

Thanksgiving 2015

Since my Mom wasn't able to come back to NC for my Grandmother's 90th birthday, she came for Thanksgiving. Chad and I were able to go to Wilmington for the whole week of Thanksgiving, but my brother was only able to come for a day and a half. We had Thanksgiving at my Grandmother's house and we were able to have an early Thanksgiving with my Dad the day before. Here are pictures from our week at the beach for Thanksgiving:


Early Thanksgiving with my Dad.



Thanksgiving at my Grandmother's house.



Other pictures from our week at the beach.



We went to the Ft. Fisher Aquarium the day after Thanksgiving. It was also the location for the Cape Fear Festival of Trees.



Pictures of the Christmas lights and decorations on Wrightsville Beach.



The Holiday Flotilla is the Saturday after Thanksgiving on the inland waterway. We didn't have a great spot to watch and take pictures, but we could see OK. I do wish we had been a little closer, but it was still fun and not as cold as in years past.



After our week at the beach I was ready to come home to these sweet girls!

November 2015 Events

So, November was a very busy month for us. We got to see one of our favorite bands in concert - Dead Sara, we celebrated our friends Mike and Leanda's daughter Clara Ann's first birthday and baptism, and I got LASIK surgery! Here are some pictures of our November events:




I have always wanted to have LASIK, but was really scared of having my eyes lasered! But, this year I just decided that I was going to do it. I was tired of dealing with contacts and glasses, so I made a consultation appointment with Providence Eye and was very pleasantly surprised at how easy it seemed to be. I had my surgery on Nov. 20 and 2 days later we left to go to Wilmington for the week of Thanksgiving. Other than having to do eye drops every hour the first week after surgery - the recovery was SO easy! Overall, the worst part was having to wear my glasses for 2 weeks before the consultation and surgery. I would HIGHLY recommend LASIK to anyone who's thinking about it. It was the easiest medical procedure I've ever had done! And it is SO awesome to be able to wake up every day and see without glasses or contacts! Here is a picture of me the day of my surgery with my eye shields on - I had to wear these after my surgery and to sleep in for the next few nights.

Other October Pictures

We finally started getting some fall color around October. Here are some pictures from a walk in our neighborhood:

And no month is complete without cat pictures. Once it gets cooler, the cats LOVE to snuggle more - with us and with each other. Here are some pictures of the cats snuggling with me on a cold night:

Mom-mom's 90th Birthday

My Grandmother turned 90 years old in October this year! Since that is such a huge milestone birthday earlier in the year I was trying to figure out what I could give her as a gift. My Grandmother loves anything homemade and isn't much for fancy or expensive gifts. I found an idea on Pintrest to create a Memory Jar. So, with my Mom's help we sent out requests to friends and family asking each person to write a few memories or wishes for my Grandmother's 90th birthday. About a week before her birthday we only had 80, but by the day before her birthday we had gotten 100 wishes and memories! I have NEVER been more excited to give someone a gift than this one. I knew my Grandmother would LOVE it! Unfortunately my Mom wasn't able to be there for my Grandmother's birthday this year, but we had me, Chad, my brother Fielding, my Uncle Tommy and Aunt Kim, my step-brother Mike and his girlfriend Amy. We all went out to eat where my brother surprised us all by paying the bill for our whole group, then we went back to my Grandmother's house for her to open gifts. She LOVED the memory jar and couldn't resist reading a few of the notes right away and had read them ALL by the next day! We really had a great time visiting with her and celebrating her 90th birthday. Here are some pictures from our visit for her birthday weekend:

Other September Pictures

This year my birthday fell on a Tuesday and if I can help it I always try to take my birthday off work, so this year I decided to take the day before and after my birthday too. It was great just sleeping in every and day and going for a walk or shopping. Then when I got back to work I am always surprised by how much my coworkers do for birthdays - I got tons of great, thoughtful gifts. Here are some pictures from my birthday:



At the end of September we were able to go hear the author Jan Karon speak at the ImaginOn library. While I've never read any of her books she is my grandmother's favorite author and since my grandmother's 90th birthday was the next month I knew I had to go and get an autographed copy of Jan Karon's newest book. I brought Chad along with me and I wasn't sure how much we would enjoy the talk since we haven't read her books, but we both really enjoyed it. She is a great speaker and we got a signed copy of her book for my grandmother too. Here are a few pictures from the author event with Jan Karon:


And no month is complete without some pictures of our cats!

Roxy chilling on some sheets we use in the basement.

Sandy and Roxy snuggling on the bed!