We're tourists...sorta

I love how everytime we go somewhere, it's a new adventure. I haven't been to this part of the country for vacation or to visit so I don't really know much about the area besides what I have looked at online. I've been hankering to go exploring so we have been trying to get some sight seeing in the past couple of days.

On Thursday evening we tried to go out to a state park that is fairly close to us. I thought I had seen signs for it and we went the way I thought we needed to go. We turned Ichabod (our GPS) on and followed it for a while. Pretty soon we came to a town and the sign said "Welcome to *insert the name of the town we live in*". We apparently went the wrong way and Ichabod sent us in a big circle to get back to square one. After wasting that much time, we still managed to get to the park which had closed 2 hours earlier. We just turned around and went back home. It turned out being a complete waste of time for us. We are going to try to go back sometime this coming week.

On Friday evening we went out to a place called "South of the Border." There are billboards for miles and miles leading to this place so we decided to check it out and see what all the fuss was about.

We both thought it was the weirdest place we have ever been to. It's in the middle of nowhere and is like a huge theme park with tons of shops and places to eat. But, it's not the good kind of theme park. It's like the twilight zone because it is so secluded and it has a bunch of creepy animal statues like this one:
Russ was creeped out that I wanted him to stand with this purple gorilla. He was a good sport about it and at least gave the camera a smile. It also didn't help that it was wet and dreary so there weren't a lot of people there.There were way too many weird colored animal statues. The shops just had bins and bins of junk that was sure to break 2 minutes after you left the store. There was a reptile lagoon with alligators that was interesting. All in all, I would probably not go back any time soon.

So this morning we drove out to Myrtle Beach to see the ocean. Chloe Jo was excited when I would tell her where we were going.

Unfortunately, she wasn't that happy the whole time. She didn't like being in the car for half the day going and coming back! But really, the trip was completely worth it and we loved seeing the ocean!

It was overcast most of the day and it rained on us on the way back home. Even with the rain and cloudy skies I enjoyed myself. It was crazy hot and humid though!
Chloe Jo didn't like the sand at all. She was completely afraid of walking in it. She also didn't like the waves at first, but once the tide splashed over her feet a couple of times she decided she did like it.I heart this picture!

One of the other things we have been looking forward to is eating fresh seafood. We found a restaurant to eat at and it was soooooo good! Russ had a crabcake sandwich and I had a flounder filet. Yum. We got Chloe Jo a grilled cheese sandwich and some french fries. She was really happy when the server brought her food!
Have I ever mentioned that Chloe Jo loves ketchup? She doesn't have french fries very often, but when she does she wants ketchup with them!

We have really been having a great time getting settled and exploring the state/area we live in now. I am excited to see what else we can find. I know, though, that once the novelty wears off I may have a hard time being here. I'm already homesick and I miss my family so much. I have been keeping an eye on flights and planning a trip to see them in January. I have found very reasonable prices for flights so I am hoping Chloe Jo and I can fly out there a couple of times a year.

As always, thanks for reading Blogger Buddies!

All Moved In!

I know I'm way overdue for a real post with, like, pictures and stuff. But, you know, moving is very busy! So, here's what we have been up to!

My Dad and a couple of the men from the church in Missouri came and helped up packed up or U-Haul last Wednesday afternoon. We had a going away party Wednesday evening after services and then stayed the night at Mom and Dad's. We loaded up Thursday morning and began our long trek across the country to the east coast. Mom and Dad brought their car and so Russ drove that, Dad drove the U-Haul which also pulled Russ' car and I drove my car with Mom and Chloe Jo. We stopped and stayed the night outside of Nashville, Tennessee (Ashley, I said hi to you, Katie and Brad while we were driving through!). We drove through the Appalacians on Friday and stayed that night outside of Charlottle, North Carolina.

Here we are in front of our *ginormous* U-Haul.

The thing was not full and when we opened it to unpack, everything had tumbled around and it looked like we just threw our boxes in there.

On Saturday morning we made the last couple of hours of the trip and arrived at our new home around noon. It would have been a lot earlier if it wasn't for this:
I think we were pretty lucky to drive 1,000 miles and only had this one mishap about 30 miles from our destination. The U-Haul people told my Dad to just drive on it because they would be at least 2 hours to come to where we are. So he did. And I was nervous the entire time! But, in all fairness, the tire was on the car trailer and it had double wheels and the other wheel on that side was just fine. And who are we to argue with U-Haul about driving on a flat...er, destroyed...tire?

This is our new home. It is a duplex and it is so quiet! I love not living in a complex with neighbors above us. I'm fairly happy with the place. The kitchen and bathrooms are very outdated, but they are clean now (thanks Mom for scrubbing that disgusting tub!).

I don't like our landlord. When he came to let us in he made a huge racial slur against the people who live next to us. They are Indians (as in from India, not Native Americans. I didn't realize that until Russ told me. I can't help it. I lived in Oklahoma for a while.) and our landlord said that Indians are dumb. Whatever, dude. Indians are not dumb and that is totally racist. Anyway, that and the fact that he thinks he is big stuff have made me not like him much. We asked him to fix a leak on the water heater and have an exterminator come out for some bug problems and those men all called him "Mr. So-and-so."

Enough about him! We moved all of our stuff in and I got the big furniture situated while Mom vacuumed and Russ and Dad did odds and ends fix-it type jobs the rest of the day. Sunday went really well. Russ had a great sermon and the congregation seems to like him. There are around 30 members and it is a very bi-racial group. I am adding this because the church we were members of in Missouri wasn't. We had 2 African American families that I can think of and the rest of the 150 members were Caucasian. The town is very diverse, also. I'm really glad about this because it will help Chloe Jo to accept all races and the differences we have.

Mom and Dad had to leave to go back home on Monday morning and it was awful. I know I'm going to see them again, but it won't be for a while. I am used to spending Saturdays and Sundays with them and going to eat with them a couple of times a week. It is going to be a huge adjustment for Chloe Jo and I and for them, also I'm sure.

I finished unpacking the last box on Wednesday and I finished hanging the last thing on the wall yesterday. I guess that means that we are officially moved in. We are adjusting well so far to life over here, but it has only been a week...almost! I can't believe we haven't been here for longer. It feels like forever since we loaded up the U-Haul and made our way out here.

I have learned a few things since moving out here and being around here:

1. Drivers are crazy everywhere. It does not matter if it's in a big city or on a country road.

2. The trees in this part of the country are a whole lot taller than the trees we are used to in the Ozarks.

3. People from South Carolina are very proud to be from South Carolina. There are a ton of cars with the Palmetto Tree and Crescent Moon (these are on the state flag) on the back glass. I never saw a car with any "I love Missouri" anything on them.

4. The sweet tea in the south is really, really, really sweet.

5. Southern hospitality is still alive.

6. It is easier to teach Chloe Jo to speak Dr. Suess and Obble Bobble than it is to teach her English. Her new favorite phrases are "zizzer zazzer zuzz" and "obble bobble." She hates to speak English. Go figure.

And last of all, here are a couple of road signs that we didn't have in Missouri:

That's all for now, folks!

We're Here!!!

Hey all! This is just a quick post to say that we are here in South Carolina and we are settling in. I am on my husbands computer at the church building because we don't have internet at home yet. We are supposed to get it tomorrow. I'll blog about our somewhat *exciting* trip out here then. We haven't been to the ocean yet, but plan on going Saturday. That's it for now. I'll be blogging more soon!

It's been a while.

Hey Blogger Buddies! Since I haven't been around much the last three weeks, this is going to be a long post with lots of pictures.

Before I start talking about what we've been up to, I wanted to post these three pictures.

Is it just me or is Chloe Jo looking more and more like a little girl and less and less like a baby? Where did the time go? I say that way too much!

Since she turned 15 months old this month, we went for a check-up on the 13th. What was really nice about this one is that she didn't have to have any shots because I had them do 5 at her 12 month appointment. Although, she still howled at the doctor even though she sat on my lap the entire time. Everything looks good and she is right where she needs to be developmentally. The only thing she isn't doing that the doctor asked about is climbing. She's never been a climber and I'm really hoping she won't become one. It's nice not to have to worry about her getting hurt in that way.

Chloe Jo is now measuring in at 30 1/2 inches and is in the 50th percentile for height. That is up from the 25th percentile from the last appointment so she had a good growth spurt. She was in the 50th percentile until her 6 month appointment where she dropped to the 25th so she caught back up to where she was percentile-wise before.

She is weighing in at 21 pounds 9 3/4 ounces which is still in the 25th percentile, though in the upper 25th now instead of the lower. It's all the goldfish she's been eating. Or maybe it's all the meat. That could be. I've never seen a 1 year old who likes meat as much as she does.

Her head is also in the 25th percentile.

At the end of June and the beginning of this month my brother and his family came to stay with my parents for two weeks while my brother taught a summer counseling course at the Bible Institute here.

My sis came up to see them and stayed a few days also.

Here are the cousins together.

Chloe Jo, Kaylee, Jordan (who has always gone by J.T. but I've never called him that for some reason) and Brianna

The cousins had a great time together and it was really nice to see my brother before our big move.

While they were staying, my sis, Kaylee and I made some wall art for her bedroom. We made a ginormous (yes, that's a word) glittery purse and a large letter K out of foam core board and fabric. They turned out so good, but I some how didn't get the picture we took of the three of us and our finished product and my sis accidentally deleted the pictures on her camera so you will just have to imagine what they looked like. They turned out really good and we had a great time making them.

It was really nice to have the whole family (excluding one brother and his family who we don't see very often) together for a few days.

After my brother and his family left, my sis and Brianna stayed for a couple of days more. Chloe Jo really loves her little cousin now. I thought this picture was so cute!

Chloe Jo is such a big helper with Brianna! And hey, if she wants to clean up spit up, who are we to argue with that!?!?

Brianna brought her blow-up pool to G-Jo and Grampy's and her daddy set it up for the girls to play in. Chloe Jo thought it was G-R-R-R-R-R-E-A-T!

We may need to invest in one of these for our place!

I think her favorite part was that she was allowed to stand and walk around in the pool. She can't do that in our pool at the apartment because it is too deep and I don't allow her to do stand in the bathtub for safety reasons.

Brianna also loves her pool and is definitely a water baby. The girls come by that naturally. Their Grampy is part fish.

We had a fun Independence Day this year. I made this little outfit for Chloe Jo to wear to Sunday evening church services and then to a party that Russell and I threw afterwards.

I'm so excited that I got such a good picture and that the outfit turned out so cute! Two other girls showed up at church services with their own little 4th of July tutus! They were so cute, but I didn't get a picture. I really wish I had since the other girls are 4 and 5 and it would have been such a cute scrapbook page.

Chelley and Chris (my sis and brother-in-law) were able to stay for that party. As you can see, the girls were very excited about going to the park with everyone.

Here are the girls and their G-Jo and Grampy. Grampy and Chloe Jo are BFF's and they are really going to miss each other when we move. I'm going to have to figure out how to Skype so Chloe Jo can talk to Grampy and G-Jo!

I even let Chloe Jo play with a sparkler (with a lot of supervision) and she loved it. I didn't know how she would react since she could go either way.

My sis took these pictures with the night setting and I think they are so fun!

This post is really getting long, but I still have a few more things to talk about. This will teach me to not blog for three weeks!

During the week after the 4th, Chloe Jo and I went to my sister's house so we could take a road trip to see my Granny Tiger and Pappy.

We had such a good time with them and I think they loved having us (at least I hope so!).

The girls especially liked when Granny Tiger and Pappy would read books to them. I think this picture is priceless! I may have to frame it for Chloe Jo's room. While we were there we also got to visit with many of our extended family who also lives in the area. It was fun to see a couple of our cousins and their children. We don't get to see my Mom's side all together very much any more since there are so many of us. My Granny Tiger and Pappy had five children and once they got married, the family just grew and it hasn't stopped. There are 14 cousins and 12 of us are married (the other 2 aren't old enough yet) and between all of us Granny Tiger and Pappy have 20 (if I counted right) great-grandchildren and 2 more on the way. Anyway, all that was to say that we don't get together with everyone much anymore because we all do holidays mostly with our immediate families. I'm so glad that we were able to take that trip and I had such a good time seeing my grandparents!

I just had to put these pictures in here.

Chloe Jo has decided that she is big enough to get her very own ice cream cone now. Some fast food restaurants have the mini-cones and they are just the perfect size for a little girl and it is so stinking cute to watch Chloe Jo with ice cream!

It is totally worth the mess at the end!

I am basically finished with packing. I just have to take some screws and nails out of the walls and spackle the holes and we will be ready to pack the truck on Wednesday. Wednesday evening the church here is throwing us a farwell party after services so we will get to say goodbye to everyone and then head out on Thursday. We are going to drive about 7 hours on Thursday and Friday and the remaining 2 1/2 hours on Saturday morning. Then we will officially be eastcoasters! We are excited, anxious, nervous, thrilled, apprehensive, all of the above about our move. I'm so ready to start this new chapter of our life!!! The next time I blog will probably be from South Carolina!

Happy Independence Day!

My mind has been reeling

and I haven't been sleeping very well. I know it is all due to stress and the fact that we are on the brink of a major change.

We still haven't secured a place to live, but we have found something that will probably work. We were hoping to find a 3 bedroom house and we sort of did but the real estate agent who is in charge of renting promised us pictures 2 weeks ago and still hasn't sent them. Russ has contacted her several times about it and nothing. She promised to send them to us yesterday, but had yet another excuse as to why she couldn't do it. We are more than put out with her and probably won't rent this place because of the way she is treating us. I understand that she is busy, that's not a problem. The fact that she has promised us these pictures numerous times and hasn't sent them is a huge problem. Plus, she has already sent us the forms to fill out as if we are going to send her a huge deposit without seeing the place. I don't want to rent a house for $700 a month without seeing the inside. We are already taking a huge gamble by not physically seeing these places. One of the members of the congregation we will be working with did send us the information for a duplex in town and we are in the process of seeing about it. I did look at it on google maps and it looks pretty nice. It's only two bedroom, though, and that actually makes me want to cry. Financially it is the better decision and I am resigning myself to that fact. We are waiting on a floorplan that they will be sending us tomorrow. He didn't know if he would be able to take pictures or not because the people that live there now are "peculiar" as he put it. Whatever. I'm a little tired of the process and am disappointed that there aren't more options for us.

Endings

I woke up this morning not even wanting to go to Tuesday Ladies. I've mentioned this group several times before. If you don't know, it's a group that gets together to sew and make pillows and then we give them to the pediatric wards in our area hospitals and to the emergency rooms/urgent care facilities for the children. I usually love going, but I just wasn't feeling up to it today. I've been a little depressed and haven't been wanting to do much even though I have lots that I need to get done. Anyway, I made myself go this morning and I'm so glad I did! Next week is the last week that I will be able to go because they are taking the month of July off. I'm so sad about that because I thought I would have about 5 more times to go, but I'm down to one! This move just keeps getting closer and closer. Oh my. I'm keep getting more and more nervous about it. I just hope we made a good decision!

Backpack Attack!

The church that we are members of doesn't do children's church so all the babies and little kids are in the auditorium for the worship time. I've been really working with Chloe Jo on sitting still and being quiet. I hate taking her to the nursery now because all she does is cry and I can't hardly stand it. I feel like I haven't been able to hear a sermon for 14 months! Okay, that's not entirely true. She does good a lot of the time and I usually get to hear at least half of the sermons. One of her favorite things to do is unzip the diaper bag and dig through it. This, unfortunately makes a mess in the pew because she has to take everything out of it. I try to really discourage this, but she loves bags and purses and going through things so much that I decided to get her her very own bag. I put a couple of books, her bible, some snacks and a few quiet toys in it for her to play with during the service. We took it Wednesday evening and it worked great for the devotional! The real test will be whether it works as well during the long services on Sundays!

Isn't she adorable with her big mini-backpack!?!?

Even though it's a mini-backpack it is still a little large for her and I need to figure out something to do with the straps before she trips on them. Of course, I will probably end up carrying the bag most of the time. She did trip (on her shoe, not the straps) Wednesday evening after bible class and fell flat on her face in one of the aisles in the auditorium. The poor girl couldn't even get up because her backpack was weighing her down. When we got out of the auditorium, Russ and I realized that her nose was bleeding a tiny bit. When I say "flat on her face," that's not an exageration!

My First Haircut by Chloe Jo

This morning Momma told me that she made me an appointment to get my mullet cut off. I didn't really know what that meant, but I'm always ready to go somewhere!

Before we left, Momma wanted to take a couple of "before" pictures. I was too busy to get any good ones. I wouldn't hold still for anything!

We went to a children's salon by our house. It was so cute inside. I liked looking at all the hair bows and flower clips. But then Momma made me sit on her lap and a lady came at me with these weird silver things. I didn't like that very much. The lady did give me some animals crackers and some of them were chocolate! I love chocolate! Even though I had the animal crackers, I didn't really like that lady and her silver things. Momma said she trimmed the back of my hair and the front up so that it would grow more even. Whatever. I just know that I didn't like that lady touching my head!

After we left that scary place, Momma took me to get lunch and we came home. Momma wanted to take "after" pictures, but I was too busy again. I wouldn't hold still to get a good shot!

Momma said that I look beautiful with my hair trimmed.

The lady that had the silver things gave us this to put in my scrapbook when we left.

I love my Momma, but I hope she doesn't make me go back to that lady again any time soon!

Wordless Wednesday