The Big Move

We couldn't have survived our move without some of the best parents in the world! We were so lucky to have both of our moms come out for Ryan's baptism and they were a HUGE help! Not only did they pack like crazy, they watched kids, and helped me pick tons of strawberries, make strawberry syrup, and can it in the middle of the night during the move. Thanks moms.

Doug also made it out and he was a huge help to Shan with projects around the house that the inspector had put on our "to-do" list. Here, he was replacing a facia board. Doug's knowledge and usefullness never gets old... I am continually amazed. Thanks Doug.

This is the real face of the move: neglected. Hasn't bathed in five days. Who knows if anyone brushed her hair, teeth, or even fed her for that matter. Let's just say they survived.

Why is the last day of moving the longest day of your life? It's unbelievable the way the last "few things" can take days! So Saturday night, we had everything out of the house and almost packed into the Penske. Almost. At that point, we realized there were many things that would have to stay behind because the truck was full. I was unhappy to say the least. So Shan saved the day and rented a small trailer to pull behind the Sienna. (Go Sienna.) Sunday, we made it to church and then came home to pack the rest. Needless to say, it turned into a full day of work, and definitely not a restful Sabbath day.

I like the reflection of Emma's face in the window; very cool.

Shan was stoked about getting on the road. He has always wanted a truck...

Despite our late night on Sunday, we were ready to close on Monday morning and the house was spotless. In fact, it was so nice, I thought maybe we should move in. But, I reluctantly handed over the keys before I could burst into tears and off we went. This was our entourage.

Southern Pines Top 10

Despite the fact that I haven't blogged for over a month, we are alive and well! We miss all of our wonderful NC friends so much! Please email me for our new contact info: Marisagrimmius@yahoo.com. It has been a very busy month for us. We moved across country, traveled to Oregon for a vacation with Shan's family, and once we got back to our new house, we had my sister and her four children with us for a week. It has been a great time for the kids, but we are still trying to get things organized and settled. I've decided that I'm waning on the moving thing. 11 times in 11 years is a little excessive, don't you think? I have so many (like hundreds) of pictures from our adventures that I am overwhelmed in trying to blog them. So I decided I will do first things first....

Our top ten things we already miss about SP.

The things we will never forget:

1. Real Rainstorms. The kind that drench you if you are running from the driveway into the house. The lightning bolts that light up the entire sky and the kind of booming thunder that shakes the house.

It is this kind of storm that makes #2 possible:

2. Trees, glorious trees. We counted over 60 trees in our yard and most of them were huge. Emma became a little climber and developed a particular fondness of the Crepe Myrtle tree in front. (A little FYI: We now have one little miserly tree in front and it can't even hold Emma's tiny weight.)

3. Downtown Southern Pines. I could have included 50 pictures of all the cool places to shop. Antiques, book stores, and baby boutiques all mixed in together. I really love how downtown Southern Pines brings people together... families and friends browsing, biking, and sitting. The train station was darling and the regular trains that would blow on through were always an exciting thing to watch.
4. The Ice Cream Parlor. This one is also downtown, but we loved the ice cream so much, we had to give it a number all it's own. We stopped here after soccer games and school programs and simply for fun on Saturday afternoons. Once, Emma and Madeline had their picture taken for the newspaper while eating ice cream on a bench outside the parlor. 5. Equestrian beauty. The horses, and well kept white-fenced fields are so charming. We will especially miss the Christmas carriage parade with horses and carriages decked out with poinsettias, bells, and furs. Gorgeous.

6. Wildlife. This was Emma's favorite thing, for sure. We had cardinals, and blue jays, and robins and finches. We had way too many squirrels! We had a constant barrage of bunnies and deer who loved my garden. We saw turtles laying eggs in the neighbors grass, snakes, wolves, and even a mischevious fox. The kids loved to catch fireflies and it was so magical to sit outside after dusk and watch them light up like thousands of twinking lights suspended in mid-air. Add to that three kids fresh out of a bath and in their pajamas, hopping around trying to catch them... they looked just like garden fairies.

We also had constant entertainment from the little chameleon lizards that lived in our window boxes and on the sides of the house. The day we loaded up the Penske, the door was open almost all day and one must have slipped inside because the next day, we went back to get the last of the refrigerator items, and found one all alone on the hardwood floor. Emma caught it and let the poor thing go "back to his family."

7. Our lake and our neighborhood. We had such good times on the fishing boat, and even caught a few fish. We kayaked on it a few times, and had a neighborhood bbq there once, but mostly, we just walked down to it for evening walks, to throw rocks and see the geese.

Our neighborhood was quiet and peaceful and made me happy everytime I turned into our street. I miss my walks and waving to my sweet neighbors. We miss you Ms. Mary and Mr. Jere and Ms. Lin and her golden retrievers.8. Southern Pines Park. Our favorite place to play and socialize after school and during summer months. 9. Golf. It is Shan's favorite thing in the world and it does make for beautiful scenery. I think Moore County has almost 60 golf courses. And a lot of old people to go with it. Maybe we'll be those people in 30 years...

Pinehurst No. 2

10. People. I saved the best for last. The people we loved in NC are a part of our lives forever. There are so many that I can hardly count them all, and I certainly don't have pictures of everyone, but I think you know who you are. We love you.Jenn Cain and I.

Ft. Bragg women- as tough as they get.

Pinehurst ladies at a Time-Out for Women.

Happy Birthday Hen

My sister Jennifer (aka Hen, Henry, Neb, Nebra) is one of the best people on the planet. If you don't know her, you are definitely missing out. I promise to introduce you if you are super nice to me and promise to love her as much as I do. We are in the middle of our cross-country trip, so I missed her birthday yesterday and I about died when I realized what the date was today! Ugh. Anyway, I am so thrilled that I get to spend more time with her this summer. She is one of my favorite people ever. She is so talented and driven and has way too many hobbies to count, she is an extremely patient person (something that does not come naturally to me), and she is also super loving and accepting of people. Jen inspires me to be better. Happy birthday doll.

School's Out!

I am amazed at the effort it takes just to end school these days... we had end-of-year performances and field trips and cookouts and behavior parties and bowling trips and class parties and fun day. Pretty much, Ryan and Emma could have just skipped the last two weeks of school and not missed a thing, except for fun.This was Emma's cookout at Seven Lakes. Mimi and Daddy enjoying the day at the lake.

This is Ms. Walters and Emma loves her.

This is sweet Mrs. Ray. Emma loves her too.

Last day of school!

Ryan sung "Chim Chim Cheroo" (Mary Poppins) at the Second Grade Musical and it was so fantastic! I decided you don't know fear until your seond grader gets up in front of hundreds of people to sing a solo.... I'm serious, I was almost sick. But he did soooo well- perfectly on pitch- and when he was finished, the crowd went wild. When we got home, he asked me if I thought he could be on American Idol:) Chimney Sweep atire

Ryan and his friend Chloe.

Mrs. Davis

Mrs. McNeil

Three cheers that Ryan survived Second Grade!!! Way to go.

Painted Lady

This year, we had the chance to watch a caterpillar form it's chrysallis and change into a butterfly. What an amazing thing for children and adults alike! First we fed it and fed it and fed it and watched it eat and eat and eat. Then, she stuck herself to the top of the cage and formed a "J" shape and became encrusted with his cacoon. About five days later, she popped out and was a beautiful Painted Lady butterfly! We let her stay in the container for a day while her wings dried, and then the kids let her go and away she flew. Emma especially loved it and decided to do her end-of-year project on the life cycle of butterflies.

She flew out so quickly, it was hard to get a good picture, but you can see her if you look at the left-third, middle.

Ryan's Baptism

Ryan's baptism was so wonderful. We were lucky enough to get both of Ryan's grandma's out here. We had lots of friends who attended and each of the family members participated in the program. Ryan was really excited about it and had been planning it for quite some time.

As I watched him, I realized yet again what a great blessing it is to be a mother. It has been the best honor and privilege of my life.

"You'll shoot your eye out..."

Ryan's favorite present this year was a BB gun. Not just any BB gun mind you- no, it was a Red Rider BB gun (think Christmas Story). I wasn't too sure about it, because when Shan put it in the shopping cart, I noticed that the box said it was for age 10+, but then I saw how every guy in the store perked up a bit when they saw what I was buying. I even had a few of them ask me who it was for and one guy followed me down the aisle so he could tell me all about his BB gun and how he loved it the most when he was 8 years old. Sold. And it was a hit.