November updates

Well, I guess I'd better hurry up and post since December is already here! Wow, how in the world did that happen?


This'll be a pretty short post since not a lot of 'ground breaking' news occurred this month! I do have a few pics to share though!


I believe our overall travel was pretty light this month. Chase was able to spend a week in LR with Memaw Susan while I worked and then came to join them at the end of the week. Mark's friend, Tom, spent Tuesday-Sunday here in Nashville up from Florida. I believe they had a good time. Tom flew in on election day...although I don't think he was too pleased with the outcome of the 'race', teh rest of the visit was fine. Mark was pretty sick most of that week, so we know there wasn't too much trouble that they got into!


After Chase and I got back to Franklin on Nov 9 (I think), that next weekend, Memaw Grace and Papa Lamar came to visit us from Sat-Thurs. We all had a great week. We can hardly get Lamar here without assigning him some sort of project-we'd hate for him to get bored, ya know! I don't think anything was too major, but every little bit helps!
getting ready to go roast marshmallows in back yard

roasting wtih MeMaw



eating finished product!

My little drummer boy later that week!

After they left on Friday, Memaw Susan came on Monday of Thanksgiving week. Chase was out of school that week, so we all gathered together for my Ultrasound visit on Tuesday. The U/S results were great and we received confirmation that 'it' is still a Girl. So....we're going with it! I'm starting to sort through 3yrs of boy clothes for donations to friends, consignment and charity. Hopefully I can get through that task fairly quickly. It is VERY daunting though with all those clothes in our spare room! We gave our 'extra' bed to Adam and Andrea, so we do have one less bed now, but we QUICKLY filled up that room!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Since mom was here, I took off Wed, so I had 5 days in a row without working, it was WONDERFUL, weird, but great! We didn't go anywhere, so it really was like a vacation. We did a little shopping on the weekend, but not on Friday. We got a 'pre-cooked' meal from Publix since it was just the 3 of us eating-talk about EASY. Even moreso for me since Mark did all the heating up! I really DO have a GREAT husband!

baking cookies with Memaw! What fun!!!! dig is robe?? this was Thanksgiving morning!

Last night we put up the Christmas tree and decorations. Mark spent most of the day today buying more things and 'perfecting' the look! This weekend we're going to a Christmas party on Friday, a birthday party on Saturday day and we're hosting a Christmas Cookie day on Saturday late evening (right in the middle of the SEC Championship football game-OOPS!!!)

Today, Mark went and bought us a new camera at Costco. Mine still works, sort of, but the lens won't open all the way and it doesn't take great pictures at night. So, I've got to read how to operate this new one so I can get some decent pics this weekend. We got a Casio Exlim (?) and are excited to start using it. Its very small, so I'll mainly use it. We still have Mark's big 'fancy' camera, but its just too big to carry around for occassional pics. I 'gave' my old one to Chase tonight and he couldn't be more thrilled. Below are some pictures from HIS point of view!

action shot of Lucky!



still life of a box of chocolates!?





still life of POPCORN!
The things 3yr olds like!!!! Life is so simple then!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving and has an even better December! If youre traveling this month, be safe! But more importantly, enjoy the time with friends and family!

I love you all!

October News!!!!

Well, Happy Fall to y'all!!!!

Since my crazy travel spree in September, life has been pretty calm. I have been to Tampa and Columbus, OH in the past 2 weeks, but work only...no fun! I'm heading to Atlanta and Newark, NJ next week for work as well. I'll then be in Little Rock for a few days working and visiting! So...at least life isn't dull around the Wingert household!

Earlier this month, mom came into town and we got to go to a pumpkin patch. Chase got his first tatoo...or at least face painting. He didnt love it, it itched him, but he let it stay for a while!

Also this month, Leigh was able to score some fantastic FREE tickets to the Rascal Flats/Taylor Swift concert. It was a Friday night, so it was even better! And, they were Suite tickets, so we had our own bathroom! Yahoo! The show was great, but pictures are hard to get at concerts. They funny thing these days...if you haven't been to a concert in a while....the 'thing' to do is open your cell phone/turn it on etc so it glows....that is what has now replaced lighters-sign of the times, I guess!




For those of you that didn't know, Mark, Chase and I are going to welcome a new family member next April!!!! We found out on Mark's b-day (Aug 14th). Everything has been going fine, but being pregnant and OLD at the same time makes one nervous! (at least this one). I'm now 14wks and 5 days, so I'm into trimester #2! I had another doctors visit today. One of the benefits of being old and pregnant is that you get more tests, attention and ultrasounds! We've had 4 already. I'm sure I won't be so happy when the bills all get here, but at least they've all been very reassuring!

Oddly enough, this early even, they were able to tell us the sex of the baby!!!!! Crazy...sign of the times again, I guess! :) Sorry I'm putting such news on the blog, but its really hard to call everyone....especially with all the voice mails out there! :) {Click on Picture below to see it bigger}



Well, I hope you've enjoyed seeing into our lives this month! This coming weekend is Halloween, so I imagine I'll have some more pictures soon! Chase is going to be a Race Car driver....Mark and I are going to be parents! :) We'll get out and do some trick or treating for sure....I can't wait for the candy opening party!

I hope everyone has a fun, safe wonderful Halloween and snuggles in warmly for the crisp fall weather!

Love to all,
Us

August and September-oops!!

Ok ok, those of you that have been anxiously awaiting my post can now rest easy...here it is! I've said it before and I have to say it again, I have NO idea where the time goes!!! WOW! Since I'll be covering 2 months, this might be sort of lengthy, but I'll try to get to the point, yet keep you up to date!

First of all, as you know, August is our birthday month. Mark's is the 14th, and mine is the 16th. Mom came into town during that week and hung out with us for a while, it was a nice visit. I took off work one day and Mom, Chase and I drove to Amish Country. Yes, there is a small Amish country in TN. They didn't let us take any pics, so we didn't get any, but trust us...they're there! they ride horses, make baskets, don't have electricity (or toilets-we know, because Chase had to use one of the out houses-gross!). We didn't see many people wearing shoes either. Their goal is to have at least 13 kids per family so they can all work the farm-CAN YOU IMAGINE? They only go to school through 8th grade, and all ages are in class together. They don't learn English until they're out of school...while in school and at home, they speak Dutch. Its amazing what is out there when you leave your own little nest! Somehow, we don't seem to get too many pics when mom is around. Below are a few that we took after we got back from the Amish at a restaurant near Adam's.

During that same week (Aug 10th to be exact), I hosted a baby shower for Leigh. I believe it turned out quite nice and she got some good loot. Also during that weekend, Aug 8th and 9th, 2 of my friends in Orlando had babies! I saw them in Sept, so pics will be posted later down the page!

Goodness, I'm already going backwards....we also went to the fair early in August. We went wtih Brent, Amanda and Emma Cate. We went together last year too. The pictures aren't much different from this year to last...oh well, familiarity isn't necessarily a bad thing!

After our bdays, we didn't really do much till September, then I went on a crazy travel spree. (oh yea, we did have Emma Cate's bday party to go to on Lday weekend)

Sept 6-9, I went to Pensacaola with Susan. We had a fantastic time. It was just the two of us (no kids) so we got to sleep in, relax, lay on the beach, eat, shop etc. We even saw a movie! It truly was wonderful!!! The weather was perfect, the beach was gorgeous, the water was bright blue-what more could you ask for? Allison was supposed to go with us, but unfortunately, her grandmother-in-law died the day before we left, so she needed to stay home and be with her husband and his family. I drove the 7hrs alone, but had a good 'chick book' on CD, so it wasn't bad at all.

The day after I got back from Pensacaola, Mark, Chase and I left for Atlanta. I had 2 client meetings in Atlanta, so they came with me because we had a wedding in Hilton Head that weekend. They hung at the hotel while I met with clients, then we were on our way to Savannah. We spent one night there and toured around the next day. That evening we drove to Hilton Head for the weekend. While in Savannah, we took a trolly ride around the city, ate at an old Pirate restaurant and took some pictures of the oldest building in GA. Supposedly there are ghosts there, but we didn't capture any on our camera.

The first day in HH, Mark played golf while Chase and I hung out at the beach. Of course, the night we got in, Chase immediately wanted to explore the beach, so we did as a family. We saw the craziest sandcastle of a lady and a crab! Meanwhile, the next day Chase and I hung out, had a blast, got some sun, ran on the beach, played in the waves and wore ourselves out. We left about noon, then went to explore the area. We had no idea where anythign was, so we just ended up going to an area on the water front with shops and restaurants. So...we ate and shopped. It was nice...came home to nap, so we could be prepared for the wedding.

Cliff and Judy's wedding was beautiful. It was outside at the Marriott overlooking the beach. The sun was setting, the weather was perfect...it really was a great setting. Chase did great during the ceremony. We got to play on the hammock during the 'cocktail hour', then there was a babysitter available during the reception. He did well and we went to bed about 11pm.

The next morning we decided to hang out at the beach till noon, then drive as far as we wanted to get home and spend the night overnight. well, we played and played and played. Chase literally ran for 3 hrs straight! We thought FOR SURE he'd sleep on the way home. After we left, we stopped to eat lunch in HH, then started heading West. This was the beginning of the gas shortage. We filled up for $4.49/gal-OUCH! In Atlanta area we ended up finding some for $3.99, but still, ouch! Chase wasn't the least bit interested in sleeping, he talked for 5 hrs straight! Who knew a 3 yr old had so much to say??? Anyway, once we made it to ATL, we decided to drive all the way home. After we stopped for dinner, Chase decided he'd go to sleep. He probably slept about an hour, but promptly went to sleep when we got home.

I took 1/2 day off on Monday to catch up, then left again on Thursday to head to Orlando. I had 2 client meetings in the area, then stayed till Saturday to visit with friends and family. I got to see the 2 new babies born in August! Cooper Johnson (aug 9) and Luke Baumberger (aug 8). I also got to have lunch with Paige and see her 2 1/2yr old Heath...and her pregnant self! Everyone looked GREAT! It was so good to see everyone! I'm now home, caught up on work and will actually be in town for about 2 weeks before I leave again-yahoo!

Jeff and Cooper...................... Paige and Heath

Luke Baumberger...................Nancy and Gabi

I hope everyone had a fantastic summer and I hope the fall weather is heading your way!

take care and love to all,

Carrie