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

July is over???

Happy August everyone! Sorry for the delayed post, but I guess I'm a 'monthly' kinda gal!

It appears the picture loader isn't working tonight for some reason! I'll try again tomorrow....hopefully the text is good enough for now!

We had a great, busy HOT July in TN! You saw our 4th of July post previously. The weekend after the 4th, Adam Chase and I headed to Little Rock for my 20th HS reunion...yes, you read that right, I'm actually that old! OUCH! It was great to see some old friends. I must say, everyone looked pretty darn good! It was great to catch up with people-some I haven't seen in years....some in the same town that I'm in now, and we're not much better at keeping up! Oh well, I guess thats what happens when we all grow up, get responsbile and families of our own!

That weekend was also Mom's birthday. We had to leave town on her actual b-day, but at least we were there for the weekend. We got to go out on the boat for a little while on Saturday. We went to Lake Maumelle. It was a HOT day and you can't swim in that lake-ouch! It was still nice to get out on the boat! Didn't do much else that weekend, but it was nice to be in AR.

On the way back to TN, we stopped at Taco Bell and had to take pictures of ourselves drinking a fruitista freeze! We tried to enter a contest for a free trip to St. Thomas. I didn't win the trip, but I did get a few goodies from Taco Bell! :)

The next weekend, my friend Amy from CA came to visit. It was a great time. I had to go to Atlanta on Tues and Wed, she came Thurs...so it was a pretty short week. We didn't do anything too spectacular, but we had a nice time nonetheless. We rented a hotel room in downtown Nashville and went out for a 'girls' night while Mark watched Chase (and Emma for Theresa). We stopped by Opry Land Hotel on the way to the airport...and that was that! :( The visit was too short, of course....but still fun!

I think that about rounds out the July. Today is August 4th, Jen's due date...but still no baby. I talked to her this morning and she's anxiously awaiting Cooper's arrival. Hopefully he'll come before too much longer, I don't think she's feeling too well!!!!

This coming weekend I'm having a shower for Leigh. Once that is done, I'll post some pics from that too. Hopefully before the end of the month!

take care and I hope everyone's AC is working this summer because it sure is hot!

July 4th weekend

Well, we had a busy weekend and didn't even see any fireworks, Crazy, huh? Mark, Chase, Adam, Andrea and I all went to Chattanooga on Friday the 4th to go to the aquarium. It was a really neat place and Chase loved it. He wants to go back every day! We just made a day trip out of it, but we hope to make a weekend trip out of it next time! We also saw an Imax movie. Chase did good for the first 20 minutes, after that, he wanted nothing to do with his glasses, or the movie really. It was about sharks and dolphins, which I thought he'd like...but I guess 45 minutes is too long to sit still after 3 hrs of walking around the aquarium!

We were so tired when we got back, we all decided to go to bed and missed out on any fireworks. However, there were plenty of people shooting them off in our neighborhood, so we definitely heard them...just didn't see them! Fortunately, it didn't keep Chase from sleeping-whew!

On Saturday, Adam was able to score us some tickets to Kenny Chesney. It was a great time, but a long day. We got there about 4:30, left about 11pm, got home at 2am-ouch! The traffic leaving the LP Field was AWFUL. Included with KC were Keith Urban, Leann Rhimes, Sammy Hagar and Gary Allen. We missed Gary Allen, but saw the rest. The tickets were free, so thats good, but check out the picture of the stadium...this is from our seat! :) (not exactly front row!)

Thats about it for the 4th, I hope everyone had a safe and happy one! I'm heading to LR this weekend for my reunion!