Homeowners once again!

On June 27 we left Nashville and started our new adventure to Goldsboro, NC. We arrived on June 29 after spending a few days in Asheville, NC. In our first few days here we started looking at houses. Maybe I should say we re-looked at houses. We had a house in mind that we had already seen twice. When I was packing stuff up in Nashville it was the house I was moving into in my mind. Later that week we put a contract on THE house. We LOVE this house. 

On the Friday of the inspection I noticed little yellow sticky notes with prices. I contacted our agent to find out when the owner was having her sale. Turns out it was later that afternoon. Chase arrived first and I soon received a text that said "Mrs. Brown is awesome!" And yes awesome they are! We ended up going back to the house later that evening to meet her husband Rod. You always wonder what kind of people you are buying or selling from when you go through this process. I can tell you that we hit the jackpot. June and Rod are an amazing couple who built a beautiful home 10 years ago. They put so much detail into the house! We have developed a friendship over the last few weeks and I hate to see them move! Luckily they will only be about an hour and a half away. 

As it turns out we were attending their church. Oddly enough it's called The Bridge. (Same logo and colors as The Bridge Fellowship). This was a picture of all of us on their last Sunday at church.

Today we closed on our new home. We start a new adventure in our new home and the Browns start their new adventure in Hampstead, NC. Seriously, they are a great family. I know this and have only known them a few weeks. I know the friends they've made over the last 19 years in Goldsboro are going to miss them terribly. We have big shoes to fill!! :)

June had gifts for all of us to welcome us into our home. (We bought the furniture you see from them). Told you she was great!

These, along with "Martin Family" return labels, with our new address, were our gifts.

We went to the house tonight to eat our first meal. 

And here we are unlocking the door to our new home for the first time. Pardon the angle of the picture. Emory was taking the picture and doesn't really know how to work my big camera! At least our heads are in it!

We look forward to the memories that will be made in this house and the adventures we will have on this land. Today was a great day!

Dave on Repeat

Our first date night in Goldsboro was a much needed date night. When we finalized our plans to move here, Chase found out Dave was in Raleigh the end of July. So naturally he bought tickets. Before this summer I had seen Dave Matthews twice. Once in Nashville in 2009 and once in Birmingham in 2012. This summer I have seen him 3 times. I must say he puts on a great show. It was nice going to a concert and seeing just that artist. Honestly I've never been a fan of opening acts, but Dave, essentially, opened for himself. And it doesn't hurt that he is a very attractive man. Judge me if you must but it's the truth. He's a good looking man! (Nothing compared to my awesome husband of course!)

Out of the 3 concerts we've been to it was by far the hottest! And as you can see the sun was still blaring onto the stage when Dave and Tim took the stage at 7:30. 

It eventually "cooled off" but I'm pretty sure Dave's shirt went into a garbage bag at the end of the night. He was soaked. The nurse in me was seriously concerned about his hydration!

We only attempted the picture 10 times. I'm not even sure Chase approves of this one but I think it turned out the best. 

Who did we find to babysit you ask?! Well, I have found a Mother's Day out program that meets year round at the First Presbyterian church and one of the workers (the directors sons girlfriend-did you get that?) just graduated from high school and babysits. She was awesome. Only issue she had (dispite Riley not taking a bottle) was when Riley had a blowout of epic proportions. Seriously, I think it was the worst of all three kids! I saw the outfit the next morning and texted Payton to apologize again--it was that bad. I had to clean the tub after rinsing out the outfit. However, it didn't seem to deter her because she is coming back this weekend to help during our move. 

Back to our date night. It was awesome being able to get out and spend some adult time together. I've missed our one on one time and look forward to our next date night. 

Our first visitors!

My parents came to visit!!!! It was great seeing them and getting to show them around our new town. They started their journey on Wednesday and drove to Columbia, SC which is about 3.5 hours from us. They arrived at our apartment on Thursday just in time for lunch. Friday we were able to take them by our new house and show them around. They won't be able to come back to help us move but wanted to see the house during their visit. I was also able to take them to "downtown Goldsboro." Think Cullman when you think downtown. No buildings are taller than a steeple on a church. It's an old town. OLD town. 1847 old. I digress. 

Saturday was the real adventure. We decided to head to the beach again and chose Topsail Beach. Pronounced topsle. We actually ended up at surf city because it was 15 minutes closer and we were tired of being in the car. It was beautiful. Our most rural drive by far but the most crystal clear water we've seen! I'm not a huge fan of the sand on the east coast but the water is amazing! 

Gavin was happy to have his Papa to play in the sand. He also made a friend (a little girl his age) and played with her most of the day. 

I love this little girl! She is my happy thought (we watched Hook Saturday night)! :)

Mom was a trooper. 8weeks post op from a leg hip replacement and she was willing to go to the beach. While she isn't back to 100% she still was able to soak up some sun and watch Riley. 

She even made the trek down to the water with Emory. I love this picture! 

Isn't the water beautiful?! And the little girl in the pink bathing suit is pretty cute! 

As you can see Riley was a huge fan of the sand. Gone are the days where she will sit and play with what's in front of her. Her goal was to get whatever was just out of her reach. Saturday that was the sand. She was not a fan of me stripping her and rinsing her off in the ocean. 

She was out like a light a few minutes after this picture. 

Unfortunately they had to leave on Saturday. :( I wish their trip could have been longer but we certainly enjoyed having them here. Next time they will be able to stay with us instead of a hotel. I feel like we missed most of their visit because they left each evening and came back at breakfast time. I told my mom I needed her to tell me when they would be back. I need a countdown for their next visit!! I missed them the second they walked out the door. 

Sibling Love

Having multiple children means your kids always have a playmate. Sometimes it works out perfectly and they are all smiles and giggles...

And sometimes they are ready to kill each other...

Having a big sister can be rough...

I know his hair is long but that doesn't mean it needs to go into a ponytail!!

Not sure what Emory was trying to accomplish with Riley. She didn't seem to mind but I'm sure as time goes one this will not be the last time Emory tries to dress her baby sister!!

Summer days

We have really enjoyed our summer days this year. Being in real school really makes you cherish the days at home with your babies! Our week days are pretty boring these days. We haven't really made any friends here yet and we are still trying to learn our way around. The weekends, however, have been spent as a family and exploring. Our new motto has become "why not?!" If you can't come up with a good reason then, "why not?!"

We usually go to the beach once a year with my family. Spend a week in a house at Orange Beach, AL, then head home and start the count down to next year. We've been twice in the last 3 weeks and we plan to go back this weekend with my parents, during their visit! I've said it before but living an hour from the coast definitely has its perks!!

Atlantic beach was our destination this past Saturday. We didn't rush out, we wanted to sleep in, so we took our time. Plus we had to gather a few supplies before we could go. Our fist trip to the beach, on July 4th, we borrowed the tent and chairs. We left the apartment around 11. An hour later we were finally on our way (and we had only driven a mile). Ha! It was an overcast day but perfect! 

Our set up: we opted to keep the tent low to give us more shade. This was Riley's hang out all day. I put her swim suit on her but she never got close to the water! She was perfectly content hanging out and watching her brother and sister. 

This might be my new favorite picture! These girls bring me so much joy ( they drive me crazy sometimes too but mostly joy :) )

He's super serious about his sand playing! That green shovel went MIA shortly after this picture. Might have to buy it again. He loves that thing! And again, he loved the sand but not a fan of the ocean. I have to admit, while the water is gorgeous, those waves are rough! It's not as calm as the gulf can be, at least not the 2 times we've been! 

This was after we went down in the waves. She was done for the day after that and we had only been there for 20 minutes. I told her she had one minute to get over her bad mood and then I was coming to tickle her...she was laughing after that and we were able to get this cute picture! Chase and I have been working with her to get back up when she falls down. So proud of her!

Seriously those eyes and that smile!!! They will be the death of me and especially her daddy!

Trying to get a picture with all 3 kids is proving to be and impossible task! At least I got one with the girls! Maybe one of our trips to the beach I will get a picture of all three. 

I enjoyed Atlantic beach. It may have been the fact that a hurricane had not come through the night before, but the sand seemed cleaner. It still has black in it but there was less trash. There were also outdoor public showers. At Wrightsville beach we had to use the hotel that was on the beach. Not horrible but not exactly right! Ha! We had a great time. I even took a turn on the boogie board! So much fun but man I'm old and out of shape! My arms are so sore! Chase said in the 10.5 years we've been together he doesn't think he's ever seen me in the ocean. I have to admit I'm not a huge fan but the water is beautiful and I can't teach my daughter to overcome her fears if I don't conquer mine as well!

Can't wait for or next trip. By the end of the summer we should be pros at the beach day trip!

 

It's the little things

Babies are so easily entertained--well most of the time--Riley is no exception! She LOVES the tags on things and she found the ultimate tag on a pillow! She is one happy camper!!

Riley-7 months

So we had to improvise the 7 month sticker this month. Most of our stuff is in storage and the bin that has some of her stuff went there by mistake. Good thing I over packed for our trip over here! See Chase, there are good things about packing too much!

So I haven't weighed her, again, most of our stuff is in storage, so I only have the things she's doing:

-still only 2 teeth--I'm ok with this. The two she has are sharp!

-sleeps 11-12 hours at night and usually takes 1 long (2 hours if I'm lucky) nap a day. 

-loves watching her sister and brother

-has a slight obsession with the tags on things--now I understand the whole "taggies" craze, might just have to get one for her

-she has the most infectious smile that go along so well with her big, beautiful, blue eyes

-and the sweetest little giggle

-and EVERYTHNG goes in her mouth!

Cliffs of the Neuse

We are spending our weekends exploring our new state. Last week we went to the beach and to Raleigh and this weekend we hiked. I have to say this was not our favorite hike. In fact it is probably in the bottom 2. I think hiking to various waterfalls around Tennessee has spoiled us! It was a nice work out but very hot. Especially when you have a kid strapped to you! 

This was our major issue with the hike. Those ants don't march one by one! They were everywhere. Apparently the humid climate of the Neuse is exactly what the carpenter ants like. If we ever do this hike again we will be wearing tennis shoes and not chacos, not the best shoe choice for this hike and we were all wearing them. They say they have 2 trails that are "ant free" maybe we can try those next time!

 

This is the Neuse river...I think. Or at the very least it feeds into the Neuse.

I thought these things were very interesting. Not really sure what they are but they were all along the banks of a little creek that fed into the river. 

This is the designated swimming area in the background of this picture. We had plans to go but Emory was over the hike 5 minutes in and in tears over those dang ants! She is not a bug fan. I can't say I cared for them either but we are talking big tears! Poor thing!

Isn't she cute?! She was slightly dazed since I woke her up getting her out of the carrier and into her car seat. 

Who knows what next weekend will bring. I'm thinking either back to Raleigh to explore or to a new beach! 

Watching it Rain

These 2 have so much love for each other. While they certainly have their moments of sibling rivalry, mostly love and admiration is shown! Can't wait for Riley to join in! She already watches these two so closely and has mostly smiles for them...depends on if Gavin is sitting beside her or on top of her! :)

Bath time fun!