Halloween

So I thought I should probably post about Halloween before Thanksgiving, which is next week, what the heck? I swear, Halloween was yesterday, yet all the stores have Christmas stuff out (and have since Nov 1.) This really is a confusing time of year, if I was visiting from another planet I would think humans were crazy. Another random holiday thought, I don't think Thanksgiving gets enough play, I mean sure it is the most boring of the 3, but come on, day after Halloween and I can't find a cute turkey or pilgrim to buy but I've got my pick of every Santa or nutcracker in the world, just seems wrong to me.
Anyway, back to Halloween. So every year I try and think of the best costume ever, and every year I come up short. This year I thought I had done it, I thought I was a creative pop-cultural genius. I guess I wasn't because no one at our Trunk or treat knew who I was except the cutest 13 year old down syndrome girl I've ever met, and one other friend. Trick or treating we had a little more luck, but still only a handful of people met our Halloween genius and enthusiasm with Glee. But I'll let you be the judge. Most people thought we were rappers, someone said Brittany and K-fed, I was like huh? So gold stars to whoever recognizes our Halloween genius. Even though only a few people appreciated our costumes, I still think we looked awesome!!
For those of you who know me well, you know that Halloween has a special place in my heart, and now the heart of my daughter (I swear I didn't brain wash her). It all started a few years ago when we got a catalog in August with Halloween costumes. Makenzie became obsessed with it and then began her search for Halloween. We had a good year, partcipating in everything possible having to do with the fall and Halloween and since then, every August Makenzie starts asking about Halloween. This year she was a witch, I made her costume, it just seems like the right thing to do when it comes to Halloween. She and her friends had a great time trick or treating in the neighborhood, it was a lot of fun to watch them have such a good time, reminded me of all the great Halloween memories I have. Here's to Halloween, we had a blast!!

I think this is so funny!

So if you know Lee and I, you know that Lee has a very youthful appearance. Honestly he doesn't look as young as people think, at least not to me, and probably not to those who know him. But every once in a while we have an experience that pulls Lee back about 10 years and every time we do, I laugh and laugh because I think it is so funny. So to give you a history of our experiences I will summarize a few of my favorite moments.
Lee and I were flying out to VA for our wedding reception, in the plane on the way out there we were sitting in the emergency row. Keep in mind you have to be 15 years old in order to sit in the emergency seats. The flight attendant comes by and says "do you all think you can perform the duties noted on the safety cards?" Of course we were all "yes of course." She then looks at Lee and in a kind of little kid voice and says "and how old are you?" Lee was so caught off guard, he looked at her all confused and said "Uh, 22, and married." I was dying laughing in the seat right next to him and so were all the old men we were sitting with.
In the past few years we have had a lot of comments and similar experiences but one of my new favorites happened yesterday at Walmart. We were all there to get a few things. We needed to be at a birthday party in a little bit so I hurried to the self check out with the kids so we could be ready to go when Lee was done looking for whatever he needed. We waited about 50 feet away from the self check out when Lee came up to purchase his stuff. As he was making his purchase, the red light above his check out stand started flashing, he was then approached by the lady who worked there. She came up to him and said "excuse me, but you have to be 18 to use the self check out registers." Again with a confused and somewhat insulted look on his face he points to us and says to her "Those are my kids over there waiting for me." She didn't give him any problems after that. Again, I laughed and laughed and laughed. Maybe I shouldn't laugh too hard though because when I am old and decrepit, he is still going to look young and handsome and people will then ask us, "is this your mother?" and then I won't be laughing anymore. But until then, here's to a young and fabulously good looking husband!

I'm not mourning VA I'm just missing some things.

You know when you move to a new place and you have to rediscover things. Where do you buy your food? What parks do you go to? What kinds of gyms do you enjoy, where do people run/shop/go to the dentist etc. That is my favorite and least favorite part of moving. Favorite in the sense that there are new things to be discovered, least favorite in the sense that "what if it is crappier then my old (fill in the blank). Well I'm more comfortable now and I'm starting to adjust to life without certain things. So far I love GA and I am glad we are here but let me tell you the things I am really starting to miss.
1. Wegmans. Is there a better grocery store in the USA? I tell you no. I've been to groceries stores in WA,OR,ID,CA,UT,VA,FL,GA. Most of them are your same run of the mill, regular old grocery stores. Until I discovered Wegmans. Where does one begin? And then what do you say? Feel free to help me out. I guess the things I loved the most were; I felt like they took pride in the kind of establishment they were. They didn't try to keep up with other stores, they were way more awesome, they weren't going to come in second place if you know what I mean. The products were great and so were their prices. They had a great store brand and you couldn't beat their prices. Those are just a few of the reasons Wegmans should make their way down to GA. PLEASE!!!
2. Cox Farms. I love Cox Farms. As long as I have had children I have been able to take them to Cox Farms every fall. The place was amazing. They knew how to have a fall festival. Slides so high I got giddy going on them. Hay mazes for the kids, swings, things to climb, animals, hay rides, apple cider for the drinking, pumpkins and oh so much more. I have to admit that I might be more excited about going to Cox farms then my kids (well Makenzie got pretty stoked as well.) I like it better than Disneyland, that is the only feeling I can compare it to, its kind of like Disneyland for me. I love it that much.
So I guess those are the 2 biggies. Friends you don't count because of course I love you and miss you the most that is intended. In fact I love and miss you so much that I am now going to give you a list of reasons you should join us in GA.
1. No suburban traffic. Remember how getting 1 mile across Chain Bridge can take you up to 40 minutes in the afternoon. There is none of that here. I can get pretty much anywhere I want, any time of day and it still only takes me a few minutes. It is glorious. (the actual Atlanta commute is much like D.C.)
2. Maybe this won't motivate you, but I sure love it, life seems just a little bit more relaxed down here. People aren't in such a huge hurry to get to whatever they think is so important. In fact, when we first moved in I bought some lawn chairs at Walmart, I was trying to finagle them into the car when this nice lady comes up to me and says, "hey, I've got a big pick up would you like me to throw those chairs in the back of my truck and follow you home?" I almost died of shock. In D.C. Someone would have given me a dirty look just for trying to put lawn furniture in my car. ('Stupid woman, doesn't she know lawn furniture won't fit into a sedan') So we did just that, she followed me home with my chairs in her truck. Talk about southern hospitality. And I find myself being nicer, why not say hi to random strangers, they say hi back. Everyone is quick to strike up a conversation in the grocery store. Its all a little shocking really, but in a good way.
3. This place is family friendly USA. Not only that, everyone here has a family. It's weird. I thought only Mormons had young families, turns out we're not the only ones. Its kind of nice.
4. The weather, I love the sunshine, and so far I've seen it everyday. It is great. It's 2 days before Halloween and it is perfect weather, you could wear shorts, you could wear pants, whatever you want to wear you could probably be comfortable in it. Lee thinks we've discovered paradise. Still curious to see how it is all year round.
So if you're considering that job relocation to Atlanta and you can live without Wegmans and Cox Farms, by all means join us! We'll find a great spot for you in the neighborhood.

Where have we been? I'll tell you where we've been.

So longest post ever right here. I AM BACK!!!! After moving from DC to Atlanta, a trip to Seattle, a few weeks at my new house, and throw in a Ragnar Relay, I am finally able to blog. Not to mention that it took me going out of town for 4 days for Lee to finally set up the computer. So all my big stuff is over and my new life in Atlanta can officially begin, without interruptions. But what a great adventure we have been on. There is so much to say and so much to talk about but I want to hit it all so it will mostly just be the highlights of life.

1. We moved, and so far we love it! We love our place, we love our neighbors, we love our ward, we love the area, we love the weather. I think we are going to be really happy here. We miss our friends, and we miss familiarity, we miss places we used to go etc, but we are excited to keep exploring this new phase of life.




Our new place.

2. My baby boy turned 1. I cannot begin to tell you the joy Austin has brought into my life. He came into this world as a happy kid. He is nothing but a ball of energy, love, and joy. He balances my life. He knows just how to defuse the bomb (Makenzie) and he loves her and makes her forget all her cares and sorrows. He has been exactly what our family needed and we are so blessed to have him in our lives. We cannot wait to see the wonderful person he becomes.



3. I visited Seattle, it was good to see family and old friends and go to old stomping grounds. There is nothing like going home. If only for a little while, just to remember, breath familiar air. I don't know what it is. I went back to the house and peeked in all the windows. It was weird, just another reminder that life goes on.

Katie, Laura and I. It was so good to see you girls PS why does this always happen to my pictures, why don't they flip?

Avery, my stinkin cute niece.

Laura and I, BFF!!!

4. I ran another Ragnar. It was the best!!! I had the most fabulous team. TEAM CHICA (SHOUT OUT!!) We had so much fun and we worked our butts off. I can't begin to describe the fun we had and the friendships we made. The experiences that we went through etc but we really grew close in those 2.5 days and I am so grateful for the opportunity that I had to run that race with some of the most spectacular women I know. Thanks Ladies!!! The best part was just being a part of the Now DC Ragnar Famous "TEAM CHICA." I think everyone knew who we were by the time the race was over. You know you rock when other teams are coming up to you saying "you're a member of Team CHICA, we heard about you!" HA. Or when Bill from USA Today stalks your team taking pictures and video taping your runners only to end up in a full interview and then telling us to look for the article in October before the Tennessee Ragnar. Wouldn't that be awesome if we made the paper?!! If anyone sees it let me know.

Team CHICA

Van 1 Minus Melissa who is actually running

The whole team menos Catherine who is also running

How freaking awesome is my team?!!

The whole crew, after 36 something hours of running we did it!!
Now I am back, adjusting to normal, whatever that is, I still have to figure that out. Life sure has tossed us around this last little bit but we are happy to have each other, and be on a new adventure together.

Oh the Children

I just wanted to post some pictures mainly of Austin because I don't think he gets enough play. Makenzie seems to make her way into most of these pictures. So eat your hearts out.

Go Cougs!!

Love this kid!!

My little buddy.

This is how we beat the heat on our deck. This is an activity better suited for a yard, but when all you have is a 3rd floor deck, you make it work.

Goobers from the get go, I think these children belong to me.

This is the Place.

This is our future home. We just got the approval today!! I am actually really excited. Even though it isn't as big as we wanted, and even though it doesn't have a garage I am really happy and feel at peace. We actually didn't even walk through this home, we walked through others in this complex but I found this one on craigslist when we got home. When I opened it, I was like, this is our home. So I started the process right away. I am happy to because this one is nicer than any others that we saw in the complex and it is cheaper!!

Funny story about this house, as soon as we decided to act, I called the Bishop of the ward we will be attending. I was asking him about the area, and the ward etc. He had great things to say, which made me really happy. But funniest random fact, I told him the address, and he said, yeah I know exactly the house you are talking about, the "X" family just moved out. HA!! We tend to follow members when renting our houses. PS, another LDS family is moving to our current house as soon as we leave, so local friends, be on the lookout for this new family. They have a little 3 year old girl, and their little guy is 1 just like Austin. Funny.

So the Bishop told me that there are a ton of young families in the ward. He told me (I didn't mention anything about running) that there is a whole group of moms that run together and are training for a half marathon in November. Maybe I'll fit in?

One of the selling points for me on this house was this cute little back yard. Most of the other townhouses in this complex don't have fences, its just open. I wanted a little privacy and love the fact that the back gate opens to the Huge grassy foresty area in the back. Couldn't be happier that we back up to grass and trees. We also have two pools in the complex. Did I mention I am stoked to be in an end unit?

So its not the house of our dreams or anything, but as a rental we are pretty happy, and its great to be paying a 3rd less for rent then we do now for something bigger. Gotta love the south. We'll we hope to anyway. We sure have loved D.C

Life is nutty

Well, we've been pretty busy. With Lee gone every weekday for the past 3 months, and us relocating to Atlanta in 2 weeks, throw in a house hunting trip and just a little hint of summer heat and you got yourselves what I call "our summer vacation." Not too impressive. I'm not sure if the worst is over (Lee gone all the time) or if it still lies ahead (moving). But luckily I have a hubby who loves me more than anything because his grand plan is yes... get this.. send me to Seattle while he drives the kids to Atlanta and moves in all our stuff. Do husbands do nicer things for their wives? Don't think its even possible. So while I'm with fam and friends, he'll be with kids and boxes. Lee, I love you! So our days in Virginia are numbered. We put in an application on a tiny little town home, (not buying, not yet at least) and we hope life will move forward and that we will learn to love Atlanta as much as DC. We'll miss friends and family, but we look forward to new adventures, and new friends. That is life right now, and this is probably all you will get until late September when I return for... dun dun dun RAGNAR!!!! Can't wait, I'm seriously getting excited.