My Happy Place

I think everyone has a great fondness for their college years.  For me, when I think of those precious years of undergrad, my heart yearns for Blacksburg and that carefree life.  Granted, I thought I was busy and stressed then, but I was only responsible for myself and could come and go as I pleased.  I could invest my time in relationships and in quiet time with no interruptions.  I felt an undeniable sense of freedom and at the same time a heartfelt sense of belong.

A few weekends ago I went to a Hokie football game with one of my best college friends.  We lived together for 2 1/2 years and spent many a college football game sitting next to each other.  While our amazing husbands watched the kids we walked to the stadium, caught up on life together, and cheered on our Hokies.  It was like coming home.

Then last weekend we traveled to Blacksburg with my bother and sister in law and their two kids.  All four of us are Tech grads, so we took our kids to the duck pond, and then drove around campus and town hoping someone in a car seat would take a nap while we reminisced.  I remembered how I felt when my parents drove away, when I first walked into BCM trying to make new friends, apartment hunting with my roommates, starting to date Jay, working in my first classroom, learning how to cook with my roommates, and ultimately getting engaged, married and starting grad school at Tech.

I lived in Blacksburg for 5 years and I am not the same person because of it.  That place and those people molded me and shaped me into a person that learned how to serve, how to be an adult, and how to do life.  When we first started looking for jobs post graduate school, Jay and I thought God was leading us to stay in Blacksburg.  He was done with school but I had one more year.  The jobs didn't quite open up and God led us instead to a quiet town where Jay grew up.  Now I am thankful.  If I still lived in Blacksburg, I don't think I would appreciate it for what it is to me and to my family.

With one child chatting to herself and waving out the window and another snoring in his carseat, Jay and I had this conversation as we drove around the drill field.

Me: Do you miss it?
Jay: Yeah. Do you wish you could go back?
Me: Yeah. I would do it all exactly the same again.
Jay: Me too.

Halloween 2012

Trey is at the perfect age for holidays.  He understands what is going on and get very excited about any birthday or holiday.  My mom made the kids' Mickey and Minnie Mouse costumes this year for Halloween.  The package with the costumes arrived last Saturday.

The kids have been dressing up at home ever since then! On Halloween we dressed the kids up and tried to get some pictures at home.  Trey wanted to wear his cookie monster hat with his outfit, but there is only so much cooperation you can expect when you have a 3 year old extremely excited about getting treats!

Pre- Trick or Treating snack of cheese and crackers. 

The only way to get Trey to stand still for a photo was like this.  I now understand the phrase, bouncing off the walls, because Trey was so exciting about trick or treating.

 Charlotte did not want to put on her ears or hands, but she loved her dress.  We attempted to take a picture of the two kids together, but shockingly they did not want to stand still and take pictures so we could record their costumes for years to come! I realize now that we have no individual pictures of Trey in his costume.  He wore his costume all night long without complaint and we kept trying to get Charlotte to put her ears on and then take a picture that we totally didn't realize Trey didn't have one by himself!

Since we don't live in a neighborhood, we drove to Jay's parent's house to trick or treat. Charlotte let us finish getting her dressed when she got out of the car, but Trey was off looking for his treat.  They got tons of treats to which Trey kept saying, "Thank you so much for my treats!"

The only happy picture all night of Charlotte in her full costume!

Enjoying the treats at Grandma and Grandpa's. Jay had just put the Minnie ears on Charlotte and she was not having it!  

 After that we headed to our church for Trunk or Treat.  It was extremely cold and windy while we were there so the kids had on hats, gloves and heavy coats over their costumes.  We took no pictures because we were trying to hold bags of candy and Trey's hand.  Plus Charlotte kept trying to walk away from holding my hand (maybe I was holding a little too tightly..) so Jay ended up carrying her leaving no free hands for pictures. 

I was so proud of Trey at church.  Our shy little guy walked right up to each car, looked at the adults and said "Trick or Treat" and then "Thank you" after he got his candy each time! He wasn't bashful, he knew if he talked to them he would get a treat :)  Charlotte did not want to hold her bag of candy or go up to the people, so she mainly just watched from Jay's arms.  She did like waving to other babies in costumes like moneys or other animals she knew.

Next year I definitely want to take pictures of the trunk or treat at church.  There are hundreds of kids and it is so much fun.  I just hope after 2 very cold years, next year is a little warmer!

Fall Fun

Having a 1 year old and 3 year old this October, we opted for painting our pumpkins rather than carving them.  On Saturday morning we set up the kitchen island with newspapers, baby pumpkins, and paint.  The kids had so much fun painting their pumpkins and let us paint their hands to make handprints on the pumpkins. 

 While our pumpkins dried on the kitchen island, we went outside and Jay carved a larger pumpkin that his parent's grew in their garden.  No one was really interested in sticking their hands in the goo to clean out the pumpkin so Jay got to do it all on his own.

It was still pretty cool in the morning, so I found their hats from last year that luckily still fit!  They had fun playing outside collecting rocks, leaves, and chasing each other around.

After the pumpkin was finished I was trying to get the kids to sit next to it.  Charlotte sat right beside the pumpkin, but Trey wanted to keep playing.  She kept patting the step next to her and saying "Trey!" until he came and appeased her by sitting down and taking a picture with her.

Pumpkin Patch

On Friday evening our Sunday School class had their second annual trip to the Jeter Farm Pumpkin Patch.  We had the best time!  Many of our families came and it was fun to hang out together and let our kids play together.

When we arrived we checked out the animals. Then we took the hayride out to the corn maze.  At the corn maze we killed some time waiting for the rest of our group to arrive by taking pictures.  

Charlotte and her friend Emma.  Emma was so sweet to Charlotte and wanted to hold her hand and help her during the night!

Trey and Charlotte with their friends Emma and Carter.  Emma and Carter's family is moving to South Carolina tomorrow and we were so happy to see them one last time, but sad that they are leaving!

Attempting to get all the kids together.  I love this one because Carter starts running away as I snapped the picture!

Playing in the hay

At the start of the corn maze.  Trey was our fearless leader.  Luckily he has a really good sense of direction because he was in the very front the whole maze!

 After the corn maze we took another hayride to the pumpkin patch area.  This year there was a "tractor train" with little cars that pulled behind the tractor.  Trey did not want to get in at all, but Charlotte hopped right into a car with the other big kids.  The farmer stayed real close at first to make sure Charlotte wouldn't get upset because she was so little, but when he saw she was fine they took off around the farm!

Charlotte was ready to ride! Check out Tucker's cool shades behind her!  

All the big kids ready to go.  Look how little Charlotte looks!

Circling close by before they took off.  

 

 

 

 We ended the night picking out the perfect pumpkins and going down the slide. 

Charlotte picked out a pumpkin just the right size. 

Going down the slide with Daddy.

We all had so much fun.  Last year Charlotte couldn't really enjoy the activities and just had to be carried around, but this year she was running around with all the other kids. Trey didn't cry at all on the hayride and while he wasn't into riding on the tractor train, he ran through the corn maze and loved going down the slide.  When we headed back to our cards on the hayride Trey waved bye-bye to the cows and said, "Bye Cows, I will see you another day!"

Jeter Farm 2011

Jeter Farm 2012

 

1st Boat Ride

Trey and Charlotte went on their first boat ride on Sunday afternoon. Our Sunday School class has tried to be intentional about getting all the girls together and all the guys together every other month for some time to hang out.  With most of us having young kids, it is hard to build relationships together outside of church so girls time and guys time has been something we each look forward to each month(and the other spouse is in charge of the kids!).  So far the girls have done dinner and a movie, pedicures and lunch, and dinner at the Homeplace.  The guys have done hiking, a Salem Red Sox game, and skeet shooting.  Now looking at it the guys events are more active and the girls events all involve food!

Sunday was a girl's day and we were supposed to go on a boat ride around Smith Mountain Lake, but only 3 girls could go, so we decided to bring our families along.  We ate lunch all together at a Mexican restaurant after church.

Both the kids love Mexican food.  Charlotte kept licking the salsa off her chip and dipping the chip back in the bowl.  We gave her her own bowl of salsa. 

Then we headed for the lake.  It was only about 15 minutes from church and Charlotte got in a short nap on the way.  She was kinda sleepy for first part of the ride so she just chilled with her paci and blanket on the boat.  I had to take them away to put on her lifejacket (which she hated!) and then give them back to sooth her because she kept trying to tear the life jacket off.

Charlotte sat in my lap most of the trip, but at the end she kept wanting to walk around the back of the boat and then sit on the seat by herself and hold on. 

Trey didn't get off Jay's lap until we docked, but you can tell he had fun!

Trey was very excited before we got to the lake, but like any new thing it took him a while to feel comfortable and get warmed up.  He also was not a fan of the life jacket at first but it grew on him.  He liked to see the people fishing on the lake and all the other boats on the docks.

Girls Time on the boat ride

Purses Galore!

Charlotte has three obsessions in life: shoes, purses and talking on the phone.  I don't want to know what she will be like at 15 if this is what she is like at 20 months!   She wants everyone to wear shoes, will bring you shoes, try on any shoes she finds, and constantly wants to put on different shoes when she finds them.  If you are talking on the phone she comes up and yells "me!" until you hand her the phone to talk on.   Her newest love is purses.  She will turn any bag into a purse and wear it around the house.

Talking on the phone with Daddy while Trey plays on his own.  The picture shows my social butterfly and my shy introvert. 

Still talking on the phone but trying to ignore me so I can't get the phone back.

Before church this morning Charlotte gets her bag to carry.  She has to carry her own bag wherever we go.  Usually her hand is holding onto her head or her hair to help her arm stay up!

After naptime she found three purses to carry, well one is really Trey's train basket. 

Charlotte loves her purses!

September Stuff

For the past 2 years my blog has slowed down during the month of September.  It is either because our life is so busy getting back into the fall routine I don't have time to blog, or we are just doing "normal" things every day since we are back into a regular schedule.

Jay and I have had a lot of different meetings due to the start of the school and having to meet with other teachers to set things up.  During one late evening for him, the kids and I baked cookies after dinner.

Trey likes to stir the batter.  I can't turn my back because he will add random things on the counter to the bowl in order to have more stuff to stir in.  We had to talk about why we follow the recipe. 

Charlotte spent most her time just banging on the counter.  But she had to be up on the chair with Trey and when he scooped something into the bowl she would stick her scoop in right after his ready for her turn. 

Saturday was the first day in a while we just stayed at home.  I was able to clean the whole house during a morning cleaning spree and evening cleaning spree.  The kids got out the blue playdoh Nana made for Trey and had a blast.  Charlotte knows exactly what to do with the cookie cutters and it was fun to watch her play and not have to constantly worry about her eating the playdoh.  Although, we did have to fish some out of her mouth at the very end when she was trying to be sneaky! Trey made the playdoh crumbly and said it was snow falling.  I guess he is ready for cooler weather too!

Trey put on his apron and said, "Look Mommy I am a cook like you are!"

Charlotte wanted to make apples.  She kept saying apple over and over again as she made them with the cookie cutter. 

At church the preschool kids have moved up to their next class.  Trey is in a new room with new teachers for Sunday School and choir on Wednesday nights.  At first he was really hesitant to go in when we got to church, but when we got to the room for choir he found his name tag, stuck it on his shirt and walked right in.  I was very proud of him because I was afraid he was going to be clingy and not want to go inside.  On Sunday morning his teachers apologized to Jay because Trey's underwear was on backwards.  They said no matter what they tried to tell him he wouldn't let them turn it around.  Jay just laughed and explained he likes to see the character on the underwear so he wears them backwards.  I hadn't realized how odd that would look to his teachers at church when they take him to the bathroom!

Charlotte hasn't moved up rooms yet.  In her area there is a baby room, crawler room, and a walker room for the one year olds.  Charlotte is still in the crawler room even though she has been walking for quite a while now and is 19 months old.  She loves her teachers and walks right in and plays without crying.  Last week she even carried her bag in all by herself and handed it to them! They move up as the teachers think they are ready for the next class or if one room gets too crowded, but the children's minister told me today she doesn't know if Charlotte's teachers will ever more her up because she is so good in her room.