Our first few months back in Florida have been quite adventurous. Between the chaos of all that goes along with a move, starting new jobs, beginning new schools, throwing in a couple hurricanes really spiced things up! Thankfully our new home did not sustain damage during either of the hurricanes, but we did have lots of time together (without power!) and made some fun memories in spite of what was a scary situation.
Look at all that fun Chris was having!
We spent a big chunk of our time off of school celebrating “Dinosaur Day!” All things dinosaurs took place on this day. From Dinosaur Cookies to seeing how far we could throw toy dinosaurs, we did it.
Dinosaur day was quite exhausting. (I’m obsessed with sleeping pics of my kids.)
Once the roads were good enough to drive on, we got out of the house as much as we could (We were running low on food and were without power a few days.)
God bless restaurant employees who fed us poor, stir-crazy, hungry people.
A few days after the storm the boys and I headed to the beach to check out the damage… Nothing like a hurricane to make you realize how small you are in the world and how powerful Mother Nature can be.
Remember when us Smiths moved to Raleigh, built our dream home, and decided we would stay forever? Yeaaaa, about that. We freakin’ loved North Carolina. In fact we were 99.9% sure we would never leave. We made great friends, loved the city and proximity to mountains and beaches, and really felt at home there. The only thing missing was family. And, that’s a big one. Chris and I always said we knew we would stay put in Raleigh unless something huge came along that could potentially bring us closer to family.
We always sort of half joked that it would take the perfect job in the perfect location to make us move again. We didn’t want to just move anywhere, we wanted to have family super close to make it worth our while. We said the perfect job would have to be in North Florida or South Georgia for it to make sense for Chris to leave his position at a company he’d been with for 11 years. So, when a company that Chris has admired for a long time came to him to let him know they had an opening in their North Florida/South Georgia territory, it completely caught us off guard. We didn’t think that kind of opportunity existed. We felt like he had to at least apply. We said if it was meant to be, it would happen.
As Chris got further and further into the interview process it began to sink in that this might actually be happening. Chris began to fall in love with the company and realized how much he really wanted the job. However, the idea of moving again seemed daunting and the reality that we may be leaving the life we had created in North Carolina was super bittersweet. By the time Chris found out he got the job, it was a surreal feeling of “YAY!” and “what did we just do?!” All along we just kept reminding ourselves that this was God’s plan. This job presented itself for a reason. Not only was Chris about to embark on an exciting new career opportunity that was such a perfect fit for him, the job was located right smack in the middle of my mom and dad. We are closer to Chris’s aunt and brother, my extended family, our old friends, and of course, Gator games!
Our journey back to Florida has been a whirlwind of selling our house, quickly buying a new one, saying good-bye to friends, packing, cleaning, staying in a hotel for a week (with the kids and pets), paperwork, phone calls, more cleaning, unpacking, starting a new job, and getting settled into our new life. In the short term, it’s hectic and crazy. In the long term, Chris is beyond happy with his new position, our kids get to spend time with family whenever we want, and our decision to move back to Florida is turning out to be so great.
I’m slowly starting to make my mark on our new house and it’s beginning to feel like home. We’re loving that we are super close to the beach and there is GATOR stuff everywhere!! The kids are enrolled in their new schools and I’m working on applying to be a substitute teacher for our county (side note: miraculously I still have 2 years left on my Florida teaching certificate so I can go back to teaching full time sometime soon!) I’m sure I’ll be posting more once we get the house finished, but in the meantime, here’s some pictures of the last month of moving fun.
Nolan on the morning that the movers came to pack up our Raleigh house. He was all, “nope.”
Thankfully Chris was able to perk him up with a quick apple bite.
I snapped this pic from our neighbor’s house. I was in full panic mode looking over like, “what have we gotten ourselves into again?”
Kissing NC goodbye!
The definition of a bittersweet photo for me. The last picture of the boys on our front steps. So sad to leave, but ready for our next adventure.
Our last night in Raleigh was in a hotel. Brady spent the evening writing “notes” to all his friends he was leaving behind. (Tear!!!)
Rise and shine! Who’s ready to hit the road for Florida?!!! Guys?
Our first night in Florida- had to get a flip flop cookie to commemorate it!
Once we got to Florida we had a week in a hotel before we closed on our new house. We did a bunch of stalker drive by’s of the new house before we could get in.
This is what a week of living in a hotel with 2 boys, a dog, and a cat, does to you.
The boys went to stay with Grandma and Aunt Claudia for a couple days while Chris and I closed on the house and started the cleaning and unpacking process. Such a lifesaver! (and perk to being close to family again!!)
Our final walk thru of our Florida home
We were those people who brought their dog to closing. He sat like a statue in the corner for an hour and a half.
We are moving pros by now. We know to have solo cups and screw top wine on hand for when you can’t find your wine opener. Now, where’s that coffee maker….
A 3 and 5 year old boy are excellent unpacking helpers.
Brady is officially going to start Kindergarten (again)!
Coffee maker is found! Enjoying the new backyard view 🙂
Oh hey, Florida. How I missed you!
We don’t quite feel like we are done with North Carolina. We are sure we will be vacationing there as much as possible and hopefully one day have a second home or retire there. That time in our life will always have such a special place in our hearts, but this new chapter in Florida is looking pretty good so far! Stay tuned…
I realize I’ve been slacking on my blog posts lately…life, has been busy! I did not want to miss the opportunity to document all of the awesome celebrations we had for Nolan turning 3. So, better late than never!
Our sweet Nolie is ridiculously obsessed with trains these days. His favorite place on Earth is Tweetsie Railroad. He spends countless hours watching YouTube videos of steam engines. And, his wooden track and trains that my Grandma Dot bought the boys are his most prized possessions. So, it made perfect sense to have an all out train themed birthday. Instead of one big party, Nolan got to have 2 different train rides with friends and family, as well as a little party with his school friends (complete with Thomas the Train cupcakes and engineer hats of course.)
We started celebrating with a trip to the railway museum in Savannah. We got to ride a diesel engine and look at all the cool trains. Grandma drove up for the celebration and we had lunch at the Pirate House restaurant with her and Grandpa and Nana.
On the day of Nolan’s actual birthday we surprised him with a new Mickey train and donuts for breakfast. The simplest things make him so happy! He then celebrated at school with his favorite Miss Beverley and all his little friends.
For Nolan’s last celebration, we got together with some of our friends from our neighborhood and went on another train ride. It was an open air steam engine (and it was COLD outside!) The things you do for the ones you love! Then, we celebrated at our house with pizza, cookie cake, and playtime with his buddies.
All in all, this little boy is very loved (and just a little bit spoiled!)
Our baby is three. It’s hard to believe that little ball of head-strong energy has been with us that long, but then again it’s impossible to imagine life without all the chaos and fun that is Nolan.
He continues to amaze us with how smart and sharp-witted he is. He can be hilarious and mischievous and sensitive all at once. His emotions run high and he simply cannot be without his blankie and thumb in an emergency.
He’s a cuddler and is ridiculously quick to cry when things don’t go his way. He has all but caught up to Brady in size, but still looks up to his big brother and mimics his every move. He has a never-ending appetite and can out-eat any grown man when it comes to desserts. He makes life interesting and is full of laughter and charm. We just love him to pieces!
With Nolan turning 3, we did a quick interview to help us remember him at this age. Here are his answers…
What’s your name?
-Nolan! N for Nolie!
How old are you?
-5!
Nope, that’s how old Brady is going to be. How old are YOU going to be?
-3!
What is your favorite color?
-Green
What is your favorite show?
-Paw Patrol
What is your favorite movie?
-I like “Frozen”
What’s your favorite food?
-Popcorn
What’s your favorite toy?
-Trains! Choo-choo! Chugga-chugga…(This goes on for a while)
Who’s your best friend?
-Brady (AWWWW)
What’s your favorite song?
-Jack Johnson…”Bubble Toes” (this is actually Brady’s favorite song)
What other songs do you like?
-Mommy’s song…”Cake by the Ocean” (it’s true, I do love that song)
What other songs?
-“Happy” song (Pharrell is STILL popular in the Smith house) and Adele.
That little goofball brings so much joy (and craziness) to our life. We survived the terrible 2’s so let’s see what kind of adventures await us with our new “THREEnager.” Happy Birthday Bubba!
This winter has been surprisingly manageable. We’ve only had one weekend that gave us some cabin fever, but thankfully most of that crazy blizzard missed us (with the exception of a little snow and quite a bit of ice.) While we haven’t had to deal with extreme snowfall, it still gets a little dreary and boring in the winter. We find ourselves missing being able to play outside every day and let’s face it, wearing socks all the time isn’t this Florida girl’s cup of tea.
Thankfully we were able to break up some of the winter blah by taking two quick trips out of town. One was a tag-long work trip for Chris to Great Wolf Lodge in Charlotte and the other was a weekend get away to see the mountains in Boone.
Great Wolf Lodge was a much needed chance to get our bathing suits on and play without fear of freeeezing! The kids loved the arcade, bowling alley, and water park. They also had a blast in their own little wolf den, complete with bunk beds and their own T.V. (I’m telling you, these kids have got it so rough.) On this trip we learned that Brady is ridiculously fearless when it comes to really high water slides and Nolan is just cool with the really shallow kiddie pool area.
My water baby in his glory.
Our next adventure was a weekend trip to Boone. We wanted the boys to be able to play in the snow and check out the mountains in the winter. (And secretly we just wanted to go eat at some of our favorite restaurants.) The Boone/Blowing Rock area is quickly becoming one of our family’s favorite vacation spots and it’s awesome that the boys are becoming familiar with the area and making so many memories there.
Our first (and most important) stop when we got to town…Come Back Shack. Holy milkshakes!
Traveling…I’m in it for the food.
Next stop, Grandfather Mountain.
Cute lil’ mountain climbers!
Family selfie before crossing the mile high swinging bridge.
Brady was once again fearless on the mountain. He always wants to climb higher!
Whatever you do, don’t look down. (MILE high!)
first of all, he’s ridiculously handsome. second, he threw a snowball at my camera.
Snowball fight!
Sit on the side of this mountain. Don’t move. Don’t fall. Now, smile!
The otters on the mountain really liked the boys!
Ahhh those views. North Carolina rocks.
We also spent some time in Downtown Blowing Rock. One of the cutest little towns ever!
More snowball fights!
And, more eating. Like I said, we mostly travel for the food.
And Brady’s favorite part of the trip…the Jacuzzi tub in the hotel suite. Livin’ the life.
I love our adventures, big and small. Anytime I can combine travel, food, and my sweet boys, I’m a happy girl. No winter blues here!
We’re loving the Christmas season around here. The Smiths are the type of people who listen to Christmas carols a little too much, decorate way too early, and head to the mall in the peak of crowds. We love spoiling our kids this time of year, but we’ve made a conscious effort to teach our boys the joy of giving. I’m not gonna lie-it’s a little tricky when so much focus is given towards, “what are you going to ask Santa for?” and “how many days until you get to open your presents?” Our hope is that they will learn that giving and doing for others can bring as much enjoyment as receiving gifts some day. After all, there’s nothing quite like putting a smile on someone’s face to make your heart happy.
Like this charitable act. “Put your heads in those things so mommy and daddy can get a good laugh!”
Since the boys are only 2 and 4, it takes a little creativity to think of ways to get them involved in the act of giving or doing for others. Here’s some of the ways we tried to get them in the “giving” spirit this year…
We donated money to the Salvation Army red kettles.
We made cards and artwork for our friends who donated money to our St. Jude fundraiser for sick children.
They delivered cards to all the kids in their class.
They picked out and purchased a toy for the Toys for Tots bin.
They each went shopping for a Christmas present for their brother. (Dollar Store finds- gotta love ’em!)
They went shopping for presents for Albert and Gato.
We made cards for the mailman and trash collectors.
The mailman’s surprise.
The trash collector’s gift and card.
We brought a small gift for each of their teachers. (Contemplated the ol’ alcoholic gift for Nolan’s teacher. Bless her patient heart.)
They gave a small treat to each of their classmates.
And probably the biggest sacrifice this Christmas season was cleaning out their old “baby toys” and donating them to a local ministry thrift shop. This was the toughest part for Nolan- he insisted that those were HIS toys. He had a hard time letting go (but was more willing once he realized that made more room for new toys!) We also gave away all of their clothes that they outgrew recently and donated food to a food bank- thankfully that was done with a more generous heart. It was so touching to hear Brady’s thoughts about how much he cared that other children might not have all of the things that he has. Kids can be amazingly empathetic.
I hope this is the start of raising children who have a love of doing things for others. While I still fully intend on taking part in all the sparkly, indulgent, over-the-top Christmas traditions, maybe, just maybe, it will be done with a charitable mindset that rubs off on our kids!
Happy Thanksgiving! Our day was spent cooking, lounging, eating, drinking, golfing, watching football, and spending time with family.
Now that we’re all fat and happy, I thought I’d take a moment to recap some of the things (big & small) that I’m most thankful for. After all, reflecting on your blessings is the key to happiness! (I’m not sure if I stole that from a decorative pillow or something, but you can quote me on that either way.)
In no particular order, here’s what I’m thankful for…
Our kids. (ok, I put them first for a reason.) They’re bright, healthy, funny, crazy boys. They epitomize all that is good and innocent in the world. To know them, is to know true love. Simply put, they make me happy when skies are gray.
My hubby. He’s exactly what you’d want in a husband- perfectly imperfect. He never lets me down and I feel like I’m a better person when I’m with him. He loves me through and through and you can’t ask for much more than that from someone you’re sharing your life with.
My parents. They always support my decisions and love me unconditionally. And now, they are the best grandparents to my kiddos.
Extended family. While I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like, I was blessed to be raised in a family where there was always lots of love (and food!) every time we got together. My Grandma Dot loved big family get togethers and around the holidays I am missing her more than ever, but I am so grateful for the memories and traditions that she created for us.
Fur babies. Albert and Gato make life so much more interesting. Yes, they cause me a lot of headaches and laundry, but they also bring us joy in the form of excited, jumping up and down barking, and late night purring and snuggles.
Chick Lit and Girly T.V. shows. As much as I love having my hubby around, I’m not going to lie, I kinda enjoy nights when he’s out of town and I get to catch up on episodes of Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy. And, I certainly couldn’t live without books. Shout out to anyone else who owns a book light that they attach to the top of their books!
Music. Country, classic rock, R&B, pop, Christmas music…you name it. We do not go a day without jamming out. Between dance parties with my kids, to listening to Pandora while I read, I’m so grateful for it.
Friends. I’m so lucky to have met my best friends in college. They know all my crazy stories, have seen me at my best/worst, and still love me. I’m also grateful for all the friends we’ve met over the last couple years as we’ve moved from state to state. Every place we’ve been, we’ve been so blessed to find people who have made us feel at home.
Wine. Not sure if that really needs an explanation, but, it’s tasty and I think life is better with it. The same goes for alfredo sauce, doughnuts, birthday cake, fresh picked strawberries, champagne, and tacos.
Faith. I’m grateful for the comfort of knowing my future is in God’s hands and that all of my blessings come from Him.
The University of Florida. It was my home for 4 years and still feels like it every time I go back. It’s where I got my college degree, where I “grew up”, where I found my best friends, and where I met my husband. Going there was most certainly the best, most life changing thing I ever did. (I should also add that I’m super thankful for college football!)
These are a few of my favorite things! While every day is not perfect, there are certainly blessings all around us each day if we take the time to look for them.
We hope everyone had a blessed day that was full of the 3 F’s- Family, Food, and Football. HAPPY THANKSGIVING Y’ALL!
Oh hey, blog. Nice to see you again. No seriously, it’s been forever since I’ve written a post. Time to get back at it!
I thought I’d do a quick re-cap of some of our Fall shenanigans. There’s been lots of football watching, leaf gawking, travel, and enjoying cooler temps.
We try to get in the Fall spirit with a little bit of decorating. Some pumpkins, leaves, and of course a Gator shrine help us enjoy the season a little more.
Grandma Dot’s Pumpkin Bread recipe is my favorite Fall decoration!
We’ve also been busy with school and soccer the last couple of months. Brady has loved school from day one, where Nolan took some getting used to. He liked the idea of school, but did NOT like mommy leaving. He has finally come around to the idea and now looks forward to it as much as Brady.
A happy, post school, selfie!
Brady had his first school field trip this Fall- a trip to a pumpkin patch complete with a hayride, goats, and a bounce house.
Brady’s Soccer Team…
Go Lions! Brady is so darn cute out there and tries SO hard!
We recently took a trip to Blowing Rock, NC with my Aunt Claudia. She got the best condo for all of us right in Downtown. We were walking distance from restaurants, bars, shops, and a park. The leaves were spectacular along the parkway, the boys enjoyed going back to Tweetsie Railroad, and we had fun exploring Downtown Boone. We even got to check out some cool views of Appalachian State and are highly considering brainwashing our boys to make that their back up school (if they don’t get into UF of course!)
Downtown Blowing Rock…
Driving the Blue Ridge Parkway…
Exploring Downtown Boone and App State…
One of the Boone Firefighters invited Brady into the station as we were walking past and let him get into all the trucks- so exciting for him!
Tweetsie Railroad…
Halloween was super fun this year. Both boys really got into it and were pretty much the cutest dinosaurs ever. They got to trick or treat twice. Once at the park near our house and then again in our neighborhood. They enjoyed the candy, but really liked just hanging out in our driveway with a fire pit and our neighbors. (And the T.V. Chris set up so we could watch college football, of course.)
Pumpkin Decorating…Can you guess which is Nolan’s and which is Brady’s?
All about the costumes…
Trick-or-treat the Trail at White Deer Park…
Halloween night at our house…
Nolan demonstrating how Triceratops walked on 4 legs.
He had the best time running up and “scaring” people with is ROAR!
Brady teaching our neighbor Sophie how to pose like a T-Rex.
So that’s our Fall so far. We’re looking forward to our first Thanksgiving in our new home and enjoying the last little bit of color on the trees. The days of playing outside without sweating or needing puffy jackets are numbered so we are trying to make the most of them! Happy Fall, y’all!
The boys (both!) started pre-school this week. This is Brady’s 3rd year of school so he’s an old pro by now, but it was Nolan’s first time (really, ever) doing anything without me. Both boys were so excited for the idea of school- new backpacks, packing a lunch, cool shoes, we just weren’t sure how Nolan would do with the reality of school being away from Mommy, Daddy and Brady. This year Brady will go 4 mornings a week and Nolan will go 2. That’s right, that means I will get a whole 8 hours to myself each week. Woot! Time to move the pile of laundry off my treadmill and actually use it! But I digress…
Brady started school on Monday, but Nolan didn’t have his first day until Tuesday. That was slightly confusing for poor Nolie as he was just sure he was supposed to go to school too.
Brady was a superstar on the first day. He was so excited to get into his classroom and get his learn on!
We were totally “those parents” taking hundreds of pictures in the classroom and even Brady’s teacher made a comment about how we really seemed into “taking it all in.” Ahem. Brady made up for his crazy parents by giving his teachers a sweet 1st day of school present.
Hey, I was a teacher. I know it doesn’t hurt to suck up juuuust a little. I’m not above it.
From the sounds of it, Brady had a great 1st day. When we came to pick him up he said, “Why are you here already?” He’s all warm and fuzzy just like his momma.
Now onto littlest man’s 1st day of school. He was so stoked. He posed perfectly and everything. That never happens!
We even got a couple shots with big brother (who was clearly an expert at this picture thing by now.)
Happy, happy, happy heading into school.
Oh, look! There’s my name! Happy, happy, happy.
First kid in the class- get the firetruck all to myself. Happy, happy, happy!
And then I left to take Brady to his class…
Sweet little Brady just working away, completely un-caring that I’m leaving the room. He’s so cool.
Apparently that’s when things got a little less “happy.” When Chris left the classroom, Nolan got a little panicky but was quickly calmed by his trusty blankie that we brought for this exact reason. We both made a quick get away and prayed that things would go well and we wouldn’t get a phone call mid-morning to come retrieve our traumatized child.
In true Chris and Karen fashion, I was all “Woohoo! Kids are both in school!” and he was all “Boohoo! They’re growing up so fast!” Love my big, emotional man.
Turns out we did not get any phone calls from the school. (Yay!) We actually got to take advantage of a rare kid-free, Chris not traveling, morning, and went out to lunch downtown.
I guess pork and grits can help ease anyone’s stress…
When we picked up Nolan he was playing happily! His teacher reported that he had a good day, although he did NOT want his diaper changed at all (guess we need to work on that potty training thing) and he would NOT leave his blankie in the classroom during playground time (we’ll work on that too.) One of my favorite parts of the day was seeing how interested Brady was in Nolan’s day. “Did you have fun, Nolan? See, mommy and daddy always come BACK!” Ahh, melted my heart.
We’ll see how day 2 goes for N-Dawg, sometimes that’s even harder than the 1st day, but at least we all survived day 1! Brady is loving school and Nolan is off to a decent start. Here’s a quick video of him breaking it down on the way home from school. Clearly he wasn’t too traumatized!
Summer is coming to an end. We’ve wrapped up the last of our family travels and the boys’ backpacks are all set out on the table to start school next week. While I am looking forward to the structure and routine that school provides our day to day life, I’ll miss our carefree days of summer. We were lucky enough to get to tag along with Chris on several work trips, visit family, and have visits from lots of our friends. Most of all, I’ll miss spending the whole day with my little guys. I know I’m beyond blessed to have the opportunity to spend every day with them, and I’ve especially loved getting to see new places and go on “adventures” with them over the last few months.
Some of my favorite times with my boys were the small, silly moments when they were just all boy-sweet, innocent, and loving life! They wore super hero jammies to the mall, rode their toy dinosaurs around the house, and made me laugh all the time!
The boys were super excited to have a visit from their Auntie Jill (my best friend!) We showed her around downtown Raleigh, all our favorite parks and took a day trip to Chapel Hill…where we had the best BLT’s of our lives! Brady gave it a big ol’ thumbs up- or is that a Donald Trump impression? Either way…
One of Brady’s favorite trips was when we went to Hickory, NC for Chris’ work. Not only did the museum there have an aquarium (Nolan’s favorite!) but they had a remote controlled dinosaur exhibit (Brady’s favorite!)
The boys also got their back to school haircuts. Have I mentioned how much Nolan HATES haircuts? It’s torture for all of us. But, we got it over with. These are the best pictures I got of their new do’s. Nolan is covered in a chocolate ice cream sample and Brady wanted me to get a picture “like this” so he could see what he looked like with his eyes closed. Sigh.
We had a fun day at Wrightsville Beach as a family this month. It’s about 2 hours from the house (our closest beach). I just love how much our boys have become little water babies this summer!
We also had a visit from our friends the Richards. It was awesome catching up with them and the boys loved hanging with their cute kiddos, Lynlee and Bennett!
We made another trip down to Savannah this month as well. This time we toured Fort Pulaski with Grandpa and Nana. The boys loved hearing the big cannon firing demos. Nolan wasn’t quite sure if it was fireworks or what.
It’s always fun when you’re taking a selfie on the second story of a big fort and you happen to see on the phone screen, in the background, one of your kiddos climbing over the super high wall of said fort. We were all, “cheeeese- AHHH!”
From Savannah we headed to Charleston for a few days. We ate yummy food, walked around downtown, hit up some cool parks, and checked out the South Carolina Aquarium.
Me and my love in Charleston!
I had to capture the boys on the way home from our last trip. We came home later in the evening and Brady slept the entire way. Nolan slept about half and then spent the rest of the time watching Pharrell sing “Happy” on repeat. So typical.
The boys and I spent one of our last days of summer at one of our favorite places, Pullen Park. It’s right by downtown and we had fun riding the train, playing on the playground, and we can never leave without getting a Loco Pop.
This has been a great summer. It was full of celebrations, travel, friends and family. We had big adventures and small moments that I’ll always treasure. The boys will never be 2 and 4 again, so I tried to soak up as much of their sweetness as possible. Boo for summer being over, but yay for Fall adventures to come!
our blessed adventures 