Happy Birthday "5"

Nathan's birthday was yesterday, August 20th at 10:15 am. I woke him up early by singing "Happy Birthday". He was tired and sat up in bed. He hung his head and began to pout. I felt a little bad because I did wake him up about a half hour before he usually wakes up on his own. As I questioned him about being upset he indicated that he didn't want to be 5. In fact, he wants to be 4 forever. I let him in on a little secret - okay you are still 4, your birthday isn't until 10:15 a.m. He put on a smile, jumped off the bed and started his day! After balloons, presents and cake he still claims to be 4!

Michigan Trip - August 2009

I must start this entry out by telling all of our friends what an incredible husband and father Ryan is. He knows that it is very important for the kids and I to spend time in Michigan to see our familyso he sacrifices time away from us. Although the time apart is difficult for all of us, it is expecially hard on Ryan - as he is the one left behind. We are all glad to be back together and we are thankful for the time the kids had to spend with their family, espcially their grandparents. We know it never feels like enough time for them....

Lessons from the Road...

If you know one thing about Nathan - you probably know that Nathan LOVES animals. His current obsession centers around extinct animals. Grandma Beadle introduced Nathan to a new word - Roadkill. She went above and beyond giving Nathan a definition...if a picture is worth a thousand words the the real thing is woth at least a thousand questions!

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

One of my very favorite things about Michigan is Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI. Ryan and I both attended MSU and received our bachelor degrees from there.

Campus is lovely and holds a certain magical charm for me. We visited the MSU Dairy, fed some Canadian Geese, and visited the famous painted rock.




This rock is actually the size of your fist, it has been painted that many times!




Nathan was tired of the backseat. He navigated traffic like an expert.




The sandbox is always fun - wet or dry!



Pay close attention to three very important fashion tips...

You can only pull off these fashion tips if you are a cute little girl!

Lake Powhatan

A friend of ours told us about a lake near our home that actually has a sandy beach. This was a surprise to us because here in NC the "dirt" is a red clay. We didn't expect that there would be any beaches with sand. The best part...the lake is about five minutes from our house!





At some point I am going to make a post about our favorite places to visit in the Asheville, NC area. This will definitely make it to the list. Not only is there a lake with a swimming area and beach, there are picnic tables, grills and even a campground.

Here is some information I found about Lake Powhatan:

Thirteen man-made lakes and ponds provide added opportunities for water sports and recreation along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Lake Powhatan, with its multifaceted recreation area, is one of the most popular.

Rather than a primitive wilderness experience, the Lake Powhatan Recreation Area offers easy access to a variety of outdoor activities such as fishing, hiking, swimming, and mountain biking. In addition, connector trails lead to the 6,300-acre Bent Creek Research and Demonstration Forest, The North Carolina Arboretum, and less heavily visited areas in the Pisgah National Forest.

Around the Country

It has been quite some time since I have posted - not for lack of happenings. We have had visitors from around the country! As I have been reflecting on the wonderful friends I have and where I met each one I have thought about the wonderful blessing it has been in my life to live in many different places. Without the moves I would never have met some of my closest friends.

After moving to North Carolina and purchasing our home we decided to keep a book for our visitors to sign when they stay the night. This idea certainly isn't original - Ryan's grandma Virgina "Ginny" Beadle use to keep a book in her home in Venice, Florida. Her guests would sign it when they would come to stay. Years after she passed away it was interesting to look through the book. So we decided to begin the tradition for our home.

So far we have had visitors from Michigan (obviously there have been lots of visits from our family), Tennessee, Florida and Washington. We are looking forward to expanding our book and would love to have visitors from around the country!