So We Moved Again...

Time is flying by and I can't believe we are almost into December!  My blog posting has been few and far between in recent months, and really who can blame me?  We had to organize yet another move.  This one was a bit easier than our previous move since we only moved 190 miles west on I-10 to Beaumont, TX.  Every move comes with its own set of difficulties but after six moves in eight years, we have certainly learned a few tricks.

All these moves generate a lot of questions so I'm going to go with the Q&A format like I have in past move posts.

How long will we be in Beaumont?
As far as we know, 1 year. But it could easily be less and possibly more.

Who is going to take care of Caroline?
We had to say a sad farewell to our wonderful nanny in Baton Rouge but have found a great new nanny in Beaumont.  Unfortunately we haven't found as many fun activities for Caroline yet.  We miss The Spanish Class and Gymboree!

What will we be doing?
I am continuing work on the project I was assigned to while in Baton Rouge.  We are now in the construction phase so I get to see something actually get built.  Derek has a similar position to what he had in Baton Rouge but is having to commute to Mont Belvieu which is about 55 miles each way.

Where do we live?
Obviously with an outlook of one year, it is difficult to justify buying a home.  Thankfully, the company provides assistance for us to rent a home while we are here.

Why all the moving?
Yes, it seems crazy to some to move as much as we do.  Don't we want to settle down? Buy a home? And the answer is always mixed.  One day I am sure we will want to but right now we have no children in school, we love new adventures, and we are getting great work experience.  Home ownership is also a little overrated (or at least that is my defense mechanism talking) so it does not bother us to not own a home at the moment.  When we are going to live somewhere for more than a year, we will be looking to purchase a home.  I'm also learning all the things I love and hate about different homes without making all those financial mistakes myself.  Derek and I agree that our next home will be very different from the first home we bought.  Priorities and preferences really change over time.

While we are sad to have had to say goodbye to our good friends in Baton Rouge, we are happy to be back in Texas.  No income tax, lower car insurance, and just over an hour away from Houston.

We made a huge mistake on this move which was to go on vacation beforehand.  Lesson learned, always vacation after a move.  It created a lot of stress and distracted from our vacation.  Nevertheless, we were able to enjoy ourselves and I will share more about this trip to Hawaii soon!

Hiking and Tweetsie Railroad

During my family's annual trip to Camp, we took a few days to go hiking and visit Tweetsie Railroad.  The hike up Grandfather is something we always look forward to but it had been at least 8 years since I did it and I honestly couldn't remember much about it.  Derek and I love to hike and have done a few strenuous hikes and from what I could remember it seemed to be on par.  I mean if my 9 year-old niece and 6 year-old nephew are going to do it then it can't be that bad, right?  Somehow I forgot about all the ladders, ropes, rocks, and climbing.  It is certainly not for the faint hearted as there are some really dangerous parts and I can't imagine trying to do it in the rain with the rocks being slippery (which I'm pretty sure we did back in my youth).  Fortunately it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed our hike along the seven peaks of Grandfather Mountain.

Lauren and William at the start of the Daniel Boone Trail

View from the first peak

About a mile in we weren't sure this guy was going to make it but with some encouragement, he made it the whole way!

This was the first of many of ladders for us

At the start of Attic Window 

Midway through Attic Window, this was the view up from where I was standing.

And this was the view down.

We made it!  Note the warning signs for how difficult the trail is.  We definitely saw people in flip flops and walking dogs
try to go up this path.

Derek and the Mile High Swinging Bridge

All our hikers for the day

Our next big adventure of the week was to Tweetsie Railroad.  It's cheesy, outdated, and a bit overpriced but still holds a lot of nostalgia for us.  It was great to get to bring Caroline there to enjoy the train, animal feeding, and her first rides.  She even got up on stage during the cloggers performance and did her own little jig!

How could these cuties end up in jail?

Caroline is not impressed by the wagon

Paige kindly road the rides with William

And Caroline S. road with Lauren

She was not afraid of the animals and she really wanted them to eat the food from her hand.

Checking out the donkeys

This was like a dream come true.  She LOVES Llama Llama books and got to meet a real llama!

First time on a Merry-Go-Round.  Maybe not her favorite but she lasted the whole ride without crying.

This proud little lady getting her picture taken with the performers

One afternoon the three of us went over to Linville Falls to do a small hike on our own.  We wanted to be able to do a hike with Caroline and this was the perfect place.  It had been so long since I had done it that I could barely remember so it was like the first time for all of us.

View of the Upper Falls

Smiling and signing for Dada 

Family photo at the lower falls

It was a terrific week at camp and we really hope to be able to go back again next year.  Life gets hectic and it is nice to be able to take a week to disconnect from work and reconnect to family. It certainly won't be 8+ years until we return this time!

Finally Back at Camp

My family first started going to Camp Linn Haven when I was not even a year old yet.  Every year since then (excluding the year we got married), my family has spent a week at camp with some of our dearest friends.  Thanks to my brother, some of those dear friends are now actually family too!  I spent many summers up at Camp as a kid and teenager attending kids weeks, family week, and working in the kitchen.  It was at Camp that I had my first job, learned responsibility and independence, and made so many memories.

Evidence that we have been coming for 30 years.  Check out that tiny handprint on the bottom!

Due to limited vacation time in those early years of a career and multiple moves, Derek and I had not had the chance to go.  In fact, Derek had never been to Camp at all.  We decided this year that we had to go and I am so glad we did!  We loved getting to enjoy the cool mountain air, hike, play games, camp fires, and the wonderful company.  Caroline had a blast getting to play with her cousins and have endless space to practice her new skill, walking.

Per usual, I didn't pull out my camera nearly as much as I probably should.  So this first post features the few pictures from around Camp and I will post again about our hikes and visit to Tweetsie.

My parents brought a little push cart for Caroline to use and she walked herself all over the place!

And if she wasn't walking with the cart she was walking with her cousin, Lauren

Walking along my favorite path around Camp.  This creek is so peaceful.  

Pavilion at Camp 

William, Lauren, and Caroline

And then they decided to be silly 

One of the few times we can get everyone together

Story time with Grandma

Plunking rocks into the creek was one of her favorite thinks to do 

Rock plunking excitement!

We got to sing one of Caroline's favorite songs: "If You're Happy and You Know It..."  She was a little distracted trying to practice walking.

Walking around in the grass

More coming soon!

Water Baby

Caroline has always loved the water.  She never cried during bath time and we started to take her to the pool at 3 months.  She likes being in the water so much that she cheers and giggles when we have to run through the rain.  This summer we have tried to give her more opportunities to swim and get wet and I thought I would share some pictures and videos of these fun times we have had.

During two weekends in June both sets of grandparents came to visit.  We decided to take Caroline to the new splash pad in town and she of course loved it.  Caroline has been a late walker and couldn't navigate the splash pad on her own so we had to jump in and get wet with her.

The local aquatics center offers swim classes for infants and with Caroline's love of water, we knew we had to get her into lessons.  The class was 30 minutes a day, 4 days a week for 2 weeks.  The goal of the class was just to get the kids comfortable with going under the water and teach them to reach to the side of the pool if they are to ever fall in.  I would still love for Caroline to take ISR (Infant Swim Resource where they learn to float on their backs and yell for help) but that requires a much larger time commitment.  If we move into a place in the future that is on a body of water or has a pool then we will definitely get her enrolled in that program.

Everything in this swim class was done to a song.  The "going under water" song was Ring Around the Rosie.

In July we went with some friends to Gulfport, MS to enjoy a weekend at the beach.  Caroline loved swimming in the pool and playing in the sand at the beach.

Playing in the sand with her buddy, Owen

Now we wish we had a pool so we could beat this summer heat and let Caroline swim around in the pool.  Maybe in a future home!