Auntie M & Batman

We had visitors! Auntie M & Batman (in Hawaii it was  "That Man!" but he has now progressed to super hero level and is BATMAN!) We met for a quick little weekend in Chattanooga and had a fabulous time! We visited Ruby Falls

The Rock Garden (my personal favorite)

The Incline Railway (not at the top of my list)

The Chattanooga Choo Choo

And a surprise little water park.

It was such a blast! They were with us when we received Greg's job offer and it was exciting to be able to celebrate with Family. We love you Auntie M. & Batman! We hope to see you again sometime soon :) 

We Are A Little Redneck!

Underwear is the best! For your viewing enjoyment...the underwear dinner dance :)

Daddy The Hero

Greg has a lot of nicknames around our house. Daddy, Tickle Monster, Mr. Long Arms,  Lava Monster, and the one I hope to add soon, Dr. Greggy. Today he earned an even better title.

Daddy The Hero. 

Today we went to visit Scull Shoals. It is a ghost town in Georgia. We had a great time examining the ruins and enjoying the river.

After we were done exploring the girls asked if we could go to the river one more time and watch the river. We hiked back to the river and sat on one of the rocks (not pictured above). The kids got sticks and swirled them around in the water. I found Jacob one really long stick so he wouldn't have to lean over the edge to reach the water. Apparently it didn't do the trick. Greg and I were both sitting on the rock watching the kids play when Jake leaned over and just kept going. I was to far to grab his shirt and just started yelling that Jacob was falling...Greg THE HERO jumped right in and got Jacob out of the water. There was a rock that blocked the current from taking Jacob downstream and much to our surprise Jacob didn't even swallow any water. He held his breath the entire time (which I am sure totaled less then 5 seconds even though it felt like 15 minutes).  This was a huge reality check for us. Both Greg and I were sitting on the rocks with the children. It just happened so fast. We feel very blessed that Heavenly Father kept us safe today. I am also so proud of my husband who jumped in with all his electronic devices in his pockets without a thought to save our sweet little boy.

I am going back to my previous convictions...no outing until after the tubes are in. He just gets sick too easily. Now I am going to add he gets into trouble too easily to the list.

As for Jacob. He is just fine. He occasionally will look at one of us and say, "Jacob fall in the River" or my favorite "Daddy get Jacob in river".  What a blessing to have a daddy like Greg. He is the hero of our family. I am also grateful that I still have my little boy to hold tonight. We are so blessed.

BTW if you need to call Greg you will need to use my cell phone number. His phone is sitting in the fridge in a bag of rice trying to dry out :) 

Aberdeen!

So...we are moving to Aberdeen, South Dakota...I bet you haven't heard of Aberdeen! Let me tell you a little bit about it. Aberdeen is a great little city. It boasts a population of 30,000 people. That is a large town for South Dakota. It is the perfect place to raise a family. It really is. The people there from my limited experience are so very kind (don't ya know!). It includes my favorite place to eat of all time. PAPA MURPHY'S PIZZA. The town even has it's own castle complete with Rapunzel's tower!

There are year round activities for children that are 1/2 the price you would pay here in Georgia. They include gymnastics, figure skating, ballet, snow shoeing etc. In fact we can all go ice skating for $3.00 (that is the family rate) including skate rentals. Cross country skiing is $9.00 a lesson including the cost of rentals! In the summer they even have a great aquatics center.

Now that being said coming from Georgia I do feel a little nervous about the cold. I have lived in the snow and I can do it again...but...I did get in a little bit of trouble this week with Greg. You see I only own two sweaters right now...and the thought of moving to a really cold place made me a little nervous...so I did what any normal person would do. I went to Kohls and bought 150 dollars worth of winter clothes for my family. Awesome deals. It really did include a great portion of our winter wardrobe for each member of our family. I got 10 different sweaters for 50 dollars! that averages 5 dollars a piece! I saved $677 dollars on winter clothes :) No one buys the good winter stuff off the clearance racks in Georgia. I was informed later that I bought my birthday present in that shopping spree...didn't mean to do that..but I guess it is due punishment.

So anyway, I did some research on the cold weather and I found that they only cancel recess if it is -10 degrees outside. The children are required to take snow pants to school. That is a far cry from Georgia where we cancel school if snow is in the forecast and when it does snow school is cancelled for a week. But I lived in the snow before! I can do it again!

Aberdeen received almost 80 inches of snow last year. Our landlord said the one thing we needed to buy to survive in our house was a snow blower. I believe him. Speaking of our house here is the beautiful inside where I am going to sit in my new sweaters and drink hot chocolate by the gallon.

I think the floors and doors are beautiful! It is 3 stories and I am so excited. I think I need to add these sock slippers to my shopping list and we are good to go!

Our LIFE!

Has turned toTaLlY cRaZy. Three major things have happened.
1. Greg got a job as a tenured track assistant professor of E-learning at Northern State University (in Aberdeen South Dakota).
2. Greg is defending his dissertation on June 30 and graduating on August 6 as long as the defense goes well. 
3. Jacob has to have surgery again. This time along with putting tubes in his ears he is getting his adenoids out. The day after Greg defends his dissertation.

Can we say Crazy? We are crazy busy around here! Wow. I did find a great house to rent...which is a HUGE blessing. I feel like we are for sure being pulled to Aberdeen. For some reason this is the place we are supposed to go next. I am thrilled. I will post more about this family fun town soon.  It is so bitter sweet.  I will miss my Georgia and Utah friends and family. I love you all & my heart is sad that it won't be near you...but we will be closer to Utah and almost all of you have roots in Utah...Greg has 3 months off each year and this will include a month long Utah trip...so summer of 2012 get ready to PARTY! Until then we are only 15-16 hours away...so if time and weather permits come and visit!