June 2018

This month we decided to get a Zoo pass. This will give Porter and I something to do during the summer days while Jed is at school. We have already used it well. Porter really loves the farm animals because he can get close enough to them to be interested. We visited Jed while he was working at Eye Spy at the Zoo, a eye program put on by the school.

Jed and I got to try Sunrise Memphis one morning. By far the best southern breakfast we've had here. It was incredible. It is owned by the same people that own Central BBQ and that is one our favorite BBQ places. Porter loved it too, he is starting to eat so much of our food. It's cute but sometimes I don't like sharing :)

Porter and I met up with Lexi Nielson and her kids and went to Mud Island river park. Porter really enjoyed splashing his feet in the water. It's getting fun taking him to things he can actually appreciate and enjoy. Afterwards Porter and I went to lunch with Jed at school. One of Jed's classmates "babysat" Porter the whole time so we could have a "lunch date." Basically they stayed on the second floor while we went up to floor four. It was really sweet of her and we really enjoyed the time together. Jed has the sweetest classmates.

We pulled out the Zoey's tunnel to let Porter play in it. He was really hesitant at first but then loved it. He giggled all the way up and down the tunnel. He loved it when we would spin the tunnel while he was in it. It was pretty hilarious when Jed got in the tunnel and stood up. He was swinging around like one of those blowup floppy advertisements outside of stores and it was all fun and games until Porter decided it was terrifying and started crying. It's the first time he's been scared of something like that. It took him awhile to warm back up to the tunnel.

Jed and I went on a crazy adventure trying to find a new car this month. We have been wanting to upgrade to a larger vehicle but, being in school, didn't see how this was at all possible. We talked to our good friend and he told us how more luxury vehicles usually sell secondhand cheap because "nobody buys a used bmw." So our searched changed and he was totally right. We got really excited about a volvo xc90 but had to see if my trusty Toyota corolla would even sell. When all was said and done, we ended up selling my car a day after we posted it, and less than a week later drove to Belmont Mississippi and bought our 2008 Volvo XC90. We love this car so much. We made money off of our Toyota and had minimal to no repairs on the Volvo. We are hoping to put a hitch on it in order to make our moving expenses cheaper. We felt so good about the car and truly felt like we were guided through the whole process of buying and selling.  We feel very blessed as this new car fits our family needs very nicely. 

The day we bough our car, we weren't even supposed to be home. We were supposed to be on our very first back packing trip with Porter. The night before we left, I felt sick all night that we shouldn't go. I was so confused because we were all pack and ready and had been planning on this trip for quite some time. We were going over to Chattanooga and already had the hotel for our second night stay. We were going to do a short over nighter and stay in a hotel the next night just in case things didn't go as planned.  We woke up at 5 am to hit the road and again both Jed and I felt like we shouldn't. We checked the forecast and it was supposed to rain all day and the next day. We didn't want to chicken out, but felt like we needed to skip out. So instead of leaving Thursday we bought our car that day, and then drove to Chattanooga on Friday to site-see Friday and Saturday. What should have been a 5 hour drive turned into an 8 hour drive because the storm had ben so bad. Cars were tossed on the side of the road, and trees lay over the high way. We were very thankful we listened to promptings because it would have been a disaster had we been out backpacking, especially with Porter.

Our trip to Chattanooga was still a blast. We visited downtown, got dumped on when we were in the middle of the foot bridge, rode the carousel,  ate dinner at Tupelo Honey, went to Lookout Mountain, hiked around, and went to a moon-pie general store. We had a blast and as always Porter was a champ. It was such a beautiful town. I felt as if it had a Spokane feel to it. A semi big city on a river. We had a great time.  

May 2018

If we thought it was nice that boards were over, the first two weeks of May were even better. Jed didn't have school for two whole weeks. We got so much done, we had so much fun and best of all Porter no longer thought Daddy was stranger danger. They had some wonderful bonding time.

We tried to make the most of our two weeks of freedom. We spent a lot of time rock climbing, hanging our with friends, playing tennis and pickle ball, going to Jed's classmates wedding, and hiking in eastern Tennessee.

The hike was very fun and rewarding. We took the dog with us, which was risky, because she had to stay in the car over night while we were in the hotel. We were afraid we were going to come back to a shredded vehicle but she was perfect. We hiked in Tracy City which is about a half hour out of Chattanooga. The hike was called the Fiery Gizzard and at one point it was ranked one of the top ten hikes in the US (not currently though). Still, it was gorgeous and so much fun. The part we did was ten miles and Porter was a champ. He didn't cry once and seemed to enjoy himself. We hiked along a small river with waterfalls almost the entire way. The summit was beautiful. Zoey was so good but by the end she was so tired we had to carry her up the last set of stairs to the car. There was a lot of technical footwork and scrambling over boulders that we think it got to her paws. It was such a fun experience. We loved it so much we are going back to the area to do a backpacking trip near Chattanooga in June. At the very end of the hike, not ten feet from the end of the trail, we encountered a harmless but very large black snake. We measured it to be over three feet, we couldn't see the end. I'm one to exaggerate, but this is no joke. I was so thankful we didn't see anything like that until we were done with the hike.

The next weekend we went the opposite direction and went camping with the Hill's in Arkansas. We went to Lake Ouachita. The water was clear and beautiful and the weather was perfect. When we first got to the camp site I sat alone holding our place and watched all the snakes swim in the water around us. I heard a crash on a nearby forest hill and looked over to see a flailing giant snake falling down the hillside. When Jed came back I told him we were leaving. Of course we stayed but I wasn't ok with the snakes. Luckily as more people arrived they left us alone. There was a family near us that were fishing for catfish. The man caught 10 catfish. One of the fish was about 30 pounds. It was so incredible I've never seen anyone fish the way he did. He would see a fish and then say, "I'm gonna catch that fish," and he would. The Hill's brought their paddle boards and we had a really fun time on the lake. Porter seemed to enjoy it even though he had to be in his giant life jack that he clearly hated.

Since about February I started training for the Great American Half Marathon. It was part of Memphis in May which is a large international festival that goes on during the entire month of May. Every Saturday celebrates something different, World's BBQ fest, Beale street music festival, 901 fest, etc. I was very excited to work toward something and the top three finishers got a cash prize. I thought I could for sure get top three, maybe even win it. I worked harder at running than I had worked on it since my college days. It was really fun and rewarding. Come race day I felt so ready. I was a little disappointed on how I did. I didn't feel like my time reflected how I had trained. I got third place, $250, so that was neat, but I totally could have gotten 2nd. The first place girl was from Kenya and ran so fast I didn't have a shot. It was still fun. Jed and Porter had been so supportive all the months leading up to the race and cheered loud during. Porter wore a t-shirt that said "go mommy go." That night we got free tickets to the 901 fest. We enjoyed a sushi burrito, hanging with classmates of Jed's and watching a spectacular firework show.

 As always, Jed and I celebrated Memorial day in style.All of our friends were asking us why we were wearing fourth of July shirts. Come on people! We went on a fun family bike ride at Shelby Farms, cleaned up the yard, played in the kiddie pool with Porter, and then went to the Park for a party with friends. I love this time of year!

I finished my last days of working with the Tonkins. They have been so kind to us the last three years and it was sad to say goodbye. It will be really nice to be at home with Porter though. Even though he was able to come with me, he still needs the consistent schedule that home can offer him and even in just a couple short weeks, Jed and I have seen a difference in him.