Back at Notre Dame!

Well, we've made it safely back to Notre Dame to settle in for another school year. The biggest miracle is that our car never stranded us! We're hoping for the best (the car surviving another year or two or three...), but expecting the worst to happen at any time (keeping some savings particularly FOR a new- used- car if we need it this school year).

We're very happy to be back here. It just feels homey. We're really looking forward to the football season, the fall, the holidays... and especially having friends again! It was a lonely summer in North Carolina (but gorgeous & an amazing adventure while it lasted)!

I have a bunch of pics on my camera to catch up on, but I just left it in Wisconsin at my parents' house so it'll be a bit before I can get that back. Sorry, the blog will be pretty dormant until then!

Enjoy the Sunrise...

Saturday morning we finally went to watch the sunrise over the ocean. It was amazing. We're so glad we went. Btw, the strawberry biscuits at Hardee's are really really good (we grabbed drive through breakfast on the drive out there...)

Oh, how we'll miss thee...

You have shown us such wonderful times...

Wilmington, we will miss you.

• Your hundreds of fine restaurants
• Your two beautiful malls
• Your super cute, never ending downtown shops
  
• Your sunshine 6 days a week
• Your lightning storms on Sunday evenings
• Your palm trees that line the city streets
• Your river, wide and deep
• Your crayfish and/or crabs to watch pinching all morning along the riverbed
  
• The boats that have given us rides
• The children's museum, zoo, and train museum for Sawyer
• The ice cream shops and beach stands
  
• The bridges that carry us to Wrightsville Beach
• The marinas full of beautiful yachts and sailboats that we'll never have
• The miles of fabulous beach houses to adore
  
• The loud night sounds of frogs croaking and crickets chirping in the forest outside our bedroom
• The bonzai burger at Red Robin
• The rosemary bread and lemon cake at Macaroni Grill
• Teaching me that I can enjoy some seafood besides salmon

And, most of all:

• Your sandy beaches
• Your rolling ocean waves
• The pelicans gliding overhead
  
• The cool birds that dive into the water like jets crashing
• The cool ocean evening breeze
• Watching Sawyer love it all.
  

Beach Family Portrait- Done!

Remember how one of my 9 goals before moving was a family portrait on the beach? We did it last night and I love it! I can't wait to get back to Notre Dame and blow it up for our wall. Also, I don't mean to boost my own ego, but who pays $500 for a professional photographer when I can get pictures like these by myself on our self timer? :) Mainly I just can't stand the idea of not owning the pictures (having to pay some guy $130 for a single 8x10, not being able to e-mail it to people, etc.). P.S.- Notre Dame friends: I'd love to take family pictures of you guys just for fun (and practice), don't be scared to ask sometime if you're due for a family portrait.

Our couple portraits turned out soft/blurry like this because the humidity was starting to affect the camera... I actually kind of like it. Looks like a pro filter a bit, don't you think?

Oh, boy, are we going to miss this stuff.

Sawyer Karaoke!

Sawyer and I went to the Children's Museum one last time yesterday. He loves it SO MUCH! I was so excited that this time he jumped right up on stage, grabbed the microphone, and did karaoke to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". It's really muffled since he pushes his mouth into the microphone, but I don't care; I think this is great!

Beach Night

We headed to the beach Saturday night, since Saturday during the day is SWAMPED with people. Plus evenings are more pleasant, since the sun isn't blaring down so intensely. Also, the water feel really warm after such a hot sunny day, if you're swimming after it cools down a few degrees.

Above: Sawyer and I buried Joe
Below: It drizzled rain for just a bit, and then we got a beautiful rainbow over the water

Sawyer wanted to be buried, too. He thought it was hilarious!

He was even strong enough to work his own way out!

Coloring & Funnel Cakes!

Well, I had one of those inevitable firsts: Sawyer finally colored on a wall. I was always so proud when I'd hear other moms tell their stories of their kids doing this, but Sawyer never had... turns out he was just a ticking time bomb. Luckily I caught him right at the start, and then made him have to scrub it (well, as much as a 2 1/2 year old can, then I took over and finished the job while he sat in time out). Here he is scrubbing.

The other night we felt like a treat, but didn't know what. I remembered seeing a recipe for funnel cakes in that new e-mailed "famous recipe" cookbook that was being forwarded around, so we gave those a try.

My first home made funnel cake! I've gotta say, it kinda takes the magic out of the county fair now. Kind of like if you start buying cotton candy at the grocery store... that's just wrong. There are certain foods you should always have to pay $5 or more for, and only at fairs and baseball games. I've seen how the magic trick was performed, and it ruined it. It still tasted good, though... but not AS good...

9 DAYS!

We only have 9 days left before we move away, possibly forever, from North Carolina. Can anyone else believe it's nearing the middle of August already? Maybe it's just me because the whole summer passed me by while I was knocked out on the couch.

Anyway, I want to make sure I take advantage of everything there is to do here while we're still here. Here's my to-do list so far:

~Watch the sun rise over the ocean
~Take a family portrait on the beach, all wearing matching khakis and white shirts (that just seems like "the dream family portrait" doesn't it? :)
~Tour the WWII Battleship that's on display in the river
~Eat at "The Oceanic" once more, an amazing restaurant where you actually eat outside on a pier OVER the beach. Plus, I had this amazing butter crusted chicken there that I'd like to eat again. And they have a great cucumber dressing on their house salad.
~Catch the perfect boogy board wave, without swallowing a half gallon of salt water in the process
~Catch a jellyfish and/or a shark
~Buy the perfect souvenir from one of the hundreds of little touristy shops... but I don't know what yet...

So it looks like I have 7 ideas and 9 days, so I just have to make sure to do one each day (except Sundays).

Any other ideas to add to the list?

Trip to Charleston, South Carolina!

We headed down to Charleston this past weekend, and it was really cool! We made a stop in Myrtle Beach for dinner at Hard Rock. We couldn't resist the cool pyramid! Myrtle beach is about an hour and a half away, right on the way to Charleston.

We arrived in Charleston! Here we are just driving around downtown a bit:

Here are Joe and Sawyer at Patriot's Point, in front of the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier (which is open for touring)

Sawyer and I in the same spot, with the cool bridge over the harbor in the background:

We arrived at Fort Sumter via a 40 minute ferry ride:

Entering Fort Sumter (check out Wikipedia if you need a recap of what Fort Sumter is, from Civil War history. I don't want to do it here):

Sawyer with a "baby gun"

Afterwards, we had lunch at a cool sandwich shop called Kennedy's downtown. I'm starting to look pregnant here, huh?

We took a carriage ride of downtown. Here's Sawyer in the barn as we waited for our departure:

Some shots of cool homes and buildings as we toured:

An actual preserved carriage house:

Sawyer enjoying hanging out the back (it's the best view of course):

Battery Park, on the harbor.

We had dinner at California Dreaming on the harbor. Great ambiance, pretty good food. Not sure if it was worth an hour and a half wait, though...

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

This is one of my absolute favorite, easy dinners to make! I was first introduced to it when a wonderful woman from church brought us dinner after having a baby (I'm so glad ladies from church traditionally do that, by the way). It's just so creamy & flavorful, and I'm sure it's not low fat, but... use fat free sour cream and skim milk cheese to make yourself feel better. It's also very kid friendly- Sawyer eats it right up, enthusiastically! I should note: you actually have to enjoy chicken, broccoli, & croutons, to enjoy this dish. Approximate prep time: 30 min. Cook time, 30 min.

RECIPE:

2 lbs chicken breast, cooked & cubed (bite sized)
16 oz. bag chopped frozen broccoli, cooked & drained
8 oz. sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
3 T. butter or margarine
1 bag/small box caesar croutons (as many as desired, it's just the topping)

***In 9x13 pan layer the cooked chicken & broccoli. In small bowl combine soup, sour cream, & half of the cheese. Spread mixture over chicken & broccoli.

In small microwavable container melt butter/margarine. Add croutons and toss to coat. Sprinkle croutons over casserole. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. COVER WITH FOIL, and bake at 350* for about 1/2 hour (if you're refrigerating it and heating it later, double heating time). Uncover last 5-10 minutes to brown croutons.