Kindergarten field trip to the pumpkin patch!

Wednesday we went on the kindergarten field trip to a pumpkin patch in Durham. It was so much fun, and luckily the rain held out until the very end. Anna had such a great time with all of her classmates and so did I!

Thomas the tank engine...

This past weekend we drove to Spencer, NC for a Day out with Thomas the Train. We had such a great time. I don't think that Henry has ever been so excited about something! Anna had a great time as well. We saw some of our friends there and all of the kids had a ball. Henry loved riding Thomas, but he didn't like the black smoke that he puffed out!

Anna rode a 5K

A couple of weekends ago, we did a 5K as a family! It was for a great charity, www.supercooperswagon.org, and we all had a ball. We were so proud of Anna for riding her bike the entire way! Henry was in the wagon...pulled by Chad! :) Then they played for hours afterwards...they had bounce houses, games, food, magicians, etc. They even had an awesome pearl jam tribute band and adult beverages on the green. We had a great afternoon and night, and then strolled home around 9pm! It was late, but so fun!

Chapel Hill

Anna before school one day!

Making pizza in our kitchen...love Trader Joe's pizza dough!

Before school on a rain day


Cheering for the Razorbacks! Anna has grown so much that her cheerleader outfit didn't fit anymore! :) She settled on this...

Durham Bulls game!



Here is a quick update...pics to come soon! Anna and Henry are loving our neighborhood with all of the nature trails, parks and bike trails. I feel so lucky that we have made some friends right off the bat! We even had our neighbors over to watch the RAZORBACK game on Saturday night!

Anna has already had lots of playdates with some super sweet girls and boys. She seems to be adjusting so well to her new school, friends, etc. She loves school and we have received great reports from her teachers (who we love). She has started ballet again, and one of her sweet little friends from her class is in the same class. We are actually carpooling, and it is so nice! Some of her favorite parts of the school day are centers, learning sign language in PE, going to the school garden, library, watching the frog news on the smart board in her room, recess, singing songs, etc. My favorite is that they walk through the halls "hip and lip": one hand on their hip and one on their lip to stay quiet and not touch anything...who wouldn't want to see a line of adorable kindergartners walking that way. I am hoping to sneak a picture someday! :)

Henry loves Chapel Hill as well. He really loves his school, and he is dissappointed if it isn't a school or church day. He already talks about a new "buddy" he made. I need to try to arrange a playdate for him. He loves the parks and bike trail...just being outside makes him so happy. We go on multiple daily walks or trike rides with Mocha! I am so thankful that he is speaking so well and so much! We are constantly having real conversations now...what a difference a year makes! :)

Chad is really enjoying his new job, and he is very busy! It is exciting work and we are thrilled for him. I have been so lucky to have friends of friends here that we have gotten together with a few times. We have met some great people in our neighborhood, and the kinder moms even walked up to a restaurant after the curriculum night for a glass of wine! I joined a year long bible study that has some great women in it! I look forward to getting to know them better throughout the year. I am also volunteering at both Anna and Henry's schools. At Anna's school this week I even used a bit of my Japanese! All in all, we miss our family and friends in Little Rock, but if we had to move anywhere...I am thankful that we moved here! Chapel Hill seems to have so much to offer and we are really enjoying it!

Henry's first day of preschool!

Today was Henry's first day of preschool! I can't believe that he is old enough, but then again...he is ready! :) He woke up in the morning and said, "I meet new buddies today!" It was so funny! Anna had been talking about Henry making new friends at school, and he had listened. Everything has been quite focused on Anna starting school, making friends, etc. It is nice for something to be about Henry! I was able to go with him and stay today. I don't know if he needed me...he was running into school so excited! He kept asking, "Is it my turn now?" We parked on Franklin and walked to his school...he was walking with his backpack on like all the college students! His school is essentially on campus or directly next door! After school, we met Daddy for a lunch at Suttons, an old drug store! It was delicious, and Henry really enjoyed eating at the counter! Thursday I drop him off for a shortened day, fingers crossed it isn't too dramatic! :)

Kindergarten orientation and the FIRST DAY!

I can't believe that the summer is over, and Anna just started kindergarten! There were nervous tears mixed with quite a bit of excitement. We were so excited to meet the teacher, Mrs. Edmonds. She actually won teacher of the year last year! We also have a second teacher in the classroom, Mrs. Zsuppan, and I feel so lucky to have 19 children and two teachers! They seem like a great team, and we are looking forward to a wonderful year. Here are a few pics from orientation day and the FIRST DAY! :)

Orientation day: Half of the class went for a shortened day! It was a great way to get used to the classroom. She wanted to wear her dress that she wore the first day or school last year to remind her of her St.Mark's friends! She came up with that...I had another outfit picked out...it was kind of sad and sweet at the same time! :)

Our obligatory first day of school breakfast...pancakes with faces!


A little nervous...notice the razorback tattoo on her arm. She had put it on herself and wanted to wear it...I gave in and figured that it was a good conversation starter! :)



The real FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!


We walk to school and walk home! It is such fun!


The first day of school after school snack...cupcake!

Goodbye Little Rock, Hello Chapel Hill!!!

We left Little Rock and flew to Houston while our goods were in transport. That last day was emotional, but we are excited! It was such a weird feeling to leave our neighbors, friends, family and house...Everyone will be missed!

We arrived in Chapel Hill last Thursday night with my mom to help! Thank goodness...we couldn't have done it without her! There is still a lot of work to do, but we are almost there! Will post some pics soon of our townhouse...our furniture fits well, but we miss all of our storage and closet space we had in our house in Little Rock...who knew that an OLD house could have more storage than a somewhat new construction townhouse! We love our neighborhood...we can walk to a movie theater, grocery, restaurants, gelato, etc... Every Sunday night in the summer, they do concerts in the center and we went! Anna and Henry had a ball running around and dancing outside!