profound comments by Alice this month

"The longer you live somewhere the less scary it is. The more you see there are no bad guys and you know the sounds the less scary it is."

"I'm scared of the hallway bathroom because I think there's a crab. But there's not. Not this time." (Once there was a fiddler crab in there!)

"I like this restaurant because there are no TVs and we can really talk." --regarding our lunch at Wendy's this week

"I'm excited about school because I can make new friends."

Family Mountain & Lake Vacations

Stegalls in Sky Valley, GA

Our annual get together in Sky Valley was just what this little Holmes family needed. The river tubing in Helen, water balloon fights after dinner, golfing, waterfall hikes, family dinners, amazing views from an incredible rental house, kid movies while adults had long chats, and kid cousin fun (to distract from SC loneliness). My parents aren't healthy or feeling good, but managed to be a great presence with us and enjoy themselves. It's good to have the crew of 22 together!

Holmes Family at Lake Martin, AL:

We drove from the mountains through Atlanta for dinner with Aunt Abby, then to the lake for a few days. Alice rode on the tube with Virginia and little Abby for hours. She loved every minute of the bumps, curves, and swerves with faster as the only available options-- no quitting. Sawyer went on his first jet ski ride and loved "dribing boats". Alice loves being with the big girls, great lasagna and salad with cousins, aunts and uncles, and family fun. 

What a Move!

I I found some fun pictures on a computer of our last days in Maryland. Playgrounds, church, summer days. .

Oh, the move. What a disaster. Here are the highlights:

** Mark stress-fractured his ankle about 10 days before the move, making his lifting/walking/moving help almost non-existent because of the pain. 

** Our movers didn't fit everything in the truck (wing-back chairs, kitchen table, lawn mower, desk chair, etc) so we left it with friends or on the curb. 

**  We took so long trying to load the van/Volvo with extra stuff that the battery died b/c of lights. We don't have a set of jumper cables. Borrowed them and had to jump the car in a rain storm. 

** A tree blew from our neighbors' two days before the closing of our house, delaying the close and costing us a few hundred dollars (and the outdoor furniture is trapped/left behind) 

** I drove down so tired I cried, screamed and wanted to die. We almost lost our closing here in SC because I opened an Ann Taylor Loft card (changing our credit). . .and Mark's phone was dead while he was driving the U-haul and he didn't help. 

** Our yard is overgrown and the kids' bathroom is harvest gold. 

Cooling off on mountain vacation

We are on vacation with my family then Mark's over the next week. It is wonderfully cool in the mountains and fun to be with so many cousins. I am grateful for a break from the boxes and isolation at our new home. Plus, our internet and TV will be installed when we get back (shew).

Our Charleston house is coming together: kids' bedrooms are painted, their boxes unpacked, carpets cleaned, our bedroom is comfortable, Mark's own closet is all set, some initial hedge-trimming has begun, and the fence quote is in my inbox.  We will have projects for ages to get the yard fit for my gardening-loving husband.
The neighbors all seem to be original owners since the neighborhood was built about 40 years ago. We are excited for Alice to start at a great, nearby 5-day preschool after Labor Day so we can meet families our age! Sawyer has had a rough few days earlier this week asking for his house. When I say that this is where we live he wants "by Mac and Bobbie's house" or "no! By Silas'".  It's good the boy cousins can occupy him with fun and swimming this week.