"Nothing could be finer than living in Carolina""

I have taken a little hiatus from blogging to actually do what we have come out here to do - besides bring Matt home with a Degree in Physical Therapy - enjoy life. Sometimes I feel so busy trying to keep up with home that I don’t take the time to enjoy being here. So we did just that. And now I am happy to report all the fun we have been having to you. That is, those of you still out there.

Let’s see, Matt is in his third semester of school with only a few weeks left. He is really enjoying it, and they are certainly keeping him busy. We keep finding ourselves looking back to all the milestones we were going through this time last year, researching, packing, driving, driving and more driving. It is incredible how much we have learned so far about ourselves, each other, and our relationships, not to mention a few minor life lessons along the way...

1. How to get a tow truck, autobody shop, and spare car when your only car overheats and you have no friends or family around to lend a hand, or just give you a (much needed) hug.
2. How to survive a three day campout with three-thousand crazy grad students on little sleep, all for a shot at basketball tickets.
3. That slow southern lifestyle isn’t so wonderful when you are driving down the highway at 15 under the speed limit.
4. Barbeque is a food, not a method of cooking.
5. 100 degree days here are NOT the same as 100 degree days in California.
6. If you refer to California as "Cali," you've probably never been there.
7. Sometimes life requires you to trust others, try new things and laugh at yourself.

Over the past few months we have loved getting out to explore a little bit, here are some pictures of what we’ve been up to here in the southeast.

Celebrating a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!

A summer night at the Durham Bulls game.

A day at the beach.

Picking strawberries

A trip to Asheville, a pretty town in the Blue Ridge Mountains, it reminded us a lot of Nevada City. When we saw this store, we knew we were going to love it. We found a ornament of a covered wagon that we will use to remind us of our journey out here. Fitting don't you think?

Happy 23rd Birthday Matt!! Linus and I threw him a tiny little party. Just the three of us.

And then in June a day trip to Virginia Beach.

Old Cape Henry Lighthouse. Our legs were KILLING us after climbing to the top, but it was such a pretty view.

Our little guy.

Mmmk any of you who have seen the movie Bull Durham will recognize this one. One evening we went to see an old film in Durham's Central Park. We got there a little early so decided to walk around downtown, and scope out the old Bull's baseball field. This is where the movie was filmed.

And now time for the movie...

All the essentials.

And there you have it... our life lately. Plain and simple, but we are definitely learning a lot. As I sit here thinking of all the unknowns our future held last July as we drove I-80 east with the few possessions we had gathered throughout our barely one year of marriage, the largest playlist known to man, and all the faith we could muster, I realize that we have both grown so much and still have a lot to learn. There are probably just as many unknowns in our life now as there were then, we are still living on a prayer, but we have each other and I am so thankful to be experiencing it all with my best friend’s hand in mine.