things we never saw in colorado

Posted on June 7th, 2017 by mountain girl  |  5 Comments »

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A luna moth! I came across this one while walking near our house the other day.

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A male anole lizard, puffing up its pink dewlap. It must have been feeling aggressive toward us.

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Magnolias.

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A five-lined skink. This one has a long tail, but Cash spotted one under our truck with a tail shorter than an inch. They are able to break off their tails when needed. Also, the babies hatch with beautiful purplish-blue tails.

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Weird things like this fallen tree with four new trees growing straight out of its trunk.

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Creepy swamps with long, creaky bridges stretching across them.

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Trees big enough for three of me to hide behind the trunk.

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Kids playing in a lake in April, when Colorado is deep in snow.

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Snakes. This sweetie slithered across the trail right in front of us at Bond Park.

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A snail. Did you know snails are related to squid?

We’re slowly getting used to all these wild North Carolina things–and finding out how much a little moisture, heat, and oxygen can completely transform your world.

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strawberry picking

Posted on June 4th, 2017 by mountain girl  |  2 Comments »

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A few days ago Cash and I went strawberry picking for the first time ever. It was a lot of fun but he got bored and ended up eating most of the ones he picked–and a lot of mine, too. We finally got a bucketful, though, and I whipped some cream and baked a grain-free shortcake–the same recipe I used for his first birthday.Ā  Strawberry season makes it feel a lot like summer here–and the 90 degree days don’t hurt, either. šŸ˜‰

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i’m back:)

Posted on May 31st, 2017 by mountain girl  |  3 Comments »

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There are so many things to do here in the Raleigh area that it’s hard to stop to blog! I’m sure things will even out eventually, but coming from the cold solitude of the mountains to our lives suddenly exploding into sunny warmth roasting heat, parks, lakes, homemade ice cream down the road, a new school, a church on every corner, summer camp plans, a gym across the street, friends, festivals, and lots of orders for artwork–has been a little overwhelming. I’ll try to blog more, though–even if I just post a few pics and jot down some words. So stay tuned!

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BTW this is my new skateboard–since there just aren’t enough fun things to do around here. šŸ˜‰

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our north carolina life

Posted on April 14th, 2017 by mountain girl  |  3 Comments »

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So we made the jump–sold our home, found a rental house, packed up, and moved–all in the month of March. Our new life is about as different as could be, but little by little we are finding our way and carving out a life here. My Etsy shop is finally open again,Ā  our fridge is slowly being stocked with familiar foods, and yesterday we registered the kids at a year-round school. Cash will be heading to kindergarten in July, which will be more than a little sad for me but I think very good for his super-energetic personality.

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Here we are on our last day in Colorado. The kids are watching as David’s mustang and our truck are loaded on a flatbed to be transferred to a car carrier for the haul to North Carolina.

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Here’s our home sweet home just before we left. We had an awesome moving truck driver who agreed to take my plants and keep them alive in his cab. Even our large jade (pictured) survived!

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That’s my monkey boy in cowboy boots.

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We spent a night in Denver, then boarded for Raleigh.

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We went to the Angus Barn in Raleigh for dinner, and the wait staff took the kids back into the kitchen to make their own sundaes. It was a sugar-blasted dream come true!

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The kids and I spent our first two weeks in the new house while David worked the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta. We unpacked and found a new place for everything, and made our new house feel like home–as much as possible in the absence of goats and mountains, lol.

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We did bring a few smidgens of Colorado with us–my painting of the mountains our home was nestled in, these rustic beetle-kill pieces, and our “pallet bed”.

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I took the kids to the beach as soon as I could. It’s only a 2-hr drive to Wilmington, and we went on a Monday so it wasn’t too packed. We had a blast!

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Off our back porch, we planted two tiny container gardens with organic tomatoes, marigolds, basil, oregano, parsley, and mint. I’ve also discovered that grass grows here, and I’m having a ball with our push reel mower. It’s been 7 years since we’ve had a lawn to mow!

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David’s birthday was on April 7, while he was away at Masters. I would have blogged a happy birthday post for him, but we had no internet for two weeks until our tech man returned. So here are a few pics of the little celebration we had ready when he finally got home.

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I made my vegan cashew cheesecake for him, drizzled in white chocolate.

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This is one of my presents for him, haha. I have to admit, it’s very true. (Actually, true for redhead kids, too.)

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Here he is, trying to cut through the frozen cake right after he got home. We were gone all day and came home to him waiting for us to unlock the door, poor guy. We just have too many fun things to do here to be back on time, lol.

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Here’s a pic of him from earlier this year, just because I love it. Happy birthday, babe, and welcome home!

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Other than that, our lives have been filled with warmth and sunshine, scooters and skateboards, parks and beaches, and best of all, lovely frizzy hair.

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Had to include that one. šŸ™‚ I’m still learning to tame the humidity beast.

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We are smack in the suburbs here, with sirens wailing, music blaring, and kids calling to each other at night. I miss the mountains and the smell of the woods, but there is wildness all around–if we just look for it. In the ocean, in the sand, and even in our tiny yard.

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And now, gotta go. My adventure is calling. šŸ™‚

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leaving colorado

Posted on March 20th, 2017 by mountain girl  |  8 Comments »

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We’re moving! The past month has been fast and furious, and we can hardly believe it ourselves, but we are bidding Colorado adieu for a new life in North Carolina.

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I’ve probably never mentioned how much I love Colorado (har har) and the Rocky Mountains, and our sweet, sweet home…so when David first looked into working at IBM in Raleigh, I practically groaned.

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But it’s funny how an idea can grow on you, and after a trip to Raleigh just over a week ago, we have all thoroughly warmed to the thought.

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We gave away our goats (remember that post?) after David accepted the job offer. We’ve sorted through everything in our house, and given away several loads of clothes, books, toys, etc. I also put my Etsy shop on Vacation Mode until the middle of April so we can move and get settled.

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Custom otter necklace I carved last week.

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We found a house to rent, about 40 minutes from David’s new job. It’s in a suburban neighborhood and will be a good place for the kids to play and for us to get to know the area.

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Our newly rented home-to-be in Fuquay-Varina, NC.

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Our new porch and little patch of Carolina earth.

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Friday we listed our home for sale. Within an hour of listing, we had a showing scheduled, and then five more. We received a full price offer after the first showing, and our house went under contract less than 24 hours after listing. Woo-hoo!

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And boo-hoo. It’s not every day you get to live in a house in the clouds!

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I’ve really loved the beauty here that saturates us from all directions. Although David and I have been very isolated living and working at home in the mountains, this past nearly-seven years in Colorado will always be a source of amazing memories for our family.

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The Continental Divide, from a vantage point of 9700 ft.–just above where we live.

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But we are ready for adventure, and we feel that God is definitely moving us into this new time, place, and season of our lives. It’s exciting to watch Him orchestrate the details of this move, from the job and all its opportunities, to the new house, to the sale of our own home here. IBM is even paying our moving expenses and sending movers to pack and ship our belongings! It all feels rather cush.

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We did work our little bottoms into shape, though, getting the house ready to show. We are living in a very, very neat house right now, and I haven’t even let Cash ride his tricycle in the house this weekend. I get lots of unforgiving glares these days. šŸ˜‰

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The move is happening so fast that it’s hard to say goodbye to many of our friends in Colorado. But on Friday, we got to see Kristine, our midwife for Cash. He has grown a little since their first meeting, haha.

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Zia is on spring break from school, and she won’t be going back. It was a little sad for her to say goodbye to her friends and teachers, but she’s excited about the move, and there are a lot of good, progressive schools in our new surroundings. I know we’ll find one that is right for us.

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See you east of the Mississippi!

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