North Carolina Memories

Here is the sexiest fireman I know!! We got invited to a birthday party today that started at the fire station. Ryan said he would go if they let him wear a real fireman's hat. This is as good as it gets for him. Haha! We had said in the RSVP that Ryan wanted to wear a hat and all of our friends had some funny comments about that. Gotta love Monica and Natalie! Hahah!
Rock was sensitive to the bright sun and got a little outta place. Fun picture though.
Ian, Amelia, Grace, Alice, Rockwell, (?, sorry can't remember) and Alyssa (his sister)
Steve and Rocio's beautiful family that we became friends with through the missionaries. They were finally baptized last night right after their marriage ceremony. It was a long awaited occasion and we're are so excited and happy for them. Rocio is due just a month before me so we have had lots of fun being pregnant at the same time. Awesome people! We will miss them!
Another friend we made through the missionaries. Brian is a great guy with lots of faith. He has a fun story about how he was converted to the church. BTW, he is available if anyone knows anyone:) Sorry, Ryan was being silly in the picture because this was the 2nd picture we took. In the first one my arm looked fat. Hahaa!
But anyway, because of Ryan's calling as ward mission leader we have been able to be a part of so many baptisms of new members and see their testimonies and faith grow as they learn more about the church. It's been a really fun experience. We always have people over to our house for dinner along with the missionaries to teach the discussions. I love it, because I get to learn more as we go too. I deffinitly had to learn more about cooking! I think I'm doing pretty good now too, if I do say so myself:) Ryan's glad about that aspect of it. No more stroganauff everyday!! haahaa!
This is the kids getting ready for the 4th of July. They call these their "Team Shirts." I'm glad they think they are on a team. I don't know where that came from but that's good.

Rocky is potty training so this is him in his new "big boy" underwear. He's real proud of himself
This is the kids with their very own horse. This is their favorite game to play. It makes mom a little nervous though. Dad likes to buck.
We had face painting at a recent church activity. It was a "Pig Pickin" party and I'm proud to say it was my idea. I really wanted to try a true southern picnic while we were here in the south. Sister Rogers did a great job and it was a great missionary opportunity. About 4-500 people showed up and about half were non-members. Everyone got free sunglasses and played games and had a great time. It was awesome.
We've been hitting the pool about every other day since it opened in the middle of May. The kids have gotten really brave with the water. We bought them some Disney goggles at the Disney Store for only $4. They have been putting them to good use. Ryan has been working with them and helping them learn how to swim. They went from being totally scared of the water to being able to hold their breath under water for about 8 seconds. It has really helped with bath time. They aren't scared of water being poured over their heads anymore.



It seems we are getting down to the wire now with having to pack up our stuff. I've been packing a few boxes a day for a while and I think I have 1/2 of the house packed but I think I'm going to have to hit it hard this week. It's crazy how fast time flies. We will really miss everyone in North Carolina. We have made some really awesome friends here and we will be sad to leave them. This ward is the best we've ever been in. Everyone has been asking what they can do to help us. The Relief Society sisters have offered to babysit and they are bringing us dinner for 3-4 days in a row, and they are going to come help me clean the house after everything is out. With all that help, I bet we get it done in less than three hours. The Elders Quorum is coming the day before to load all of our stuff in a truck so we are totally set. I can't tell you how grateful I am for all of the help and sacrifice that is being made on our behalf. If anyone ever gets the chance to live in Cary, NC, take it, because the people are really awesome!! I really am sad to leave. We've moved so much that I thought I was past having these kinds of feelings but it will be hard. We've had a great experience here.