It's January 9, 2016, six months since the last blog post from the 4th of July. Where does that time go? What is the blog for anyway? Who reads this stuff about a middle class family from suburban Raleigh, NC?
But I digress.
The rest of the summer and fall and 2015 holiday season have been wonderful for the Brown family. Some of the highlights include:
Going to Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge in August and spending a day at Blizzard Beach Water Park. We even made a video of the resort's water slides. Grant turned out to love water slides as long as he had swim goggles on. Grant has finally gotten over getting his face wet but that boy does not like getting water in his eyes.
In August we also went to Family Camp for a few days to unwind on the Neuse River. We brought the GoPro with us again and made movies of sailing and the zip line, which Grant went down the for the first time ever. We even gave TJ his first driving lesson of sorts.
In August, TJ began 3rd Grade in Mrs. Stevens' class and Grant entered his last year of Johnson Pond Learning Center. That means this is the last year we give up the equivalent of a mortgage payment every month for his care. That will be a nice relief to our monthly expenses when he enters Kindergarten this fall.
In October I pinned on the rank of Colonel. I real milestone in any military career. This particular round of promotions only had a 40% selection rate. Getting this far is more than I ever imagined when I started and I am honored. Sure, I know I earned it - and I know I earned it by taking care of Soldiers and the units under my command - but still, I always think it will be someone else who is more qualified. The boys pinned me and I can only hope that they pass on the tradition someday by wearing the uniform too.
Shortly after my promotion, Lisa and I headed to Key West for our ten year anniversary. She convinced me to rent a convertible and our drive from Miami was spectacular once someone helped us get the top down. We arrived at Mallory Square just in time for the sunset. Our next few days were fun and kid free!
In November Sam reunited with us after a long silence and absence from our lives. And she came back and just stayed. She is stuck between high school graduation and whatever comes next. She's not ready for college nor is ready for the responsibility of a full time job. While she catches her breath and gets her bearings she is safe with us.
In November we also added Lucie to the family. She is a long haired, Border Collie mix who is a perfect temperament for the kids, Lisa, and me. Lucie was almost immediately loyal. She loves to run and her loyalty allows us to let her run off leash. Sometimes with hysterical results. While she was shy with us at the beginning, Lucie loves other dogs at the Fuquay Varina Dog Park. The herder in her comes out as she runs down other dogs.
We had Betty, Bobby, the Kirks over for Thanksgiving along with Lisa's good friend, Tina, and her son, Hanson. There was a full house of kids and adults and we managed to pull it off without any drama. An hour of appetizers, two turkeys, three dessert pies, several bottle of wine later and we all settled down to a movie and bed.
Christmas followed shortly behind. The warm weather had everyone in shorts for most of the month with temps in the 70s. For Christmas I tried to stick to a theme of one present to read, to wear, a want and a need. The attempt to keep Christmas smaller failed. Once again the kids have presents that they opened and have not touched since. Drives me crazy that we do this to ourselves and in the process teach a lesson to the kids that gifts have no value. Things just show up - whether you want/need them or not.
Again we ushered in the in New Year with our wonderful neighbors. Another reason we love this part of our lives is for people like the Harans, the Tilsners, the Ennis family, and everyone else in South Lakes who we share our lives with. While I otherwise am neutral about living in North Carolina, these people have made it worth it.
And now we are up to date.
So why the blog?
The blog is for you. And by, you, I mean Samantha, TJ, and Grant. This blog is a reflection of what life was like for all of when you were children. Each entry is a snapshot of a moment or period, taken through a filter of a dad and a mom.
We love you.
But I digress.
The rest of the summer and fall and 2015 holiday season have been wonderful for the Brown family. Some of the highlights include:
Going to Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge in August and spending a day at Blizzard Beach Water Park. We even made a video of the resort's water slides. Grant turned out to love water slides as long as he had swim goggles on. Grant has finally gotten over getting his face wet but that boy does not like getting water in his eyes.
In August we also went to Family Camp for a few days to unwind on the Neuse River. We brought the GoPro with us again and made movies of sailing and the zip line, which Grant went down the for the first time ever. We even gave TJ his first driving lesson of sorts.
In August, TJ began 3rd Grade in Mrs. Stevens' class and Grant entered his last year of Johnson Pond Learning Center. That means this is the last year we give up the equivalent of a mortgage payment every month for his care. That will be a nice relief to our monthly expenses when he enters Kindergarten this fall.
In October I pinned on the rank of Colonel. I real milestone in any military career. This particular round of promotions only had a 40% selection rate. Getting this far is more than I ever imagined when I started and I am honored. Sure, I know I earned it - and I know I earned it by taking care of Soldiers and the units under my command - but still, I always think it will be someone else who is more qualified. The boys pinned me and I can only hope that they pass on the tradition someday by wearing the uniform too. Shortly after my promotion, Lisa and I headed to Key West for our ten year anniversary. She convinced me to rent a convertible and our drive from Miami was spectacular once someone helped us get the top down. We arrived at Mallory Square just in time for the sunset. Our next few days were fun and kid free!
In November Sam reunited with us after a long silence and absence from our lives. And she came back and just stayed. She is stuck between high school graduation and whatever comes next. She's not ready for college nor is ready for the responsibility of a full time job. While she catches her breath and gets her bearings she is safe with us.
In November we also added Lucie to the family. She is a long haired, Border Collie mix who is a perfect temperament for the kids, Lisa, and me. Lucie was almost immediately loyal. She loves to run and her loyalty allows us to let her run off leash. Sometimes with hysterical results. While she was shy with us at the beginning, Lucie loves other dogs at the Fuquay Varina Dog Park. The herder in her comes out as she runs down other dogs. We had Betty, Bobby, the Kirks over for Thanksgiving along with Lisa's good friend, Tina, and her son, Hanson. There was a full house of kids and adults and we managed to pull it off without any drama. An hour of appetizers, two turkeys, three dessert pies, several bottle of wine later and we all settled down to a movie and bed.
Christmas followed shortly behind. The warm weather had everyone in shorts for most of the month with temps in the 70s. For Christmas I tried to stick to a theme of one present to read, to wear, a want and a need. The attempt to keep Christmas smaller failed. Once again the kids have presents that they opened and have not touched since. Drives me crazy that we do this to ourselves and in the process teach a lesson to the kids that gifts have no value. Things just show up - whether you want/need them or not. 
Again we ushered in the in New Year with our wonderful neighbors. Another reason we love this part of our lives is for people like the Harans, the Tilsners, the Ennis family, and everyone else in South Lakes who we share our lives with. While I otherwise am neutral about living in North Carolina, these people have made it worth it.And now we are up to date.
So why the blog?
The blog is for you. And by, you, I mean Samantha, TJ, and Grant. This blog is a reflection of what life was like for all of when you were children. Each entry is a snapshot of a moment or period, taken through a filter of a dad and a mom.
We love you.
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