Something To Call Our Own

 During the week of the 4th of July, Jon and I took our parents on a little vacation to Cherry Grove Beach (the most northern part of North Myrtle Beach, SC).  We stayed in a community called "The Cottages at Surf Estates" that is located within the Surf Estates subdivision.  We absolutely loved the peacefulness of the neighborhood, the proximity to the beach, and how spacious (and modern) the houses were.  The more we kept talking about how much we loved it there... the more we got to thinking... we even called the real estate agent and asked for him to show us around through some of the different floor plans.  It was all fun and in the back of my mind I thought, "This would be perfect for family vacations, both now and in the future when we have kids."  We loved all the floorplans but the most practical and best use of space was the 4 bedroom.  "Well, that was fun" we thought, as we continued to enjoy our vacation and decided we'd look into it more when we got home.  A couple weeks after we returned home from vacation (and reality set in) we were still (to my surprise) considering putting in an offer.  I thought surely the excitement will wear down and we'll decide to wait until the Army tells us where we will be stationed next, but as we did more and more praying, research and number crunching it just seemed so right. 

Archie resting on Jon @ the beach

Fast-forwarding two months, we put in an offer and after some negotiating finally got a signed contract to start building our new beach house!  That next weekend, Jon and I took a mini trip down to the beach to sign some paper work and meet with our realtor.  We were able to stay in a townhouse that allowed pets - Archie's first trip to the beach!  He loved it so much :-) and we were able to spend some quality time with our friends Sally & Peter and Monica & Dusty (who had to moved to Washington state a week later).  Thankfully, Sally & Peter will still be here for another year before following suit.  We also took some time during this trip to pick out the outside color of our house (Stone Mtn Clay) and look at some of the cabinet, countertop, hardwood, etc. decisions we'll have to make in the near future (boy, was that intimidiating!).  

Moving on to last weekend (Labor Day weekend was spent in Lincolnton) we took a day trip to Raleigh with Sally, Peter, and Michelle (Peter's sister).  We all did a brewery tour of Lone Rider Brewery and the boys got Sweet Josie beer in growlers & commerative pint plasses.  Of course, they absolutely loved that!  The girls got in a shopping trip to Trader Joes and then we all ate at an Ethiopian restaurant called, Abyssinia.  It was a great experience (and tasty too) given that Peter and Michelle lived in Ethiopia as children while their parents were missionaries there. 



Michelle, Sally, Me outside Lone Rider Brewery



Jon & Peter @ Lone Rider with their growlers & new glasses