Norah's 5th Birthday Week...

Wow! This week has been busy...it all started last Friday when Norah, the dogs and I headed to Charlotte. We listened to our book "on tape" (I guess it is really book on iphone but Norah called it book on tape...so we will go with that!) and once we got to town...it was off for Norah to get a hair cut!

She has loved having a braid in her hair ever since she went to Vacation Bible School a couple of weeks ago. Then after the hair cut we saw "Madagascar 3" in 3D....we both loved it! And since it was our second time seeing it...Norah now requests Katy Perry's "Firework" song all the time!

Saturday brought Norah's big pool party. I made the cupcakes at the beach and then just frosted and added "cupcake tattoos" that I had gotten. I also put together the dinner bags that included a crustable, squeezable apple sauce and cheese stick for all the kids at the party too.

You probably can tell that her theme she picked was "zebras" which was pretty easy for me...so that was fun! She had a lot of friends come and I was really glad that she got to hang out with everyone together.

Had to throw in a pic of Daddy Jeff working hard at the party...

Then Sunday we headed back to the beach but had friends in tow! Christie and her girls, Harper and Perry came to visit! We loved having them here and we did have two days of not so great weather (down pour on day on us and a sand storm the next!) but we got a few good moments of weather on the beach! We also took the girls to the "Blue Crab" to eat and that was a big hit with the girls...Norah is ready to go back! It was so nice to have some "grape time" with Christie at night...I miss that! We also had the lovely addition of my washing machine breaking which proved...not fun! Oh well..that is another story! Well we were sad to see our company leave and I hope they come back again! We miss ya'll!!!

Norah also got to fly her own kite! William and Davis gave Norah a kite for her birthday and she is in love!

The kite was the perfect size for Norah to control by herself. She loves it!

So after our friends left...I actually got a little summer cold...but have no fear...there has been no time for "down time" in the Hoppe House and Thursday we were back at it to celebrate Norah's 5th birthday!! I cannot believe Norah is 5 and I did think about the actual day June 28, 2007...seems so long ago but like yesterday too. You can check out the post I did last year to see past pics of Norah on her birthdays HERE. I let Norah decide what she wanted to do and since I didn't feel so great...I went with it. She had spent the night before with my mom and she made her monkey bread for breakfast....she loved that (me too!) Then Norah and I saw the movie "Brave" in 3D and I know a lot of people are going to disagree but it was just okay...nothing I want to see again....oh well.

Due to a slight mix-up of the times on-line for the movie theatre we had some time to spare so I took her to Chick-fil-a for a mini sundae and play a little. We ended up meeting another little girl who just turned 5 this week too and will be going to the same elementary school as Norah!! So that was great!

After the movie and a quick trip to Home Depot...Norah and I met my Aunt Susan at the "Chop Chop House" for some Japenese cook on the table experience. It was really busy and to be honest...I think Norah and I were both worn out! The food was good and they gave you a ton...thank you so much Aunt Susan for going with us to celebrate Norah's birthday and she loved her gifts!

So today brought cleaning (a continuation of last night), some painting and then finally some beach time. I actually told Norah that I needed a break and she let me read while she played...it was great!!

So now after the blog update...more cleaning and getting ready for tomorrow...Daddy Jeff and his mom are headed here for the whole week! I am so excited about seeing Jeff for a whole week! I have missed him and I know Norah has too! There will be a lot of fun had this week and then it is time to get back into a normal "we actually live here" routine. And believe it or not all the pictures lately I have taken and posted have all been on my phone! It is easy to just pull out the ole' phone and snap away but I need to get the camera out too.

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Norah's 5th Birthday Week...

Pawleys Island Tiger...

Well Wednesday was a "beach break" day in which we did things around the house, painted a bathroom and ran errands. Thursday brought back some time at the beach and then a trip to the Pawleys Island Festival which Norah had a BLAST! (Sorry pics uploaded in strange order...and I'm not feeling like fixin' it!)

 Beach Time!

 Tiger Time!

 She went down this slide a zillion times!

 Nini and Aunt Susan waiting with Norah while she got a balloon animal...first up a yellow balloon...when that popped she went back for a pink poodle!

 Fangs and all! She loved being a Tiger!

 Norah being silly on errand day!

Beach Time...those big "pools" are the best!

So we got home from the festival last night and Norah was so filthy! So in the bath she went with LOTS of tears...she was so upset that I had to wash her face. She did not want the tiger paint to go away...she said she looked like Tigeress from Kung Fu Panda! After a wash up...she went to bed and the minute she hit the pillow...she was out! The festival was really fun...thanks Nini and Aunt Susan for everything...the food, company and activities were fabulous! We will definitely go again next year!

How cool is this...I saw an article where Pawleys Island was deemed one of the best Summer Trips of 2012 by National Geographic...check it out! Well we are now headed to Charlotte for the birthday festivities for Norah...fun times ahead!

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Pawleys Island Tiger...

So much has happened...where to start....

Well our lives have been quite busy and a little crazy lately...it is hard to know where to start. As noted in the last post, Jeff's dad did pass away. It was a hard time for the family but knowing he is in a better place, makes everyone feel more at peace.

One of the biggest changes lately is that we have moved from Charlotte, NC to Pawleys Island, SC. It is something we had been thinking about for a very long time and decided to go for it so that Norah would be able to start kindergarten in the fall here. There are so many reasons we made the move but to sum it up...we wanted a different lifestyle for our family and couldn't be happier with our decision! We are loving it and trying to adjust to a new town, get settled in our new house and just enjoy our summer!

I also finished my first year of teaching which was so wonderful! I cannot tell you how much I loved teaching this year! I loved my students and the team I worked on was fabulous (we even just texted last night!) I will miss seeing my students continue through middle school but hope to keep tabs on some to see what happens in their lives and of course I hope to keep in touch with my co-workers. I am in the process of looking for a teaching job for the fall as I really want to start with a class in August....hopefully this will happen! (So if anyone has any contacts to middle schools in Pawleys Island, Murrells Inlet, Socastee, or any other surrounding areas....let me know (I teach middle school math)!!!)

Books...well my reading has been slow at times due to the move, etc. I did listen to two audiobooks as I have had a lot of driving and painting going on (when I paint it is easier to listen to something...) I listened to "Time Traveler's Wife" and "Something Borrowed." I actually had already read "Something Borrowed" but it was a $5 deal so since I read it so long ago...it was nice to listen to. I just downloaded my next audiobook, "The Forgotten Garden" so I'm excited about that. I've also started two books that I borrowed for free from Amazon Prime...but after a few chapters I stopped reading them as they just weren't that great...I think that is only the 3rd time that I have ever done that. So now I am reading "Insurgent" and hope to get back to some heavy reading now that we are semi-settled.

Movies/TV...I took Norah to see Madagascar 3 and it was super cute! It will be interesting to see what other movies come out this summer. I know there is another kids movie, "Brave" coming out so I wonder if it will be good? Haven't heard of a lot of non-kid movies coming out yet that look interesting but I am sure some will pop up soon. Since we got new cable hooked up, we got 3 months of free movie channels and are loving it!!! Jeff and are watching the Showtime series, "Homeland" and it is great!! Highly recommend...

 After Bible Camp one day...showing off her new braids they did in her hair...she loved that!!!

Norah...well Norah turns 5 years old on June 28! It is hard to believe! She has her birthday party this weekend in Charlotte and it getting very excited! We also were very lucky that she was able to go to a Vacation Bible Camp last week at the beach which she loved. The first day I asked her what she did and she said "I saw Jesus." and I asked her what Jesus said and she said "God's word."....yep that sums up her experience! She had a blast and came home each day with something new so hopefully in the next couple of weeks we can visit the same Church on a Sunday. We also hope to get together with some of the people we met next week. I've debated whether to look for more camps for Norah this summer but everything has been so crazy that I haven't been super focused on finding any...but she does just enjoy heading to the beach and we might go to Brookgreen Gardens today.

 Norah showing off her putt-putt skills...her first time playing...

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So much has happened...where to start....