Friday, May 20, 2016

Random thoughts...

1. I love that I have maintained this blog for over 6 years and more than 500 posts! It has been a great way to scrapbook all the good things in our life and lots of pictures. I always just write as I think and never worry about punctuation/grammar/spelling. I hope to keep it up for years to come.

2. Today I was looking at my calendar and realized that I have been back to playing tennis for 3 weeks now. I have definitely caught the tennis "bug" again and love thinking about improving and getting better each time I go out there. Tennis has changed a lot in some ways since "my day" of playing (like the invention of the Internet where you can find loads of helpful hints!) but some things are the same. I have noticed being older that I like playing on the clay courts better than hard which is the opposite of my thoughts as a kid. A lot of things have come back to me based on muscle memory but obviously the little things and consistency aren't back to normal for me yet. I'm excited to see where I will be after playing 6 months, then a year, etc.

3. Books...still reading Vince Flynn books and I should finish the series soon but might have to throw a random book in there soon as I'm ready to change it up soon.

4. Movies....there are so many movies coming out this summer that I want to see. Love going to the movies in the summer...but hate knowing I have to drive a bit to go to them now!

5. I just found out that we are getting a Chipotle and a Panera that will be about 20 minutes away from us. Excitement galore!!!!!

6. I got my hair colored at the salon a few weeks ago and I don't think I can over go back to box color...it is so much better and lasts so much longer with the gray coverage.

7. House...we always said we were on a 7 year plan on trying to update our house when we moved here. We are kinda slow on house stuff and aren't really picky about things but obviously there are always things to do. This summer will mark year 4 for us and we are still working away and getting things done. Our yard has been tricky for us as it is so unlike our Charlotte yard but we are slowly starting to think about what we are going to do with it.

8. I cannot believe that this summer will mark 4 years of living in Pawleys Island. There are days where it is still strange to me but other times when it feels right living here. I still miss all the "things" Charlotte has to offer plus all our peeps!!! But love everyone we have met here, Norah has been thriving in this environment/school/friends, and there is always Amazon!! ;)

9. My sweet Norah was selected to participate in the Tech Fair today and she presented a project to a group of judges. She was really nervous about doing it...but did great! So proud of her and all she does!!

10. Well off to spend time with my girl...only 6 full and 3 half days of school/3rd grade left for Norah!!


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Wednesday, May 18, 2016

The Latest...

As always...we stay busy around here at the Hoppe house!

This girl is precious!!! I love that she is into tennis, art, hanging with her friends, and being a great kid! I cannot wait for school to get out and spend more time with her!



Norah and I got to see "Captain America: Civil War" movie together on opening day. It was a great movie! I could see it again! I love that we go to movies together! It is a big bummer though that a week after we saw movies at our local movie theater (15 minute drive)...it closed without warning. So now if we want to go to the movies...we have to drive to Myrtle Beach or Mt. Pleasant. So sad!

We then headed the next day to the Shrimp Festival in McClellanville, SC. I love small town festivals. This one had a kid area in which Norah and Jeff did this activity where they hit each other with these inflatables. It was hilarious!! They also had food (shrimp), music, and arts/crafts.


Loved our family time and we will definitely be back next year!

When we left...we checked my odometer as I knew I was near the big 100K mark and boom...right on it! I cannot believe I have driven my car (aka the black jelly bean) for 8 years now. It is the longest I have ever owned a car by far!

I got to go with Norah's class and entire 3rd grade to Columbia, SC where we visited the State Museum, State Capitol, and the Art Museum. It was great! I was in love with so many paintings and works of art at the Art Museum and Norah loved all the history stuff at the State Museum. Norah and I both want to go back.




I loved this painting! This picture doesn't do the colors justice!

This is the only Botticelli painting outside of Italy!! A museum in Japan had just borrowed it. How crazy to know we have it in South Carolina. Go see it!

The dogs got a haircut!!

I got to be part of our local Girls on the Run program where we "coached" girls in grades 3rd-5th. They had their fun run and did an amazing job. The girls were the best...just awesome!! I loved getting to know them.

One night after dinner...Norah and I headed to walk on the beach looking for shells. It is pretty great that we can go do this in just a few minutes. The beach is gorgeous as always.


I've also started playing tennis again and it has been great! It is strange how it comes back to you but I definitely realize that I've gotten older and way out of shape! Ha! I hope to continue to improve and get more involved in the tennis community here. I'm excited to know that soon...Norah and I will be hitting together!