Hiatus

After much thought and consideration, we are taking a blogging vacation. We talk regularly to the people who want to know about our lives... so, I've decided not to make double work for myself. If its important enough... you know where to reach us. If you live across the country, come visit- Charlotte is lovely this time of year!

For now...
Rach and Mike

Weekend at home #2

Friday night- out for Zoe's birthday. Drinks a la Erin, sparklers in the cake, out to Whisky River. Super fun.

Saturday am- 7:30- headed to Rural Hall to watch Dillon his last game of the year. He plays for the Mets. He played right field mostly and got up to bat twice. Each time he got hit by the ball and took his base... but at least he stayed in the box!

Then we stuck around for lunch at Ted's Kickin Chicken (note, we were in Rural Hall)! It was kind biker-bar-esque, but the food was good!

Next off to Austin's ball game... unfortunately they didn't win... but it was good to spend time with the fam!

Saturday night relaxing at home.

Sunday- out with the girls to Salsa's and the see the new Sex and the City movie. I loved it, Zo hated it, Becca cried the whole time and Erin reminisced about her days in NYC.

Tonight, we grill and hang out here... man, I love my husband and our life!

Blackle

Well, I'm pretty much addicted to

1) Going Green

2) Google.

And though this site isn't made by Google, it does feature a Google search, and uses less energy (something we should all strive to do).

http://www.blackle.com/

Check it out!!

Weekend at home??

What is that all about?

We were supposed to get Pop this weekend, for the next 3 weeks, but Aunt Barbara came into town, so we got bumped to July.

All of that happening... we ended up in Charlotte for the weekend! Friday night we hung around the house, grilled and Mikey went out for Bling's birthday.

Saturday we went yard-saling... hilarious- ps, you have to go to these things at 7 am, by 9 its slim pickin's. We still got a few things, I think we spent $3 :)

Then we went to the Matthews Farmer's Market (again, opening bell at 7:15... these people are nuts)... since we didn't get there at 7:15, slim pickin's again... but we learned that we could preorder meats and eggs from local farmers. We met a super nice lady from Grateful Growers who taught us the ins and outs. She has grass fed beef and free range chickens- I'm SO excited!

After the Farmer's Market Mike took me on a surprise trip to Trader Joes... so fun! We love it! We got some new wines to try, sunflower butter (I found a recipie for Sunflower Seed Butter Cookies), and a variety of other goodies!

We napped most of Saturday afternoon, woke up to some appetizers from Trader Joes and at about 9 went to dinner at the Fig Tree. While I'm sure you don't care about every detail of what we have to eat... this place is too good not to mention! It is fine dining, with organic and locally grown veggies and meats... Mikey had an Elk Chop (looks like a lamb chop, but cooked like a steak) and I had Scallops (not locally grown, luckily) with asparagus and roasted red pepper mashed potatoes... it may be our new favorite restaurant!

Sunday Mikey golfed with Shaun and I took Lu for a walk. Again we grilled and relaxed and didn't answer the phone when our friends called :) It was nice to just be the two of us for a while.

Monday we woke up early, Mike made breakfast and we went shopping! Mike got a new pressure washer! I am in a small fight with the Water Company, as they raised our rates 15% becuase they didn't make enough money due to water restrictions. So, we bought low flow shower heads, a water filter for the sink (our expensive tap water is still not safe to drink) and will get water aerators for the faucets once I bring in the ones we currently have.

If you want to save water (and $$) too... follow these easy steps:

1) Replace Shower Heads with Low Flow Shower Heads (the one we got is the a Delta Amplifying Shower Head, that saves water yet feels like high volume, 1.85 gallons per minute vs. 2.5 gpm, a 25% reduction... so take your 15% and shove it, water company!)

2) Add Water Aerators to your faucets, .5 gpm is key! You can find them at your local hardware store, or at http://www.greenfeet.com/. If you go to a hardware store, take the bottom of your current faucet with you... it should say gpm on it, and unscrews.

3) Get a toilet tank bank, or put a 2 liter bottle in the tank of your toilet. (Especially if you have an older house or older toilet!) It will save you .5 gallon per flush!

After Lowes we took a trip to Target to spend our gift cards... woohoo! I got some file boxes for my trunk, a Real Simple notebook for organization (thanks to the tip from Tess) of the Clifton Home (take out menus, farmers market info, recipies, magazine articles, etc... )

Then we ended the weekend with a nice dinner at Keith and Zoe's with the Meineckes, Keith and Brandy and Shaun and Erin. Zo and Keith grilled and we played yard games and just enjoyed the time together!

What a perfect weekend! We are home this coming weekend too- watch out!

Rachel's new haircut

I've been talking about it for months now... but finally did it!

I cut my hair and donated it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. They've partnered with the Women's Cancer Research Fund to give free wigs to women who have lost their hair to cancer.

Cecelia cut 9" off, and I'm pleased with it. So I'll encourage you too! If you have it to give- give! It only takes 8" for Pantene Beautiful Lengths, and there are tons of details on the website!

Relay For Life Fundraiser

So, since we were participating in Relay For Life, we sponsored a fundraiser at Fox and Hound to raise some $ for our team.

We charged $10/head for 1 beer, appetizers and 1 drawing of chance ticket... we had a BLAST and raise $1,005! I'm pretty proud of myself... I went out and got the venue (and got them to donate food, they got a vendor to donate beer, and a few prizes), I got prizes, advertised, and invited people.

The event was quite the success and I know exactly what to do next time to make it even better!!

Here is a link to my page

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RelayForLifeSouthAtlanticDivision?px=4332091&pg=personal&fr_id=8834

Relay for Life and NASCAR!!! Heeyaaw!

Do we ever stop??

Friday night- Relay For Life with our Kiwanis Uptown Folks- SO much fun! Mikey walked 5 hours before I could pull him off of the track ... slept for a few, then walked 4 more... that man is a tank! He walked 1 hour for each person he knew currently fighting, who already fought, and those we've lost. It was emotional for sure.




I walked about 2 with him in the beginning, then went to the store, took a nap and got back to it, walking 2:30-7:30 am, when I stopped to break down the tent and pack up (after all we had to go to the NASCAR All Star Race with our AppState friends)





I figure we both walked at least a marathon (3-4 miles/hour for 8-9 hours)... Mikey definitely had me beat though.


After closing ceremonies we pledged to save at least one person each this year... so go get checked! Wear sunscreen, have your mammograms, do self exams, quit smoking... the earlier we catch it, the better our chances are of fighting it!!

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Home to sleep for a few hours, and it is off to the NASCAR AllStar Race we go! We got a smokin' deal on tickets through ASU and met up with about 30 other Alumni out at the track for a pre-race tailgate and party. So fun!





Kasey Kahne won (he's about our age, and adorable) Go Kasey! (this is not Kasey Kahne, this is Wally Brown, Mike's buddy from high school)





Sunday, we slept... our bodies are still not on a "normal schedule"... we are just so thankful to be surrounded by such great people.

AKD, Mother's Day and our nephew- Eli!!

That is Dr. AKD to you! We trekked to NCSU this weekend for Amanda's Vet School Graduation- hard to believe 4 years have gone by so quickly and the beach girls now have a Doctor as our claim to fame!

The Girls...

Mikey and I got the spend the weekend at home with Mom and Dad, nice and relaxing, and got Mom some airbake cookie sheets... since she made us delicious cookies and milk :) Well, she didn't make the milk, but she bought it fresh for us!

Sunday we helped Mom at school for a bit, then headed to Winston to see Mike's parents, with a short stop in Mebane to meet Eli Kareem Cress... Hey is quite the bruiser and basically the cutest golden I've ever seen. (I can't say cutest puppy, as we are teaching Lu how to read, and it may hurt her feelings :) )

After Mebane we met Mom and Dad at Ruby Tuesday for a nice Mother's day dinner and crazy thunderstorms/tornadoes...

Ahh, another whirlwind weekend!

Cinco de LuLu!

Lu Lu is one!

In order to keep with our partying trend, we had a Cinco de Mayo Fiesta with Matty A and Tess (Tess makes a mean enchilada), Zo and Keith (mmmm, margaritas), SaeRae (who was planning her trip to Germany) and Mike, Lu and I.

I didn't have the camera handy to take any pictures (note, at this point I've had parties 3 nights in a row, I'm beat... )
But here is a Lu Lu picture in honor of her big day!

We bought her a doggie photoshoot and day at the spa (come on, it was at a charity event for people and dogs with cancer!) You'll see the pics once we have them taken ;)

Margie, Joey and Owen come to town!

Some of our long lost, favorite, friends came home for the weekend, and we got to host them on Sunday night! Margie and Owen came over early to hang out while Mikey and Joe worked on their house.

Sunday was also Owen's first birthday! (He and Lu are just a day apart!) Here he is enjoying his ice cream cake!

Hurry back guys! XOXO

Nicole and Yadam's Shower

On May 3rd, Mike and I hosted a shower for Adam and Nicole, who are getting married Saturday, June 21st. Check out their link to the right!

We had a great time at our backyard Luau and enjoyed celebrating with them at this exciting time in their lives!

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Keith Meinecke!

Zo and Keith at the rehearsal





It's official! Keith and Zoe are married... hip, hip, hooray! They planned the weekend perfectly and it went off without a hitch! We had a blast and it was just perfect and so "them"... here are a few snapshots from the weekend...





Zo in her amazing dress


Zo and Soph

First Dance as husband and wife

Seriously... how cute!?!

Here is another picture from Paige's blog... Whit on the left, Parker on the right!

The twins are here!

Chip and Lindsay's boys have finally arrived!

Everyone is happy and healthy! They weigh 6lbs 15oz and 7lbs 7oz... welcome to the world Whit and Parker!

Home for the weekend- relaxing Easter!

We went home to Rural Hall for Easter weekend and had a really nice, relaxing time!

Friday night we spent at Grandma's house- Lu, Austin, Dillon, Mike and I had a sleep over there.

Saturday morning we went to Mom and Dad's and hung out at the house, watched Dillon ride his dirt bike, dyed Easter Eggs and got to relax. Saturday night we got to see JO and Ally's new place- too cute- then go out with JO.

Sunday morning we went to church, lunch at Nanny and Pa's/Johnny's and dinner at Sissy and Larry's. Meggie May is feeling better- hooray!

The Easter Bunny came- three times! (I ate all the candy already :))

All in all it was a great weekend! LuLu, spoiled brat, even slept in Grandma's bed on Saturday- I think she has a new best friend!

Cabin on the Grand Mesa

Mom and Dad bought a cabin 2 years ago, and this is the first time we were able to go visit... we are so excited to come back again soon! It is peaceful, beautiful and seemingly unreal. We met Dave, a new family member of ours :) who dug a tunnel for us into the 2nd floor of the cabin, which was under 11 feet of snow!

We made some new friends and went ice fishing! :) Pics to come once Mom and Dad get home...

Took a walk with Momma... "It's all mine!"

Mike, Dad and Ky had fun shoveling together!

Back to the blog... too much fun not to post on here!

We've been MIA for a while...

Early March took us to Telluride, CO to visit with the Cuzzies, Mom and Dad, Kyle, Leah, Kerry and Brad...

The scenery was unreal, the memories unforgettable... we had an amazing vacation! We are so thankful that Cuz is healthy and feeling like himself again, and can't wait to go back to visit again.

A weekend of family fun!