DAY THREE, FOUR, FIVE, ............

After a whirlwind of several days straight in a row, I finally have time (yeah, right!!) to catch my breath and post of our good news:

WE'RE MOVING!!!!!

Well, yes, that IS good news (I know some of you know how I feel about the mountains, church, etc..... and you are wondering, "How can THAT be good news?"). Barry is getting back to his first love, band. He has accepted the job of band director at East Bladen High School in Elizabethtown, NC.

On day three, Barry, myself, and Benjamin traveled to Bladen County for an interview. The interview took over 2 hours!!!! Ben and I wandered around the high school about 900 times while we were waiting.

Finally, we resorted to the "blanket" and some chips to keep ourselves entertained (and some of us QUIET!)

The school's mascot is the eagle and they have some really neat student-paintings scattered around the school. Also, they have a beautiful facility to work in. The next picture is in the commons, near the cafeteria. East Bladen is a 1A school with lots of pride in the band. Barry was wined and dined after accepting the position. I think he met just about everybody in the whole town in only one day. They were all so eager to meet the "new band director". He was just beaming the whole time. It is definitely time to see him happy doing something he LOVES!!!

After the interview, we took a little side trip to White Lake. One of my sisters used to take me there when I was little and it was so sweet for me to see it again. As it turns out, we are looking at several houses right on the lake. That makes the move so much better!!!! I remember this water tower from when I was a little girl and it looks just the same!!!

Benjamin certainly enjoyed a little down time, splashing around in the water. White Lake is a 1200 acre lake of crystal clear water and beautiful white sand. The deepest part is only a little over 11 feet, so it is perfect for little guys like Benjamin. The only ebbing you get is from the boats and jetskis running around in the middle, so it's really like a huge bathtub. The water is fresh and comes from an underground mineral spring.

This picture shows just how much EVERYONE loves the lake, no matter what the age! I was shooting in black and white on this day, so you can't see that she is carrying a bright pink float!

DAY FOUR:

Ben and I traveled to Elon University to pick up KT and get a glimpse of all she took part in during her grueling week of camp (which she really liked!)

We got to see her play in the championship game, in which her team lost by only one shot!!!

KT also made the all-star team. So, she and the other five received a really cool t-shirt. They played against the coaches, but again, they lost by only 1 point.

Pretty decent form, I suppose. : o )

Isn't she just the sweetest little thing?

(OK, so I know she isn't little, but she is still mine so let me bask in my motherly glory!).



Later on, we picked up Jackie and Joseph from music camp. What a great week they had! I don't think that Ms. Charlotte, aka "Minister of Fun", let them have any down time at all and I could tell by the way they were acting that the weekend was going to be pretty unprofitable as they would be catching up on some much needed rest.

Benjamin was so excited to see everybody, that he just couldn't keep his hands off of them!!!

And finally, after breaking the news to our kids, our church, and our families, we all headed back to Bladen County for some house hunting on Monday and Tuesday. We wanted the kids to have a part in picking our house and we also wanted them to see what a cool place we will be moving to.

This is the edge of the "yard" for one of the houses we are considering. All I could do was just stand there and gape. I'm sure I was quite the site and made a wonderful first impression!

Then, each day we took the kids back to the lake for some play time. They all really liked it, especially Barry who found $10 in the bottom of the lake. Then, Jackie followed suit and found $1. Joseph didn't want to be left out and came up with a quarter. KT, try as she might, only found a pair of flip flops -and they didn't even fit!!- and Ben was thrilled with his brick chip that was located on the bottom of the lake.

This is Barry, Jackie and Joseph WAY out in the middle of the lake.

KT was having a splash-fest with Benjamin. He loved every minute!

Joseph wasn't all together sure that the move was such a good idea. But, I think that the trip helped him and he seems to be coming around.

And finally, meet the new East Bladen High School band director. Isn't he handsome?