Long time....

Well, it sure has been a long time since I wrote and for good reason. The past month and a half is basically just a fog in my brain. We have been so busy that I literally have not had time so sit down even once and write. I sure have wanted to though, and I have taken so many pictures that I've wanted to post and thought, oh, that'll make a good picture to put on the blog! But now, if I go back, it would take forever and no one will care anyway it's such old news! Oh well, such is life. A few of the highlights of the past 6 weeks have been:

I have painted 2 bedrooms in my house, and Katie Mae now has a very adorable nursery all to herself. Once she's older, it will become Alan's room and she'll sleep with Savannah in the bigger room. I painted it a tan color which looks very good with her bedding set and won't need to be changed once I make it a John Deere theme for Alan's room. My room is a rather dark foresty/meadowy green. I really love it. The rest of the sheet rock in the house has been fixed and is ready to be painted when I can buy the paint.


We got a new vehicle. It's a 2005 Land Rover LR3. It's really nice and we all like it. Biggest pro (this is my opinion only, and probably would NOT be what Aaron would say!): we can pull a trailer, thus making it more capable of being a vehicle that the whole family can go on business related errands rather than Aaron having to go in a truck by himself. Biggest con: fuel mileage! On the highway, it's decent...about 20-21 mpg. Regular usage...about 14-15 mpg and it has to take 89 octane, so it's more expensive to fill up. Ugh.


Below Left: Lynn and Katie @ Buffalo Mtn
We've gone on 3 hikes in the past 2 weeks. I love hiking!! We hiked up Buffalo Mtn with Joe (my bro) and Lynn. We also met Lauralee and D. at Crabtree Falls, which is about 2 1/2 to 3 hours from here between us and them. It's a gorgeous hike, with the highest falls this side of the Mississippi, so it says. Very strenuous 1380 ft elevation climb in just 1.1 miles, but very worth it. Then we went on a short hike at Cumberland Knob which is 30 miles south of here on the parkway. Just us Browns went. We had fun. And of course, I have pictures of all hikes that I wanted to post, but that may never happen.

I've met some really cool homeschooling families! I have gotten to know a really awesome family that lives about 25 minutes from me. Their names are Lou and Amy, and they have 3 girls, ages 9,7, and almost 5. Amy and I have practically everything in common, and if we weren't so far away, I'd be visiting her several times a week. I guess it's good they live so far away cause I wouldn't have the time to do that anyway! We also went to a homeschooler's picnic at Cumberland Knob (which is why we were there hiking) and we met some nice families there. Two of the families were actually closer to MY age; one of the families had 3 children and the other family had 6. They live in Galax unfortunately, so who knows when I'll see them again. We also went on a field trip to Foster Falls, in which the New River runs through, so we got to play in the river. What fun!


I picked, ate, and froze a whole heck of alot of broccoli!! A farmer that lives about a 1 1/2 miles from me told me that I could go to his field and pick what I wanted because he was through harvesting it. Well, let me tell you, ALOT gets left behind!!! It's insane what goes to waste. So I went to the field 3 or 4 times and filled up the back of the vehicle with broccoli. I ate, froze, and gave away at least 10 bushel's worth!

Uncle Joe is teaching Savannah how to ride a bike. They've only worked on it once, but I think she did well. Yes, there were many tears, and finally, the day ended in frustration AND tears, but I think she'll get it soon. This is Alan on the sidelines watching!

Well, those are some of the highlights of the past 6 weeks that I can think of at this oh so late hour. Hopefully, I can write more and post some more pictures soon!!