The past two weeks have been extremely busy for us. Zak started school, we took a mountain trip, threw a homecoming party, and we had a visit from my in-laws. Oh and I didn't mention a teething baby. Busy. This is Zacharys third full week back at school and things are going very well for him. The start of a new year is always hectic, but he is pushing through it and giving this year a great start!  Zak has his own class this year (plus two inclusion classes) and we are really excited to see the progress his kids make this year, I thought inclusion was rough, but having your own class is very challenging. I certainly couldn't do it. God bless our teachers! We paid Uncle Art and Aunt Kathy a visit in Black Mountain last weekend, our home away from home. Black Mountain is such a beautiful town with incredible people, if you've never visited I strongly encourage you to do so. We wanted to make it up at the end of September for a yard sale we enjoyed last year, but we aren't sure about being able to go, so hopefully we can find time in October to enjoy the fall festivities up there. Leaves changing, yard sales, apple cider, a pumpkin patch...what wonderful things. Our friend Brian took a cross country biking trip this summer and returned safely two weeks ago so we threw him a welcome home party on Labor Day. We loved having good company and good food. Days like that are some of the most precious moments we will always cherish. Brian wrote a blog during his trip and posted a ton of gorgeous pictures so go take a look at his adventures (Read his blog here). My in-laws came down and visited! They drove down Monday, Joyce dropped Richard off at the Raleigh airport and he flew home while she finished the drive. She stayed the week and we picked him up at the same airport on Thursday, he visited for the day, and they both drove home Friday morning. As always, we had a busy week. I was able to sleep in for a bit while Joyce took care of Zaylen, we "saved" Zachary money while we shopped every day, I was able to get some errands done faster, we enjoyed our favorite taco joint as well as a huge Southern thunderstorm, and we all just took in the time together. It was a very nice visit and we are looking forward to seeing them on our trip to Rhode Island in November. Also, Zaylen got his first two teeth this weekend!! He has been teething for a while now and we could feel something under those gums for a few days, but Saturday he took a nap and woke up to have two tiny teeth popping up from his lower gums. It is remarkably relieving to get those first two. He is having a time with teething and I hope the saying "it gets easier after the first one" holds true in our case. I had to take him to the doctor the other week just to make sure it was all teething instead of an infection or anything. Zaylen was running a low grade fever, pulling at his ears, had a runny nose and cough, couldn't sleep at night, woke up screaming at night, slept all day, fussed and fussed, drooled a ton, and lost his appetite some days amongst other symptoms. I was 95% sure it was all just from teething, but "moma" came out and I had to get him checked. We were both having a rough time. The first two teeth are so sweet and I am looking forward to an easier road with the rest of them.

Oh and one more thing, I finally had a girls night after over a year!! Talk about much needed. It's a group of four of us who have been friends for 11+ years, you don't find friends like that every day. We talk almost every day (Thank The Lord for group messaging) and we all see each other pretty often, but with us all living in different towns and having different things going on in our lives it's pretty hard to all get on the same schedule and get together. We were all able to go out to Winston this past weekend and enjoy dinner and a few drinks with each other to celebrate Bailees birthday that's coming up. I haven't been out since the beginning of last June. I have gone on a few dates with my husband, but I haven't been out with my girlfriends or been able to order a cocktail. Girlfriends and cocktails are extremely important necessities to a good life. I would be miserable without my girls. I feel like we are in a marriage. We have been there through the bad and the good, sickness and health, breakups, boy troubles, lowest of low points, job offers, births, marriages, college, graduations, parties, birthdays, everything. I can call any one of them any time of day or night and they are there to let me talk and give me good sound advice. I have had many a friend steer me wrong. It's easy to do when you think they are your true friend, but when you have a real true friend it's something you know in your gut and it's a person you never let go of. They aren't out for themselves, they will tell you how it is, they will be brutally honest even if it means your feelings will be hurt, and they will support you to the ends of the earth. I mean support too. I have made so many mistakes in life and some of them my girls even warned me against, but they said their peace, let me make the mistake, and then was there to wipe my tears and pick up the pieces with me. That is a true girlfriend. When you find friends like that, never ever let them go.

Okay that was it for an update. It's a rainy day here in Greensboro. It's also laundry day. Mondays are gloomy enough on their own, but add in chilly rainy weather and laundry and that makes for an almost unbearable day. We are going to make the most of it though. Zak and I had an amazing morning together, I was able to get a lot done before the little one woke up, and now Zaylen is playing while I finish writing. Come to think of it, I'm not really sure why Monday is my laundry day, I should look into changing that. But in the mean time, I hope each of you have a great Monday and an awesome week this week!! Be Blessed!

xoxo
Cursty

If any of you are part of the Vitamix club, please stand up. Great!! If you stood up go ahead and give yourself a huge pat on the back. Before 2012 I thought the almighty Vitamix was just some fancy pants blender that old rich people bought from infomercials late at night. That was before. Once my husband and I started dating in June of 2012, I discovered that the Vitamix is much, much more. The Vitamix represents a blender, but it performs so many tasks that calling it a "blender" doesn't do it justice. My husband received our Vitamix from his parents after he moved back to High Point following graduation. They have blessed us with so much and continue to do so, but this is one of our favorite gifts to this day! I would be here all day if I listed all the reasons why I love our Vitamix so let's not waste time with that when I can sum it all up into one sentence...I can cook a whole meal in 10 minutes. Let me break that down; I can cook. A whole meal. In ten minutes. I'm not sure about you, but I've been in drive-thrus longer than that.

I get to actually cook (well measure things out) good whole foods for my family and not slave away in the kitchen for a few hours. Which I do love by the way, let's just clear that up, but some days I don't feel up to baking hand crafted biscuits or preparing the finest deer roast around. I'll use tonight for an example, it's been a busy day for both Zak and I, I haven't had much energy today, there is a beautiful storm outside, and we were both in the mood for a good soup. So out comes the Vitamix cookbook. We chose the Easy Tortilla Soup. And let me say...I mean easy. I'm on my third bowl right now as I type this. I strongly encourage you to pull your machine out and give this recipe a try, you will love it!! Enjoy!

1 Roma tomato
1 celery stalk
6 baby carrots
1 garlic clove, unpeeled
1/2 vegetable bouillon cube
1 1/2 teaspoons taco seasoning
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 cup tortilla chips, lightly broken
1 cup packed fresh spinach

1. Place tomato, celery, carrots, garlic, bouillon, taco seasoning, and water into the Vitamix in that order
2. Select Variable 1
3. Turn machine on and increase speed to Variable 10, then to high
4. Blend for 7 minutes
5. Reduce speed to Variable 3 and remove the lid plug
6. Add corn, tortilla chips, and spinach
7. Replace lid plug and blend for 10 seconds
8. Soup is ready to serve!!

Bonus: I add crumbled tortilla strips on top of mine to give it a little edge

How easy?!? This recipe makes almost 5 cups of delicious soup! Also, this is a Vitamix recipe so all credit goes to them, maybe one day I'll venture out and create my own recipes!

This past week we had the privilege of hosting part of Zaks family at our home for a few days. His mother, brother, and nephew were all able to come down at the same time and have a nice visit. Nat and Embry (brother and nephew) flew in at 9 on Sunday night, we picked them up and had fun talking and playing at the house that night. The next morning we all corralled in Memaws van (she was so sweet to let us borrow it so that we could all fit into one vehicle) and picked up Joyce from the airport. We enjoyed a huge breakfast from Smith Street Diner and went home to unpack and start our week together. As always, Joyce brought down too much stuff for everybody, she is constnantly going above and beyond for us. I received more amazing Chico's tops and a pair of fabulous earrings, Zaylen and Embry scored a ton of books, clothes, and toys, and the boys got some of their old yearbooks and books from their childhood. She is way too good to us!! We all had a lovely week together! We visited the zoo, went to the science center, ate at some awesome restaurants, and really enjoyed time with each other! Everyone left Friday morning, but they all got to their destinations safely and we are looking forward to seeing them next time!

I don't even have to look at a calendar to know that summer is coming to an end. I can tell by the lesson plans sitting on our coffee table, how my "honey, please do list" is practically bare, and by the flooding of back-to-school sales ads in our mailbox. This is always a part of the year that tends to have higher emotions and a mix of sadness/happiness (you know that weird feeling). While I am glad for my husband to return to work, I sure am going to miss him being home all day. And while he is ready to get back to his kids, I know he will miss being here with us during the day.

Does anyone know where June went?!? If your family is anything like mine, it flew by! While I'm sitting in the sunrise enjoying my bowl of freshly cooked deer sausage, biscuits, and gravy, I'll see if I can remember a recap...

Zachary finished work on the 17th, and isn"t due back until August 13! Having him home has been incredible, you have no idea how much laundry and deep cleaning I have tackled since having an extra set of hands around here. My mother-in-law came down for a short visit from the 16th-19th, time with her is always special. If any of you know her, you know her energy, and it's wonderful having that energy around, especially now with a baby. She helps out so much with Zaylen!! The amount of naps I took during those few days is insane. I was able to catch up on sleep, get some good cleaning done, and pack for the beach...and I did all of that alone! I usually do the chores and things with Zaylen wrapped to me so when I get to do something without an extra 15 pounds on me it feels like I'm a new person! It was very nice having her and we are looking forward to her coming back down in August with Zaks brother and nephew. After Joyce left we had one day to finish packing for a two week beach trip, talk about exhausting! Nobody warned me about the overwhelming amount of stuff you have to pack for a baby. We literally brought the entire house...and there's not an ounce of exaggeration in that. We had so much that we had to buy an over-the-car luggage carrier. Needless to say...by that Friday night I was a zombie; a worn out, tired, delusional, exhausted zombie. Oh wait, thats every day now...I forgot I'm a mom.

Saturday morning (the 21st) we packed up last minute stuff and headed off to the beautiful Carolina coast. Can I take a minute just to say how blessed we are to live in such an amazing state?! Sure, gas tax and teacher pay could be better, but we are so very fortunate to live in a free country and a state that stands out from the rest. I know I'm biased towards North Carolina, but I've been to about 6 other states...and let me tell you, Carolina beats them all. Anyways, we left a little earlier because I was expecting to stop several times with Zaylen. Would you believe we stopped once in 5.5 hours?? That baby slept and slept some more. Talk about some proud parents. We went to the Outer Banks for week one of the trip. We had beautiful weather the entire time, and had such a great time!! Zaylen really enjoyed the beach, he didn't take to the water, but he loved the wind hitting his face and the sounds of the ocean. I couldn't have asked for a better first experience for him! We had a nice relaxing time and I know the rest of the family had the same. For week two we headed down the coast to Atlantic Beach. We had to take two ferries to get there, and according to Zak that will be the last time we take a ferry for a long time. What was supposed to be a four hour trip turned into an almost eleven hour trip. Yes, eleven hours. Ferry number one was an awesome ride; it was short, easy, not choppy, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Ferry number two was a different story. We got to the dock in time for the 1 o'clock boat, but found out that the car in front of us was the last one on...so we had to wait two hours for the next one. We were kind of happy about that because it gave us time to go eat and hang out for a bit. Well the 3 o'clock ferry had some mechanical issues so we didn't leave till 4. Once again, not a big issue, we weren't in a hurry. About an hour into the ride, Zak is in the drivers seat reading his book, Zay and I are in the passengers seat napping, and at least 20 gallons of salt water decided to join us. We had the windows down to get some air and enjoy the outdoors and thought we would be protected by the huge wall we were hiding behind if any choppy waves sprang up. We were sadly mistaken. Luckily none of the electronics got any water on them, but the car was filled with water!! The floorboard still had water in it after 3 days. Talk about a mess. We wiped everything up as best we could and didn't think anything of it. Well when we tried to get off the ferry after 3 hours of being wet in the middle of the sound we kept stalling out. We were seriously both losing it at this point. After talking to Zaks dad, letting the car dry out for a bit, and then driving 35 mph for a while, the car finally got us to our destination. Needless to say, our nerves were shot, we were exhausted and ready for some sleep. 

We stayed in Atlantic Beach for two days and then decided to come home. My great-grandpa, Papa Hassie passed away on June 30. He was a handsome man who had all the love in the world to give!! Once we got home we were in Eden for a few days attending his funeral and being with family members. Papa Hassie had the sweetest services and seeing the amount of people that week really let us know the impact he had on so many peoples lives. He was the definition of a God fearing man, if every man strived to be like Papa the world would be such a beautiful loving place. 

This past week has been quite an adventure and just added on to the craziness of the past month. As you can imagine, we had our fair share of bills to catch up on, plants needed taken care of, our house was begging for a good cleaning, and life just hit us again. We celebrated the fourth with a downtown festival and grilling/fireworks at my moms house. Would you believe it if I told you Zaylen slept through all the fireworks, and then woke up as soon as I laid him in his car seat to go home?? That child certainly has a mind of his own. The Sunday after the fourth we went to Black Mountain to see some family members and hang out for the day. It was so nice getting to see uncles/aunts, and cousins that we haven't seen in a while. It was everyones first time meeting Zaylen, and even the first for some meeting Zak. Family sure is a wonderful blessing and we are so grateful to have the tight loving family that we do. Our garden has been producing more than we can consume (which is a nice thing, but zucchini bread gets a little tiring after the third or fourth loaf). At the end of the week, our friend Donny from college came down for a weekend visit. We grilled out at Victor and Annies house Friday night and we all hung out off and on the next two days. It was really nice having Donny down, he and Zak haven't seen each other in over a year, and this was his first time meeting Zaylen. It's sad how you don't see your friends as much when adult life hits you, but at the same time it's a wonderful thing to see friends pick up right where they left off. Oh and one last thing...one of my dearest friends, Anna, had her precious baby boy Friday!! Weston is such a perfect baby! Anna is a beautiful mother and I am very thankful I get the opportunity to watch her journey in motherhood. It feels like yesterday I was only a child myself, and now my friends and I are all getting married and starting our own families, wow time sure does fly by.

Well that's a little summary of our June and part of July. I'll try to write back next week. I hope you all have had an exciting summer so far and I look forward to hearing from you!





  Zaylen and Grandma reading