Where the Buffalo (or American Bison) Roam

July 15-19 provided a long weekend to enjoy more of America's beautiful parks. Jacob, Dakota, Dad, Martha, Brad and I ventured to South and North Dakota to snag the high points and the National Parks. We had an amazing time with amazing weather, amazing wildlife (including a buffalo traffic jam!!), and amazing sites. Some of the parks we were able to enjoy (in no particular order)...Black Hills National Forest, Wind Cave National Park, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Badlands National Park, Custer State Park, Devils Tower National Monument, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Crazy Horse Memorial (sort of...we were too cheap to enter but we saw it from a distance). Whew. We had lots of driving and 2 good hikes. 3 miles round trip at ND's highest point and 7 miles round trip at SD's highest point. Not bad for a pregnant girl huh??...and Dakota did amazing too. Enjoy the photos and if you ever get a chance to venture that way, I'd highly recommend it! And because it's too much work to organize...these pictures are not in order (at all!).

Grammy, Poppy & Dakota at the Badlands
Hiking is hard work!!
Dakota getting her stamp for her National Park Passport.
Poppy and Dakota racing back to the van after bagging the highest point in North Dakota.

Our little family of 4 at the Badlands.

Mommy and Dakota at the Badlands.

We kept complaining about not seeing many buffalo after all of the brochures raved about the herds. We found them! We were stuck for about 45 minutes while 400+ buffalo walked by our car. Some of which were as tall as our van!!

I wouldn't mess with this dude!

Koko tromping through the grass.

Grammy and Dakota at the end of Harney Peak (highest point in SD).

Yay for 43 highpoints!!! 7 more to go!

Grammy and Poppy at Harney Peak.

Dakota and Jacob at Harney Peak.

Baby mountain goat. Momma was right behind him.

She copies everything she sees us do!

Our little family at Mt. Rushmore. Been there done that. Don't get me wrong, it's really fascinating and I certainly couldn't sculpt something like that but God's natural creation speaks to me a lot more.

Devil's Tower. America's first National Monument. There were rock climbers all over the face. Very cool!

Prairie dogs...galore!

Finishing up White Butte, the highest point in ND.

Yay for #42! You should have heard Jacob groaning as he lifted us both up. Ha.

Uncle Brad at White Butte.

White Butte. It's actually on private property. We had the privilege of meeting the owners as they helped us get our van unstuck from the mud.

Daddy and Dakota at White Butte.

Uncle Brad at the Badlands. Brad...isn't that shirt like 15 years old???

Old fire tower atop Harney Peak.

Little Baker

Dakota and I made some banana bread this weekend. She's such a great helper (even if it requires more work for me in the end). Please excuse the wild hair. I believe this was post-nap.

Most of the flour made it into the bowl. My floors/chairs needed vacuumed anyway :).Stirring everything up and saying "Cheeeeese."

Litchfield Beach 2009

I need to hurry up and blog about our beach trip because we are going out of town again tonight. I don't want to get too far behind. Jacob, Dakota and I had a great 4th of July trip to Litchfield Beach to hang out with Gigi, Papa, Uncle Chad, Aunt Lauren & Holiver (Dakota adds an "H" to all words that start with a vowel). Unfortunately, Jacob and I didn't get the camera out too much but these pictures are a little sampling of the fun we had. Papa took a bunch more that we hope to get from him one day. Dakota's favorite things were "Water!!!", "Gigi's Beach House", "Papa's Boat" and "Bicycle." It was really nice to have almost a full week of no responsibilities other than my child. No work. No cleaning. No studying.

Cookies & Milk Cousins
Dakota bootlegged this sandcastle from somebody else.

She loves to run on the beach!

Oliver learned to walk just in time for our trip!

Our Memphis friends, Chris & Lesley were in SC that same week so we met up for a boat ride. Lesley is doing a month long rotation at MUSC.

I didn't get Dakota a 4th of July outfit but luckily Gigi had some decorations from last year's parade. I think a bandanna makes a fine tube top for a little girl.

She is so sweet and fun. I love her so much!

There's my belly for you. I think I was about 25 weeks then. I'm now 26.5 weeks! 13.5 to go. I'm getting soooo excited.

Thanks Sally & Clarence for opening your house up for another fun, family vacation! We look forward to next year!

I Could Use Some Caffeine

I feel like rambling but I should be working...just need a little break from drawring.

-I woke up a little early this morning because I had to have a mole removed at 7. I got a wart frozen off at the same time. Figured I would kill 2 birds with one copay.

-I think I'll get a diet coke when I'm done with this. I'm trying to be better about drinking lots of water because I've been having "issues". I've also added an Activia to my afternoon. That's some gooood yogrit...and I've taken the challenge. It really does work.

-I noticed on my poll that I only have 100 days left until Cricket arrives. That's kind of exciting. I also noticed that the girl votes are catching up with the boy votes. I would love to hear your comments as to why you think I'm having what I am having. Just a hunch? I look different? Just picked one at random? I haven't voted cause I'm still not sure...leaning towards a girl. Jacob says boy. Guess one of us is wrong.

-We had a great visit to the beach with Jacob's family this past week. Kotabug LOVES the water and Papa's boat and Gigi's beach house and the bicycles. I needed a week of relaxation and I feel like I got it.

-Dakota is so cute. Her vocabulary is growing exponentially and she talks a lot. We can have little conversations now.

-We're going to North & South Dakota next week for the highpoints. I hope this pregnant girl can still climb a mountain. Dad, Martha and Brad are coming too and I am looking forward to it.

-I'm not looking forward to flying next week. Flying isn't fun any more and you're pretty much guaranteed to be delayed when you fly now. That's no fun when you have a 2 year old with you. Speaking of...I think we got our money's worth out of the "free under 2" rule. Dakota has probably been on 15 flights in her 2 years of life. She's a real trooper.

-I need to start reading more books. Jacob and Brad are the most well-read people I know. Maybe I'll start a list of books I read in the margin. I saw that on a blog when I was blog-stalking (you know you blog-stalk too!). Got any good suggestions? I just started Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges while I was waiting at the derm this morning. Jacob just finished it and told me I needed to read it.

-They announced at church last night the candidate for our new pastor. After almost 3 years this is quite exciting. Too bad he's coming to meet us and preach while we are out of town. He's young and he's a SC native (went to North Greenville). Seems to have lots of great qualities that fit our church or our church needs. I hope the church votes him in. Does any church ever not? Just curious.

-I had to go measure a building this morning and it was really hot. Really, really hot in the sun. It's for a renovation I am working on at work. My friend/project manager/coworker felt bad she mad a preggo girl tramp around in the hot sun so she treated me to lunch at Holiday Deli. It's one of my faves. I told her I didn't mind being out in the sun but she insisted. I had a strawberry mandarin chicken salad....yum!

-We got another bid back from a builder. He's our favorite but his price was higher than the others so far. His is probably more accurate though...I think the others might have missed some things. We are a little disappointed but maybe we'll just cut some things out so we can afford him.

-I wish our house would sell so we could start building. We had one girl come look twice but haven't heard back from her or her realtor. Maybe she's still thinking about why she should buy our home but I know she really liked it. You could tell.

-I have lots more that I could write about because I always have random stuff running through my head but I better go get my yogurt and get back to work. I think the diet coke craving is gone now, so I'll pass on it.

Faith Like a Child

Dakota gets sweeter each day and I am amazed at how she is such an intricate work of art by our Creator. I just wanted to share a cute story with you...a little bit of our new daily routine.

Now that Dakota is in a big girl bed I can lay with her while we read her bedtime story. After her story I sing to her. Recently she asked for "Jesus". I assumed that meant she wanted me to sing "Jesus Loves Me" to her so I did. When I finished singing she said with so much enthusiasm..."More Jesus." So I sang it again. "More Jesus" And again. "More Jesus" And again. I think you get the point. This has now been a daily routine for over a week. I know that at this stage in her life she doesn't comprehend who Jesus is but I do think she understands there is something special about that name. Last night I pulled out her Bible and skipped the classics of Noah and Jonah and Adam and Eve and jumped right to The New Testament so she can begin to know more about who this Jesus guy is. My prayer is that I will reach a point in my life where I am begging for "More Jesus!" and that Dakota never loses her enthusiasm for Him and that one day He will be her Savior.

Date Night...Again. So soon!

Last Thursday, Jacob and I along with my friends Helen and Mike went to the Flying Fish for dinner and then to see Wicked at the Orpheum. I saw it a few years ago on a date with my daddy in Atlanta and I remember liking it so much that I thought we should go see it when it came here. I'm so glad we did because it was just as good as I remember. Such a fun musical with a great story, humor and great music. If it comes to a theater near you...I'd highly recommed that you go see it!

Tricia Cartner, LEED AP, CDT

I think I'll brag on myself a little bit :). I passed my LEED exam this morning and am officially a LEED AP (the AP stands for Awesome Person...ok really it stands for accredited professional). It's a little tough finding the motivation to study for an exam that isn't quite mandatory, yet sort of is...especially when you have a cute kid running around and another one kicking you in the side while you're trying to study. I'm thankful that God gave me motivation and concentration and the ability to absorb all of the information that I have read over the past 3 months. The glory be to Him.

So what is LEED? Jacob informed me that nobody he talks to has even heard of it. Well, I don't feel like writing about it so if you are interested... you can go to the USGBC website and read all about it :). I will say that it is a very big deal in the architecture, construction and engineering industry and within a few years...it will probably become the standard for new construction. For example, Clemson University already requires that ALL new buildings be at least a LEED Silver certified building. This goes for many universities, cities and a lot of government buildings.

Anyway, thanks for your thoughts and for putting up with my complaints over the past several weeks. Now onto the ARE (architecture registration exam)!

Better Late than Never!

May 29-June 1 we traveled to Greenville to celebrate our sweet nephew's 1st birthday! As always, the visit was too short but we did enjoy our time with family. Saturday was the birthday party...Sunday was a relaxing trip to dad & Martha's lake property...Monday was lounging and returning. Enjoy our photos...

(and for those who are thinking I should be studying for my test that is tomorrow instead of updating my blog...all I have to say is, "I NEED A BREAK". Your prayers will be much appreciated tomorroow at noon central as I attempt to become a LEED AP.)

Happy Birthday sweet Oliver!
Lots of Presents!

Don't mess with Dakota and her cupcake!

Gigi with her 2 babies

Playing Together...so Sweet!

Dakota playing on the beach at dad's lake property. He says he bought this piece of property just for his grandkids to enjoy the beach on it.

Pregnant girl trying to Kayak. I love lake Keowee.

What a Hottie :).

My great friends Michelle and Ken came with us. Dakota loved being dipped in the water.

Poppy thought Dakota needed some CoCo Wheats. They are a personal childhood favorite. Dakota loved them. What's not to love about chocolate cream of wheat??

Taking a stroll along the Reedy River towards the Children's Garden.

Hey...it's Pooh!

Peek a boo!

Mommy & Dakota

Big Girl Bed

About a week ago Dakota and I were out and about and she fell asleep for her nap on the way home. The transition from carseat to crib never works for me since I'm so short. I practically have to drop her in and it always wakes her up. I decided to lay her on the day bed which was going to become hers once Cricket arrives. She slept great and when she woke up I asked her if she liked sleeping in the big girl bed. She said yes. That night when it was time to go to bed I said, "Time for Night Night." She pointed to the other room and said, "Big Gull Bed." I asked if she wanted to sleep in the big girl bed and she said yes. So I let her. I put pillows all around so she wouldn't fall out. The next day I bought a rail for the one side and she has been sleeping in it ever since. Every night and every morning she talks about her new bed and is obviously quite proud of this new milestone in her life. A major plus is that I can lay in the bed with her and read her a story (the rail easily folds up and down) and then tuck her in. It really doesn't get much sweeter. I'm so thankful that God has allowed so many of our transitions to go smoothly and am so thankful for a fun little gal who approaches every stage with enthusiasm. I did get a little teary eyed a few nights into this new adventure realizing that my little girl has gotten rid of one more "baby" item. Now...onto the nighttime passy and diapers (which we had 1 successful pee in the potty this week!).

The Calm after the Storm

God always gives us Rainbows after a Storm.

Big storm in Memphis on Friday. I'm thankful we didn't lose power or trees. We still need to go check on our property but I'm sure everything is fine. As I was reading Dakota her bed time story Jacob said, "You've gotta come check this out." Most beautiful rainbow out our front door...and the pictures just can't do it justice.

It's a....

SURPRISE! In a moment of vulnerability and excitement, we almost gave in and found out what we were having but I held firm (much firmer than Jacob) and said we would wait. I still remember the excitement of Jacob announcing "It's a Girl!" when Dakota was born and I look forward to that same excitement again. The good news is...Cricket is healthy and perfect...exactly the way he/she should be. The bad news is...I gained 6 lbs this month. Guess I better lay off the chick-fil-a. Mmm...just the mentioning of that makes me wanna run out and buy one. Enjoy some ultrasound photos from our appointment.

I'm pretty sure he/she is praying. We've got another saint on our hands. :) Cricket's face/chin in much pointier than Dakota's (more like Jacob maybe??) but it could just be that he/she still has some meat to put on the bones.
Cricket doesn't look anything like Dakota here.

Here is a comparison of our two little buddies. I think the mouth area looks really similar but Dakota's nose looks rounder. We'll see in 4 months! (Gosh...that sounds like no time at all!)