Pumpkin Patch(?)

Dakota and Sutton allowed the parents to tag along on their date to the pumpkin patch/farm. We had a good time regardless of the fact that we didn't come home with any pumpkins. They enjoyed the petting farm, train ride, hay ride and silly chicken show. The actual pumpkin patch was a little sketchy and we decided we would just wait and get our pumpkins at a later date. Hopefully my next post will involve some type of news of a new baby?? Keep your prayers lifted for our little family.

Double Jogging Stroller Advice

After I had Dakota, running became quite a fun thing for me and it helped me lose all of my baby weight and about 20 lbs more. So...the plan is to get back into running and shoot for some 5 and 10k races this spring. I need some advice from all of you out there about the best/worst jogging strollers for 2. So...if you read my blog and don't normally comment, now is your time to speak up. If I don't know you and you are just a "stalker" then it's ok, I won't think you are weird because I read blogs of people I don't know all of the time too :).

Here are some of my thoughts on the stroller issue...

-I'm only 5'2" so maneuverability is key. Some of the tandem strollers are so wide, I'm just not sure I'm going to be able to make my way around with them.

-I thought I was set on a Phil & Ted but I've heard mixed reviews. I love the idea of it being so stream-lined but some of the other features I don't like as much. If you have a P&T, do you love it? They are pretty pricey.

-I've heard good things about the BOB strollers but they are pretty pricey too. Are they worth the money?

-I might do some "trail" running at Shelby Farms. Are there any that are all-terrain?

That's all I really have. I'm sure I can spend countless hours researching online but I'd rather for you guys just to tell me what you do and don't like about your current stroller situation. Thanks!

Another "Catch-Up" Ramble

Just wanted to catch my readership up to speed with what is going on in the Cartner household. Things have been busy with us as the days of being a family of 3 are dwindling down. This is going to be another post in the form of a ramble…because it’s just easier that way.

- Mid August we received two offers on our house in one day! This was a great position to be in because we were able to use the two offers against each other to get asking price on our house. Jacob and I were very pleased with the outcome and only had to pay a 3% buyer’s agent commission and some of the closing costs. The inspections and appraisals went well and on September 11 we closed and received our check. We are so thankful that God made this transition go so smoothly and without any hiccups and are very blessed with the profit we made on our first home.

- Labor Day weekend was spent moving to a little rental house just around the corner from where we were living. Jacob had several guys from church/work help us move. We couldn’t have done it without their help and are so blessed to have such good friends. We are still getting boxes unpacked and getting things in place in the baby’s room. Dakota did great with the move and has been really excited about the new house. Little does she know it’s a down grade to where she was living but I’m thankful that she transitioned well.

- Jacob has been working his tail off for our family and I hope he knows how much I appreciate it. Moving at 34 weeks pregnant was definitely a little trying on me because of the inability to help much. I did scrub the new house and the old house and thought each of those days were going to put me in labor. Ha. He pretty much moved everything as well as did several repairs to the old house that were required per the inspection and never complained about how much needed to be done. He’s also unpacked a good portion of the boxes because I seem to unpack a box then sit for a while…or a day and then unpack another.

- As far as our home we are trying to build…that’s a whole post in itself. We have had some frustrating days in the past month but I am confident that God is going to provide. Jacob and I have worked hard to save up a lot of money over the past several years for a nice down payment and have great credit and can afford the house that we want to build. However, due to all of the new rules and regulations that banks are facing we are having a very hard time getting a construction loan because the house that we have designed is priced too high for the area that we want to build. The foreclosures and down market have reduced the value of so many houses that the comps are really low. Basically, what our house will be appraised at is much lower than it will actually cost to build it and therefore we cannot get the financing for it. SO…we are praying about what to do and asking for God’s guidance in the situation.

- I’m 4.5 weeks away from having this baby. I’m getting really excited about it although I still have several things on my “to-do” list. I have had a lot of Braxton Hicks’ contractions this pregnancy which I didn’t really have with Dakota. Maybe the baby will come early! I am only working until the end of September so if the baby plans on staying in place until his/her due date (October 18) then I will get a few weeks to rest and be home with Dakota. The plan is to stay home with my babies until February and then possibly go back part-time to finish up my required experience to get licensed. We’ll see what happens.

- We finally got a new pastor at our church. I say "finally" but I believe it was all in God’s timing. After a 2.5 year search our church welcomed Dr. Travis Fleming as the new senior pastor. He has been here about 2 weeks and we are really enjoying him and his wife Jenna. They come to us from New Orleans but he is a Greenville native and a big Clemson fan. We are really looking forward to what God is going to do in our church through them.

- It appears Jacob and Dakota might be sick. Jacob went home early today from work feeling very yukky and I just got a call from Dakota’s teacher saying she is sick too. I sure do need a healthy household before Cricket arrives and I certainly don’t feel like fighting a bug right now in my enlarged state. You can say a prayer for us!

- I bought a fancy embroidery machine in July and am hoping to start a small business in the next several months. I have lots of great ideas running in my head and am really looking forward to selling some items I have made. Sewing has become a really fun hobby for me and it’s really rewarding to see what you can make out of a little fabric, thread and time. Be on the lookout for a post introducing my biz around November or December (but don’t hold me to that…)

I guess that is all for now. Sorry there are no pictures. I don’t blame you if you didn’t read this whole thing. I don’t always read people’s posts that are this long and pictureless either :).

Happy Birthday Kotabug!

This is hardly new news but Dakota turned 2 on August 5. We had a nice celebration at the spray park in Collierville with all of her little buddies that are her age. It turned out to be a lot of fun (I always stress about what to do with the August heat!!). The kids had a lot of fun and I hope the parents did too. And just because my cupcakes melted and the wind blew my birthday banner...I think it was still a success.

Thank you Dakota for an amazing 2 years. We are so proud and happy to be your parents. Thank you for teaching us how to love in a new way and capacity that we never knew existed! I hope you had fun at your party!

Grammy and Poppy

Carie, Chris & Sutton

Steve, Annah Mary, Amelia and baby (she's due in less than a month!!)

Frank, Leigh Ann and Noelle

Gigi and Papa

Uncle Chad, Aunt Lauren, Oliver and Baby Stetson (due in December)

Joe, Meredith and Anna Beth

Tracy, Ryan, Emerson, Palmer and Hudson

Melody, Clay and Lilliana

Melted Cupcakes

She still liked them though :)

Thirsty little kids!

Sutton aka "Shades" and his girl

Food...fruit, cupcakes, sandwiches, chips, goldfish, pasta salad, veggies, etc.

Dakota opening her presents.

Dakota's presents and the party favors. All the kids got a betta fish and a little bowl for them to go in. So far, Dakota's is still alive and I haven't heard otherwise on the other kids'.

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."