Can it be?

Has it really been 6 months since we packed up and embarked on our new adventure in North Carolina?  It never ceases to amaze me how quickly time flies, particularly when you are extremely busy!  For anyone interested, I have compiled a list of things about North Carolina, just for fun.  Here goes:

The level of politeness in the South in general is out of this world!  Everything is "yes ma'am", "no, sir", and the children NEVER call adults by their first names.  (anyone who knows me knows how much this annoys me! I have never allowed my children to address ANY adult by their first name, it always must begin with an "Aunt", "Uncle", "Miss", or "Mister", period!)  It is fantastic to be in an area where this is status quo!

The dirt here is beach sand.  It is so funny to see giant pine trees growing out of beach sand, but that's how it is!

No mountains around me, only trees, trees, and oh, don't forget the trees!  Everywhere you look you see trees!  If we did want to venture into the mountains they are to the West about 4 hours, and there is definitely a reason they are called "The Great Smokey Mountains".  They are absolutely beautiful and they are always covered in a mysterious shroud of mist.  It makes for a very romantic early morning drive while all the babies are sleeping in the back!  That was one of my favorite parts of the drive out here!

When it rains here, it RAINS!  It has rained so hard that we couldn't see past our backyard!  There is a drainage ditch out behind our house that normally looks like a mini-ravine (ie, if the kids went down into it you couldn't see them from the house) but when it rains it fills quickly and looks like little Cottonwood creek running back there!  It surprised me when we first got here just how often it rains.  In the Spring we went weeks with nothing but rain, and through the Summer it rains at least once every other week.  Everything is so green and pretty because of it, and the thunder is out of this world!  I can't even describe it but it is hands-down one of my favorite noises on earth!

We have critters!  Some of them are extremely noisy, but I love it.  There is something so soothing to me about a low background noise.  During the day it's the cicadas buzzing like miniature chain saws working in the woods behind our house, at night it's a combo between the different types of frogs, crickets, and some other bug we have yet to identify.  We caught a North American tree frog the other night!  That's the first one of that type we have seen.  Usually at night the regular type (no idea what kind, lol) of frogs are all over the place.  When we first saw the tree frog I thought it had been someone's pet that they let go, I had no idea we had them here!  It is super cute and bright green!

On the other hand, where are the critters?  We live in the woods.  I expected deer, squirrels, foxes, raccoon, etc....  WHERE are they?  I have seen ONE squirrel in my neighborhood in six months.  I see them on Fort Bragg all the time but not where we are.  And seriously, where are the deer?

Groceries are different too...... there are no Smith's, Albertson's, (or, excuse me, Fresh Market!), Harmon's, etc..... We have Food Lion.  And I did see a Piggly Wiggly!  ha ha whomever thought that was a good name for a grocery store was a little out there, in my opinion!  There are Walmarts, Targets, and Kmarts, and of course malls!  But instead of Macy's there is a store called Belk's.  I haven't been in one yet, but it seems pretty similar.

Things I miss: the mountains, the zero humidity, the bug-free-ness (yep, made up a word), the convenience to shopping (in Sandy I was literally a minute away from my grocery store, maybe ten to target, around 5 to walmart, etc..... Here it takes me 20 minutes just to get to a town, if I want to go to Target it's at least a half hour.  I haven't been to Target since March.  =( Sad face!), praline pecans (can't find them anywhere!), light yogurt without aspartame (another no-find), and Jergen's body lotion.  People here don't buy Jergen's?  (what the what?)

Things I love: living with my hubby (that Ace pretty much trumps all else!), the rain, the thunder, the weather (oh how I love love love warm sunny weather!), having access to two neighborhood pools and fitness centers,   living in the woods, the close proximity to the coast, Virginia, Maryland, DC, South Carolina, and all the other beautiful places I have fallen in love with here, the Southern charm. It really is just that here; Charming!

Stay tuned, next up: a recap of our adventures over the last six months.  Be prepared for pictures!!!!