Busy Busy Body

Rich and I had our first two nights away from the baby! It was exciting. We stayed with Rich's old roommate Jennifer at her awesome house. We drank alot of wine, played texas holdem and i colored on Jennifer's table (see pic)

I love drawing on that table! Jennifer took us to alot of neat vintage stores in downtown Asheville. I wish we would've had more time to explore. Rich and I went to see one of my favorite bands for my birthday--Old Crow Medicine Show. They were so good!! They played some of my favorites like "CeCe Rider" and "Tell it to Me." There's nothing like seeing a good bluegrass show. Rich saw some old friends from Boone and I danced alot. :)

Today we loaded up the car and went to Hard Labor State Park. We couldn't find the nature trails so we just walked the paved trails. We still had a good time. It's really a pretty place. There's a good size lake and tons of picnic areas. It was chilly but we had fun. I think tomorrow we're going to Stone Mountain. Here are some pics from Hard Labor:

Nolan and Rich look so cute in their beanies!

Birthday

Today is my birthday! I'm 25. Wow! I do feel different. Most birthdays nothing seems to change, but for some reason 25 feels monumental. A quarter of a century, halfway to 50 years old. Five years from 30. I feel like I need to make a list of things I want to accomplish. I think I will.

The day has been good. I got tons of phone calls from family and my closest friends. Rich, Nolan and I just got back from Olive Garden. It was very good! I got the mixed grill--steak and chicken with squash, zucchini, red & green peppers--sooooo delicious. I had a Syrah to drink, Rich picked it out for me, I loved it. Over the weekend Rich made me a birthday cookie. It was my favorite with m&m's and chocolate chips. It was the perfect cookie, crunchy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside!

Something else picture worthy happened on Sunday--Nolan "colored" his first picture! We gave him some crayons and let him go at it! It was neat watching him drag the crayons across the paper, not really understanding the cause and affect of it all. I of course drew the "Nolan's first drawing" but he did most of what is to the right there. It was fun, I'm sure there will only be more to come!

Trips Trips and more Trips

The trip back to NC was nice. Seeing family is always a good thing. My sister, Emily, and her boyfriend, Bradley, came down one night to play with baby Nolan. They had great fun. Emily and Nolan played the piano together, and she made him giggle by tickling his toes. Of course my mom was ecstatic to see her grandson. And, she was able to do her favorite thing--rock and sing Nolan to sleep. I know he enjoys it because we seldom treat him to the pleasure.

Although I enjoy going back to North Carolina, Georgia is my home now. When Nolan and I got home Rich was waiting for us :). There is nothing like his sweet face after a long drive. However, the next day we had to leave for Alabama. We got to spend time with Rich's extended family, the Ritcheys. They are such a sweet family. I'm so glad I married into a loving family. And today,we leave for NC again! This time to celebrate Thanksgiving. We truly have a lot of reasons to be thankful.

North Carolina will Always be Home

I love coming home! I love crossing into North Carolina. Seeing the sign for exit 17 makes me smile. Pulling into the driveway, nearly hitting Gracie (my parents golden retriever), parking the car: it feels so good. Seeing their big green back yard with the lake off in the distance is so calming. I love the continuity of home. I love coming home.

Why

After some friends and family had shown off their polished blogs I have to admit I got a little jealous! I wanted to blog too! So here I am blogging. So far so good. I thought, "How neat. To chronicle the life of our family, the Reifs." It will be so cool to look back on this little piece of history in a few years. I'll be able to tell my son, Nolan, what he and my husband, Rich, were up to in November 2008.

Nolan, right now you are dreaming away in your crib. I know you are tired from all the crawling you did around the house tonight! Today Rich drove us to Atlanta. It takes a little under an hour from our home. We went through Decatur to the Virgina Highlands area. I loved it! We had Sunday brunch at an oyster bar called Fontaine's. Very good--I had the shrimp and grits while Rich had the jambalaya. All in all a nice afternoon of enjoying the fall weather.

Tomorrow my mom is coming into town! I can't wait to catch up and to show her the area.