I bought a new car ....

Last December I bought a new car

a Ford Escape

that is only the 7th car I have bought

my first car at age 18 was a Datsun

then I saved my money and bought myself a 1976 Camaro

Next up was a Ford Bronco II

then 3 kids later.....had to go with the mini van

Ford Aerostar

I drove that mini van for 10 years.

When we had to get a new vehicle, Johnny at first wanted

another mini van. I did not

So he bought me a Ford Expedition

I called her the MacDaddy! Loved the Expedition

I could haul a whole pile of kids around

I drove that for 10 years and then bought my Pontiac

G6 GT hard top convertible.

loved it and drove it for 7 years. 

Then comes December 2015. I wanted a crossover and the

one I really wanted was the Kia Sorento. But when we went to

the dealership they were not willing to work a deal

The Sorento was fast becoming one of the top rated crossovers

so they just were not offering a lot

we stood our ground and walked out

then went to the Ford dealership and settled on the Ford Escape. 

I say "settled" only because it wasn't really what I wanted

It's a great car with some really cool features but it felt small

to me....I wanted one with more room

In August they were offering some rebates on the Kia Sorento

but I had only had the Escape 8 months. Johnny said well, all we

can do is see what they will offer. So we go, I find one I want, they

tell us the price, great price....BUT, will they give us payoff on the

Escape. At first they said no but when they realized we were willing

to walk away, they agreed to payoff.

and now I have what I really wanted.....the Kia Sorento.

we love it!

later.....

Great news ....

A really great thing happened back in June...

this sweet little family ( our daughter and son-in-law)
bought themselves a house!!
and it is literally one minute from our front door.....by foot!

they have slowly been decorating each room and it
looks so beautiful
maybe when they are done she will let me take
pictures of each room so I can post on my blog

It has a living room, dining room, den, kitchen, 1/2 bath, laundry
room and mud room all on the first floor. They turned the dining room in to 
a play room and turned the living room in to the dining room.
Upstairs is 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
they have an unfinished 3rd floor
Really awesome home!!

We are so very proud of them. They have worked hard
toward this goal of owning a home. 

later.....

Our new baby ....

on August 15th we picked up our new puppy!!

ever since losing our precious Chrissy girl, we have

been wanting another dog. I guess we had just gotten

used to having 3 dogs so really wanted to add another

Teddy Bear to our little herd!

A good friend of ours her teddy bear had a litter

7 babies!! Oh good gracious, if that was me I would want

to keep all 7 of them! haha....She kept one little girl

We went over a few weeks prior and picked our girl out.

it was nice because our friend would send me pictures

of our little girl. 

here she is only about 3 weeks old

and then finally we picked her up

we did get her early, only 6 weeks old

but she was already weaned and we really wanted to have

her with us for several weeks before leaving for vacation

but we brought home 2 puppies....the all white little girl

for our friend Glenda in Myrtle Beach. This one was

going to stay with us for 5 days until Glenda's daughter could pick her up

but then Glenda's grandson decided to get the little all 

white little boy

so we got him too!

and these 2 girls were not too crazy about this situation

and they spent a lot of time outside....haha

after a week little Finley and little Mica left our home

for their new home where they are getting super spoiled

and our little girl is adjusting just fine

she is named Khaleesi Rue

Khaleesi for our fav character in Game of Thrones

and Rue for a character we like in Hunger Games

We just love her

later....

Beach day 9 ...

Our last day at the beach

it always makes me so sad

I'm not just the kind of person who loves going to the

beach on vacation. I can go on

vacation anywhere else and I'm good with going

home....I'm ready after a week

but the beach is just so much more to me...it's like

my heart is there, my soul. I feel so happy and 

at peace

when I am there.

I just hate leaving

a few random pictures....

we checked on renting the house below in March when

we plan on going for the St Patricks festivities

but the owners are not renting in March. But it sure 

would be cool to stay in that house....having the water actually

coming under the house. You know you would feel that

house swaying in the ocean breezes

bye bye beach....

later....

Beach day 8 ....

Our last full day on the beach :(

Johnny and I went to Jolly Roger for breakfast

Lynne left to go home

We met up with Tommy and Joanne out on the beach

another beautiful day....flies though

Tommy and I went out in the ocean again

and rode the waves

what fun!!

Eating grapes poolside 

Bucky took all of the sea glass they found and made this

look at the 3 cobalt blue! so pretty

and right under the blue is one light blue they found

selfie with my ocean buddy...Tommy

Avery's daily nap on her Daddy

Our 4th night of Putt Putt and the only

night that I won!

that night Johnny and I went out to dinner with 

Tommy and Joanne. We went to JK's steak house and OMG....just the best

steak!! A really nice restaurant, I highly recommend it.

later....

Beach day 7 .....

This day started with rain!

So we went shopping.... :)

We went over to Foxy Flamingo. It's a really cool shop with unique clothes

and jewelry. Right away, Avery Grace was fascinated by this place. I told Jacquelyn it means she is a born shopper....haha
I bought a dress and a new "All Washed Up" necklace.

I have one with the OBX coordinates on it

the new one is slightly shorter so I can wear them together

and it has 3 waves on it.

I also bought 2 Christmas presents....yay for shopping early

Also went over to Wings....just have to go there

and buy a cheap OBX t-shirt every time we go down there!

Stopped raining by 11:00 and we headed down to the beach.

Tommy and Joanne came down so they met us

out on the beach. We stayed out there all day.

the water was so warm and so clear....you could go out waist deep

and still see the bottom. Tommy and I went out a little ways so we could

jump the waves. So much fun!!

We found a cute little mermaid on the beach

I also found my first piece of sea glass!! 

here's the ones that Jacquelyn and Bucky found. Just about

the same amount as the day before

Dinner was at one of my favorites....Red Drum

I got this amazing dish.....it was like the shrimp and grits

they serve but it also had a piece of rockfish on it.

It was my favorite meal of the week!!

silly selfies at Red Drum

After dinner it was time for our 3rd time out playing Putt Putt.

hahahah, Declan loved it and always wanted to play

and we were good with that!

Afterward, a real splurge....I ate a Blizzard!!

I did get the banana milkshake blizzard so I'm sure it wasn't 

as many calories...haha!!

later....

Beach day 6 ....

Went to another favorite restaurant for breakfast,

Sam and Omies 

then we headed out to the beach
It was amazing how many shells were on the beach 
from Hurricane Hermine.

I was collecting the beautiful oyster shells
and there were tons of them!

and here's my little shell hunting partner

she was loving it

Declan ready to play baseball on the beach

and then of course those dang flies got so bad we had to 

move it up to the pool

Jacquelyn and Bucky found so much sea glass

it's hard to find on the Outer Banks but not after a storm

I love the cobalt blue ones they found.

we looked it up and they are rare

later....