Don't Drink The Water!

Over the last few years, we have had the pleasure of being part of explosion of growth in our circle of friends in Durham! And the fun continues! Scott and I are happy to announce that we are expecting another little bundle of joy in January 2009!

We have shared our news in different ways to family and friends in the last few weeks, and most recently shared the news with our growing circle of friends. We held a cookout at our new house and invited our Durham friends, including Betsy Fricklas, who also had good news to share! We are both expecting and due within weeks of each other and wanted to tell our friends together- so we let Connor and Elise tell everyone.
We got them matching t-shirts which said on the front- "I have a secret". On the back of Connors- "I'm going to be a big brother", on the back of Elise's- "I'm going to be a big sister".



























As our friends arrived, we waited until they noticed Connor and Elise's shirts... some noticed right away, others took a while or noticed one first and then the other later. The shirts were a big hit and everyone was excited to hear that there will be more little ones running around in the future!

In the last 2 years, the play group has gotten bigger and bigger and keeps growing! Scarlett Todd has a new little brother Mason; The Finnegans and Quinn couldn't make the cookout but we'll see them again soon; The Chandlers little girl Maddy is growing up fast; The Burts are still reveling in the birth of Carson almost 3 months ago; and next to arrive- the Yorkery's are expecting a little girl in October!

















Everybody Smile!


















Kids Love Mardi Gras Beads- Scarlett, Maddy, and Connor dancing around
















Mason and Carson Taking in the Excitement

Our Little Piece Of The Country

The O'Neill's have moved... in search for more room for toys and more land for Connor to explore. We spent several months looking around Durham, thinking about moving but not sure exactly what we wanted, or where we wanted it. We were also unsure of whether or not we planned to put our house on the market (not a fun idea with a toddler and five pets). We saw lots of nice houses, some of which we liked immediately, some which we visited several times, and some that may never sell due to unusual features (like no pantry, tiny master bathroom, hilly wooded yards). After months of looking, we came back to one of the very first houses we drove by but had not visited.



The features that attracted us to this house are, in no particular order:

THE YARD- 2.2 acres of flat land, 2/3 grass, 1/3 woods. Scott envisions lots of kids playing football and other sports in the open yard... hopefully this is Connor, a sibling or two, and some friends... not Connor and five siblings:)



GREAT PORCHES- a rocking chair porch in the front, a breezeway by the garage, and a small screened in porch and a large open porch in the backyard, great for cookouts, blowing bubbles, and enjoying the country sounds...

COUNTRY SOUNDS (a feature in itself)! There is a horse pasture when you turn into the neighborhood, and behind our wooded yard is the back of someones farm...we can hear a rooster in the morning, dogs and horses most of the day, and their ducks and turkey walk though our yard in the afternoon!

AND THE STARS! We sat out last night with a campfire and watched for shooting stars. We can't wait for meteor showers!

One last outside feature- a home for Scott's truck "The Beast"- it now lives behind the shed under a private carport and can't even be seen from the house...The truck couldn't be happier there:)



On July 4th weekend, after lots of anticipation and several home projects, we moved to our new house. We had decided to keep our old house as a rental property, so we had the luxury of moving little by little, but July 4th was the big move and the first night we slept in the new house. We had lots of family to help and made several trips between houses (only 5 miles apart). It has taken several weeks to get settled in, but it is definitely feeling like home! We still have some big projects (a fenced in area for the dogs, new flooring for the garage, and a room of boxes), but feel very comfortable and happy in our new home. We just have finishing touches on our old house and have renters moving in next week. Hopefully everything will continue to go as smoothly as it has so far! Thank you again to Grandpa Bobby, Grandpa Denis, Uncle Ian, Aunt Sarah, Aunt Melissa and Kate for helping us on moving day!! Thanks also to Scott's parents for helping the weekend prior! We couldn't have done it without all the help. Connor has done his part too... he is very good at unpacking!!!