beach week 08

So, in the midst of selling our home we were also packing for our annual week long trip to Ocean Isle beach. Despite my nervousness over selling the house and having to come home looking for a house, we had a great week.
Brooklyn was not a light traveler. Since she preferred her baby pool to the big pool, we hauled around her little pool wherever we went. But she was happy, and when Brooklyn's happy....well, you know!
The Johnson Family at Ocean Isle
Thank you, Nanny and Grandpa for a wonderful week!
To end the week, we took Brooklyn to play miniature golf for the first time. She loved it and was quite good when she would walk her ball to the very end of the course and knock it in from 5 inches away. :-)

Reality

It's for real now...the paperwork has been signed and we are under contract....I am scrambling around now looking for a new home for the Johnson family.

update to the house update

So...where to begin...I guess I would just say to all you home sellers out there- "Take your house off the market!". As I said in my last post, we decided to take it off for a few weeks to "breathe" and allow us to just start over in August fresh and new. Well, this week I went home for lunch in the afternoon one day and found an elderly couple sitting in front of my house. Chad was inside trying to reach me on my cell (which was ringing as I was walking up the driveway). They approached Chad and asked if they could see the inside of the house. They were looking for their daughter and grandchild. Well, against my better judgement and how my mother raised me, we let strangers in our home. So, I sized them up deciding that I could take the older lady and Chad would have to get the man, had my phone in hand ready to dial 9-1-1 in case they tried anything funny, and positioned myself between them and the kitchen knives. We were ready for the house tour. It was quick, they were nice, said they would call our realtor, and left. Well, they did call Glenda, made an offer, we countered, they came back to look at the house, they accepted the counter-offer, they came back to look at the house, they signed the papers, we signed the papers, and the house is now sold- YIPPEE! It's been a whirlwind of a week, but we are excited about this new stage in our life. And when we return from vacation we will be in "find a new house" mode for a while.

So, the moral of the story is.....shake things up in the housing market and things will happen.

And now, I am in the "grieving for my old house" stage and thinking about all the things that I will miss....but that's for a future post.

house update

So, house selling lesson #8567: If you take your house off the market, people will come.

We have had our house on the market for 5 months now. The first 4 months were busy with activity and even two offers, but the last 4 weeks have been dry and lonely. So, this week we took the house off the market and then will re-list it as a brand new listing in August. Well, wouldn't you know it, this week alone our realtor has received two phone calls with people really interested in the house.

Hmmm.....what an interesting market we are in right now.

So....please think great thoughts for us as we continue to try new ways to sell our wonderful little home! :-)

visit to lazy 5 ranch

On Tuesday, Brooklyn, my mom, and I went to the Lazy 5 Ranch in Mooresville, NC. It was such a cool "petting zoo" where they have caged animals, but also animals just roaming around in the "wild." We opted to drive through the park in our own car instead of the wagon ride (it was drizzling and warm and we were not sure how Brooklyn would like everything in her face). Brooklyn LOVED sitting in the backseat with Nanny and seeing all the animals up close (but through the window glass!). We had a great time, and can't wait to go back soon.

The mama ostrich with her TWENTY ONE babies.

Nanny and Brooklyn in the backseat.

Have you ever been this close to a zebra?

My personal favorite- the baby potbellied pigs.

Those camels were hungry!

Our newest shout sister

Brooklyn, Zoe, Allie, and Allie all became "big sisters" on Wednesday, July 2nd when Brandon and Audrey Clendenin welcomed Callie Christine into the world. Brandon is a Shout worship leader at First Lutheran Church and the bass player of Grace Reigns Down. We are so excited about the newest addition to our "Family" and cannot wait to spoil this precious girl. Congratulations, Brandon and Audrey- you did well! :-)

holiday weekend fun

Nothing beats a fun weekend with friends and family. Here are some highlights from our July Fourth weekend...

We went to the Greensboro parade with Nanny, Grandpa, Gramma, and Pops.

The afternoon was spent at Allie's Nana's house (and pool!). Thanks, Nana Margaret!

On Saturday, we had a super fun cookout at the Henzler house where all the "Shout sisters" got to play together. Here's Zoe, Brooklyn, "Baby" Allie, and "Big" Allie goofing around at the screen door.
Brooklyn and Zoe were having a blast making silly faces on the couch.

After church on Sunday, we went with all the grandparents for breakfast at Tex and Shirley's. Brooklyn continued to wave that flag all weekend long.

the johnsons heart new york

We had a great trip to New York at the end of June. We visited wonderful family friends, caught a great Broadway show, and just enjoyed being on the road together. Brooklyn is such a great traveler and in her short life has experienced so many modes of transportation....here are just a few in our one week up north. (In no particular order...)

#1: Rental Van (with a DVD player- yay!)


#2: Daddy's Shoulders (and eating Twizzlers for breakfast at Hershey Park)

#3: The borrowed stroller (and counting her earnings at Mohegan Sun casino)

#4: A ferry (to Mohegan Sun in Connecticut)

#5: A NYC taxi cab (so excited to not be in a carseat)

#6: A horsedrawn carriage (through Central Park)

Thanks to Aunt Patty, Uncle Bill, and Sean for their hospitality while we were visiting...it will probably be a while before we get back up north, but I can't wait for the day when Brooklyn and I can hit the streets of NYC to buy knock-off handbags and see Broadway shows together. :-)