My Friend Beca

Once upon a time I had to move to North Carolina. Even though I have moved a lot in the last 2 years, it was kind of scary. I was leaving my friends in Delaware and I hoped I could make a lot of new friends, but I still wasn't sure.

When I got to North Carolina there were lots of people to welcome us! The Swifts and Drakes came by the first night and made sure we had dinner and other necessities. Jeff drove us to the tow yard when our car was taken by Mr. Tow Truck Driver our FIRST NIGHT in Raleigh. {I have since observed the tow signs but they are very small and unofficial looking.}

At the park that week I met Robin and her kids and Linda and her little ones and some other people too, though I can't remember them all.

Then I started going on walks and Linda joined me. Pretty soon we couldn't always go on walks but we met at the playground almost everyday. Linda has a daughter named Beca and Beca became my friend.

Beca has lots of energy. Every time she sees me coming she yells "EMILY!" I usually yell back, "BECA!" She likes to show me how she can run. She is very good at swimming. She likes to swing and make pizzas on the tennis court. Beca also loves popsicles so she started coming to my house to eat them with me.

Alyssa also loves Beca. She has started yelling out "BECA" when I do and she gives Beca lots of hugs and follows her everywhere. I think it is safe to say that Alyssa idolizes, adores, loves, emulates Beca.

Today there was a knock at my door. I expected it to be Erik, home from work. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the door and saw my friend Beca. She was standing there with her purple lunch box. She said, "I brought a cookie for you!" She then unzipped her lunch box and pulled out a Chips Ahoy! One cookie, just for me, given graciously by my friend Beca.

At that moment I knew I was sad to be leaving North Carolina. I know there will be lots of people to welcome me back to Delaware but there will be one little face missing in my everyday life and that will be my friend Beca.

{Alyssa and Beca enjoying a popsicle}

Some More TN Pictures

I feel like I didn't adequately show our trip to TN. This is mostly for posterity's sake, but read on if you like.

We stopped at a town called Biltmore Forest for lunch. The McDonald's was HUGE and had a player piano. It merited a video. Alyssa is really funny when we eat out. She mostly people watches and in this case she was singing while eating her nuggets. She's so silly!

We went to Bruster's and had ourselves some real good ice cream. The kiddies get a free cone and so here we all are showing off our cones. 

{Take your pick as to which picture you like...and please notice the red in my hair!}

Alyssa managed to drop her scoop but not her cone. I know I probably should not have let her proceed with what you will see in this movie, but I couldn't resist. It still makes me chuckle.

 I am missin' me some Anna time hardcore. Hopefully we will reunite again within the year! (The miracles of MegaBus ?? ) 

Alyssa did wonderfully on the drives. She's my little companion. I don't know what I would do without her! Tonight we played in the rain. There is a little ledge that has a wedge cut out creating a great faucet! Movies to come later. Alyssa loves the rain and she loves being outside. We spend an hour at a park people watching today with an occasional visit to the jungle gym.

I Made a Cake

Apparently Alyssa takes 1 nap a day and apparently it is 4 hours long. And I remembered that I had not yet shared the elegant cake that Taylor envisioned and I endeavored to execute.

Here it is! The frosting was extremely buttery. (There were only 3 ingredients in it; can you guess what they were?) The top was a vanilla-chocolate-vanilla cake and the bottom was carrot cake. 

And....drum roll please...

the addition of Solomon's Temple!

{No wedding cake is complete without it!}

...Courtesy of Taylor Archibald...

He he. I loved the addition of the temple! The spray paint was still a little wet so that is why we had to put it on a plate. It was a lovely cake and a good experience for me. I have a lot of practicing to do and some quirks to work out as far as cake making goes, but I think that it is a hobby I will pursue. If you would like to be a volunteer taster, just let me know!

A Match Made in Heaven

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The Future Mr. and Mrs. Jensen!

After about getting sick one morning during Nuclear Engineering (Fall Semester of 2010) and having not told anyone except for my insurance company and Erik that we were pregnant (with Alyssa), I decided to tell Anna, my engineering comrade. So I told her. 

The next day she told me that she was pregnant, too! And so our story began. 

Alyssa and I took a little drive over to Knoxville, TN to visit Anna and her baby, James. It didn't take long before Alyssa and James started to remember that they already knew each other from heaven and that they should play nicely together. 

We had fun-filled days together eating ice cream, playing with toys, making blankie huts, going to splash pads, walking, running, talking, watching the Olympics, and playing at parks. The visit was bitter-sweet. We loved being together (especially Anna and I) but we realized how sad it is that we must live so far away from one another. 

Being the mother of one child is probably the easiest time to be a mother, but sometimes it feels like the hardest. When babies aren't napping, what do you do with them? When they throw a tantrum, how do you handle it? Is it ok to let them eat ice cream off the sidewalk? Will I make it through one more day sitting on the floor watching them play for 2 hours? {Those of you who have several kids and feel very busy and overwhelmed may be tempted to scoff at that question. You probably long for those days, and I know I will one day long for those days again, too. But just remember what it was like when you only had one and how it felt to be with him or her day in and day out with only your self-talk to keep you company.}

All of these questions come up and, probably, some more than once. Being away from home AND away from Delaware, the summer has been mighty hard, a tad bit lonely, and a little anxiety-inducing at times. It was so nice to be with Anna and talk and play and have a friend, another only toddler, to entertain my only toddler. And another adult to talk with and let my self-talk quiet down for awhile. 

I am grateful we could take the trip while we are down here in the delightful South. That trip was definitely one (of many) good things about coming to North Carolina. 

A Pictureless Day at the Lake

Falls Lake has been calling our name since we moved here. We ignored it for quite sometime but now that the summer is coming to an end, we decided to take a drive and go swimming. We had a great time and Alyssa loved the never ending shallow end that she could play in freely without much interference from her parents.

In lieu of pictures please picture with me:

- a small sandy beach

 a little too much bird waste for comfort - 

- an orange swim line to keep us out of the path of the viscous paddle boats

 Alyssa digging up the sand from the bottom of the lake and dumping it in her bucket - 

- pretzels, cheese rice cakes, nectarines, plums, string cheese

 Alyssa carrying said pretzels and rice snacks into the lake and dipping them in the water before eating them -

- swimming and floating and kicking and running in the water

Tomorrow Alyssa and I will drive 6 hours to Tennessee. Alyssa has to consciously meet her future husband. After all the last time the saw each other they pretty much just slept.

Oh yeah, and it has been a year since I've seen the only woman I know who can relate to pregnancy + cheme + everything else the Zoo has to offer.

If you have a minute, all you closet blog readers, take my poll. Tell me what you think. <------