Cox Family Cruise 2014!

Our first cruise was MAGICAL!!
Not only was it our first cruise, it was our first experience with Disney, so our expectations are set high from now on!

We used a wonderful travel agent who talked me through the whole process and gave us such great advice. I did do a lot of my own research as well, but felt fairly prepared going into it. 

Since we told Camille a week in advance that we were going... we created a fun countdown for her to do each day, as well as a little gift that would prove useful on our trip. (glowsticks for pirate night, disney themed activities for the plane ride, a personalized shirt, etc)

We set sail on November 9th on the Disney Wonder to celebrate Camille turning 5 years old! What a memorable celebration it was. We did a 5 day cruise, sailing from Miami to Cozumel, to Castaway Cay, and back to Miami.

Camille got to fly on a plane... which may have been a bigger deal to her than actually being on a ship! She knows Mommy flies a lot for work, and so she was thrilled to get to experience it for herself. We flew from Raleigh to Miami the day before the cruise, so we could get settled in Florida and be ready to embark bright and early the following morning.

Camille was quite the ham at the airport! Can you tell she was excited?!

Since we spent the night in Miami, we were excited to wake up and head to port to catch our cruise! Camille stayed excited on the bus ride into port! It was an early start to a cloudy, rainy day, but that didn't keep our spirits down!

Disney has every process down to a fine art..... so organized and easy. My personal favorite was receiving our "key to the world" cards and personal navigator.... My type A self loved all the details and schedules!

This navigator was delivered daily and had every piece of information you could ever dream of!

Once we boarded the ship.... and yes, we were actually announced.... "Disney welcomes The Cox Family!" Exciting.... we couldn't use our cell phones. Sounded stressful at first, but ended up being such a great way to keep us relaxed and focused on each other. So all pictures were on my camera, not my phone. I'll do another post with other details of the on the cruise experience, but just take my word for it, it was GREAT!!!

Nick and I kept saying how this was the first time that we actually felt fully relaxed on a "family" vacation. We came back so recharged and ready to tackle our normal daily schedules after that week away. Thank you Disney!!

Camille had fun flying back to Raleigh, even though we were sad to leave. We were also disappointed in the weather headed back.... We came from a week of 80+ degree days to a cold Raleigh 40 degree day! She was excited to show off all of her new Disney gear and she even earned her "wings" from the flight crew! Does she look older? I can't believe our baby is five!!!

Halloween 2014

Camille decided that she needed to do a costume swap this Halloween. She had a costume parade at school where she chose to be a nice girl pirate. She seemed quite impressed with herself.

For trick or treating, Camille decided to wear her dance costume and be Cinderella. It was quite a chilly night, so we had to add tights and a sweater. Most people thought she was a fairy. She would correct them and then decided to start telling people she was Cinderella and her mommy was her Fairy Godmother :) I ended up carrying the wand around.

This was our first Halloween at the new house, so trick or treating was a great way to meet some of our neighbors that we hadn't yet seen. Of course, Camille stole the show. Since our neighborhood has a lot of older couples, Camille racked up on candy. They all were so impressed with her manners and cute smile that she was getting large candy bars by the fist full! She was so cold and her feet ached in her "glass slippers," but she was determined to visit as many houses as possible. I eventually had to beg her to let us go back home for the surprise we had in store.

Since Camille's 5th birthday was approaching, Nick & I had decided to book a Disney cruise week for her as a surprise. We knew we couldn't tell her as far in advance as we had planned it, so we decided to tell her on Halloween night, almost a week before we departed. We had arranged a call from Mickey and Minnie to share the big news. Camille was much too into her candy, so we had to beg her to answer the phone. At first, she had no idea what they were saying and she kept repeating "I don't understand mouse talk. Why are they calling me?" After we told her to keep listening to their special message.... she slowly started to put the pieces together. From there she started running around the house screaming and jumping. It certainly was the reaction that Nick and I were hoping for!

This Halloween was certainly one we won't soon forget! Disney cruise, here we come!

Our singing machine!

Camille LOVES to sing. In fact, when you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up, she usually will say a singer or a singer teacher (music teacher). She was finally old enough to participate in the children's choir at church this year. She really enjoys going to choir practice each week. Her favorite time however, is the performance. They do 4-5 performances throughout the year during different church services, including the evening Christmas program. She loves being up front and seeing all her family and friends in the audience! She especially likes the choir robes they get to wear. Of course she says they are red and white for NC State :) Here is our cutie in her robe before one of her performances.

Mimi's Milestone

Back in October, we celebrated Mimi's 60th Birthday with a trip to the mountains. We stayed in a very spacious cabin near Black Mountain, NC. It was the perfect fall weather in the mountains that weekend and we were able to see so much of the leaf colorings from the cabin. Here was our view.

We had so many acorns on the back deck, that Camille spent lots of time collecting ;) The front porch had rocking chairs, so we got to enjoy the views from both sides!

There was a cute little festival downtown that weekend that kept us browsing all day long. The shops and restaurants were so cute, and they even had a cupcake bakery! There were some kids that were painting faces to raise money and so Camille asked for a pumpkin on her cheek. It was cute to watch her sit so seriously for a few minutes. I loved toting Ellie around, as she was quite entertained from simply people watching, though she did want to get down and run around when we took her to Kilwin's. Can you blame her?

We also took time to treat Mimi to a special birthday dinner at Tupelo Honey. The meal was delicious and Camille loved getting to help Mimi blow out her candles! We even remembered to get some family photos taken and didn't even notice until afterward that some of us coordinated :)

Montreat College was also nearby. That campus is beautiful. The stone buildings are so impressive and the onsite church/chapel is so neat. Not to mention the awesome kid's playground area and all the neat trails. We had a great time exploring. 

Such a great weekend celebrating our great mother, mother in law, and grandmother!

The start (and end) of soccer

Nick was ready for Camille to be old enough to play soccer and we agreed that this year was the year to try it. Well, I have to say, she went out there every game and put in a fair amount of effort. She loved the practice drills, but wasn't very into the concept of one on one competition or the overall game. If Nick wasn't an assistant coach, Camille may have never lasted the whole season. She did like the concept of soccer.... that is getting to bring her pink soccer ball and wear her pink laced soccer shoes each Saturday. What she didn't appreciate were the gray/black uniforms, the running hard, or having other kids take her ball from her. Oh, but she did love snack time.

At the end of the season, all of the kids got trophies.... Camille proudly displays hers in her room. At least if you aren't going to enjoy something, a shiny trophy with your name on it sure makes it seem a bit better.... not to mention the end of year doughnuts too! 

So we are glad we tried it, though I think it will be another few years before we attempt it again :)

MS Bike Ride 2014

I was pretty stoked this year to participate in the MS Bike Ride with my company. For the past several years, my company has supported this charity and has formed a Dimension Data team to ride in one of the many 150 mile rides held each year in different parts of the country. This year, our team picked the New Jersey ride from Cherry Hill to Atlantic City and back. After finally getting a bike and all the gear earlier this year, I was ready to commit to the training and to the ride weekend.

I really enjoyed the training at first....those 20 mile rides were enjoyable and didn't take too long either. I also enjoyed the few training rides where my brother was able to join me, as it made for some good conversation, advise, and made the time fly by. The 30 mile rides weren't bad either... It was when I started to get into the 40+ mile rides that I started to question my decision to train. Some days were soo hot, that a couple hours in the dead heat of summer was tough. Some days, I would have to go after work and not make it home in time for dinner, as the 40+ mile rides do take up a good amount of time. While we are so fortunate in Raleigh to have such great greenways and trails, finding a 40+ mile route that doesn't include a busy road is rather challenging. I still stuck to the weekly rides outdoors and filled in 1-2 indoor rides when I couldn't be outside. I was proud of myself for sticking with it, but really started to dread those long rides each week and was upset that I felt that way and couldn't ever do more than 50 miles at a time due to other commitments or weather. I started to question if I would be ready for the ride.

Thank you to all my family, friends, and coworkers for all the support and prayers that were the only thing getting me through that long 150+ mile ride. All the encouragement and kind words stuck with me as I prepared for the trip to NJ.

5 of us from Raleigh carpooled up to NJ which made the long drive much more enjoyable. We had a great time together and most of them were seasoned cyclists, so I was fortunate to have their support and advise before the ride since I still wasn't sure what to expect going in to it.

Each morning started off with a 4am wake up call in order to get our bikes to the start line by 5-6am. Starting as a team felt so good since there were close to 100 of us, the 2nd or 3rd biggest team out there! I was fueled by adrenaline and Gatorade... as there wasn't much sleep had all weekend. We were well fed throughout the ride and at night, so I never cramped or got dehydrated.

My first day was the hardest. It look me about 30+ miles to find my pace and a group that I could ride with that fit that pace. Once I found that, it helped slightly. However, my butt was sooo sore after about mile 50.... I thought I was going to have permanent damage from that seat! My muscles were fatigued but didn't give up on me. The hardest part was ending the first ride day with two huge hills going in to Atlantic City. The views were great, but those hills were soooo tough after such a long ride. Not to mention the ride wasn't really 75 miles each day, it ended up being over 80... which finding that out at mile 75 was not well received. Also, I began to appreciate NC roads more and more, as NJ roads are horrible! I had never seen so many potholes and grates... made for some unexpected jarring and extra caution. And you can imagine adding the friendly NJ drivers into the mix..... total sarcasm there!

Day two was so much better surprisingly. Despite getting only a few hours of sleep on top of a fire alarm in the middle of the night, I felt good. My body was ready and came out strong. I had my riding group and we kept a great pace the whole second day, cutting back our stops and increasing our pace.... maybe it was because the end was in site. My legs felt like noodles when I came across the finish line, but it was the coolest experience to think about what had been accomplished and to be able to do that with my work family.... so surreal coming across that finish line in our pace line with other coworkers cheering us on.... truly awesome! As much as I didn't want to look at my bike or think of training, my mind drifted to planning for the 2015 ride..... call me crazy, but I think I'm in!

Here are some of the views from Atlantic City.

Here are some shots taking throughout the ride at either pit stops or at the end.

BIG MOVE! The Journey from Garner to North Raleigh

I laughed as I wrote the title for this post. While a move from Garner to North Raleigh may seem humorous to some, it really does feel like another city! I mean we didn't even change counties, yet this other side of town feels so different from where we were before. We came from a small town feel, close to downtown restaurants and activities, down the street from my sweet McNeill threesome, our Rex Wellness family, 2 Targets, etc etc.... Where we now live in a more hustle bustle area, close to North Hills and Lafayette Village shopping and restaurants, new neighbors that are so friendly, closer to our sweet Kohler foursome, a YMCA in walking distance, no close Targets, but I have a Whole Foods and a handful of Harris Teeters, which equally excites me.

We are so thrilled to be in our new house and are creating so many wonderful memories in it already. We had a very stressful move process, but feel so glad to have it behind us and can finally see the blessings that surround us. (Trust me, it took several weeks to see that due to all the stress and issues associated with our move)!! I am also now thinking that I should have taken a before and after picture of my face.... I swear I have a few more lines and wrinkles after that whole process!! However, I am so thankful for our sweet family and friends that stepped in to help us during that stressful week- we are so appreciate of the long hours, heavy lifting, meals, places to stay, cleaning, etc. We couldn't have knocked out so much without all of that help.

We are settling in quite nicely, though do miss a lot about Garner and the old house... but we are happy with where we ended up and feel like things are finally falling into place. We have met so many new neighbors that are so friendly and welcoming... and good cooks!

We took some pictures of our last days in the old house...

And here is our beautiful new home.....
 (ignore the #s and date.. not sure why that popped up)

We have loved hosting our friends and family already and look forward to many more gatherings!