The Town of Pew-laski

Welcome to the town of Pulaski ... home of the Pulaski Mariners. This has been my home for the last couple weeks, and here are just a few things that I've noticed about western Virginia:

1) Everything is green. Everything.

2) There are HUGE thunderstorms every couple of days. They come completely out of nowhere.

3) It's pronounced Pew-laski.

4) "Yes sir" and "Yes ma'am" is the only way to address anyone older than you.

4) Everybody knows everybody.

5) There are sooooo many bugs, and I hate them all ... except for the fireflies.

6) Almost every man I've met chews tobacco ... apart from the men at church :)

7) They LOVE small town baseball.

8) Everyone waves and expects a wave back, even if you're some random Utahn :)

I live with the Davis family, which is about 10-15 minute drive from the ball park. He is an optometrist in Pulaski and she is a nurse up at a hospital in Blacksburg. They are the NICEST family and I am so lucky that they let me into their home. I attend the Virginia Tech singles ward, which so far has been fantastic. I have been fortunate to meet some really neat people at church and at work.

How cool is it that it was named after a Count? I was impressed.

Bienvenidos a Pulaski, Virginia

A shot of Pulaski from the top of Draper Mountain.

I don't how much you're paying for gas ... but this is how much we pay in Pulaski.

Pulaski Main

This goes out to my boy Monroe ;)

I just thought this wall was cool.

The Davis' backyard, equipped with an electric fence so the deer won't eat out of their garden.

Shot from the Davis' deck. So pretty.

Staying Alive

"Well you can tell by the way I use my walk I'm a woman's man ... no time to talk." These were the first words that Morgan sang when he put on the front pack and began to strut his stuff down the street with Olivia. This was the most portable way to transport Livi girl through each of our daily trips. And I guess that when he put on the front pack, he become a woman's man. Haha. I've posted the rest of our North Carolina pictures, which include the Durham Bulls game, our trips to Wrightsville and Virginia beaches, the USS North Carolina, the Shirley Plantation, Jamestown, and Williamsburg. It was especially neat to see some of these early US settlements. The Shirley Plantation was the FIRST plantation in Virginia. The first! Our guide told us about the hundreds of wounded Union soldiers that were treated on the lawns of the plantation during the Civil War. I was able to understand and get a better picture of some of the events that took place in US history. It was a once in a lifetime experience. Virginia is officially for lovers and for history buffs.

At the Durham Bulls game, and Sissy was feeling the effects of missing her nap.

The whole crew, with Livi girl hiding in the front pack.

I didn't purposefully take a picture of the first base coach's butt here ... I was actually getting a shot of the bull in left field. It's eyes turn red and smoke comes out of it's ears when they hit a home run. Awesome.

I don't remember exactly what the score was ... but we won.

Morgan decided he would never wear this, which is why he didn't buy it. But he DID want a picture of himself with it on.

Livi girl ate quite a bit of sand that day.

She wanted to get into the water so bad.

There she goes again .. flashing that million dollar smile.

"But why is the rum gone ...?"

Aboard the USS North Carolina.

This is Morg and Riles shootin' down some Nazis.

Those three guns behind me could shoot like a mile away.

Entrance to the Shirley Plantation. Classic.

Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the house, but the outside was still very cool.

The boys under the grape vines.

This was the biggest tree at the plantation and I'm pretty sure it looked exactly like the Keebler Elves' tree. (If it in fact existed)

Before we went to Jamestown, we shared a lunch in the car that Eileen made us. So delish. And as you can see, we only had one bowl.

Riles and Morg clearly had crushes on Pocahontas.

Captain John Smith, the first Governor of Virginia.

This is the tavern we ate at in Williamsburg.

It's a shame we don't use this form of punishment anymore. I think it still might be effective.

Beautiful sunset at Williamsburg.

Each vacation we go on, Morgan finds a tree, climbs it, and then has me take a picture of him in it. It's becoming a tradition.

Virginia Beach was PACKED. It was a blast though.

I can seriously watch this clip over and over and over and over ... It never gets old.

The Baywatch Boys doin' their thang.

Me playing with Olivia ... until she tried to grab the camera and fell over. Notice Morgan doing his interactive Covergys training in the back.

Carolina del Norte

Once we got to North Carolina, we set out to conquer the state. Our cousins Rich and Eileen (and Livi girl) were kind enough to let us stay at their house for a week. We explored Duke campus, UNC campus, the Raleigh Temple, Fort Macon, and the good ol' town of Greenville ... and that's just the half of it. North Carolina is beautiful. It's GREEN. It's HUMID. And it's part of the DIRTY SOUTH.

The UNC basketball stadium. There is no bench seating at all there. Every seat in the house is an actual blue seat.

Mr. James Buchanan Duke

Morg and Riles mimicking the forefathers of the United States.

The Duke basketball arena was the size of a high school gym ... but that didn't make any less cool. Go Blue Devils.

The troops guarding Fort Macon :)

The best part about this picture is Livy's smile. Haha

This is an optical illusion ... We're not ACTUALLY in the jail.

After he hopped up the ledge.

Pretty sure soldiers don't wear Adidas sandals, but whatever.

This is one of my favorite pics of Sissy ... the crazy, windblown hair with the grin.

This is authentic North Carolina barbecue from B's. BBQ chicken and pork, potatoes, coleslaw, and fried corn bread sticks. Delish.

This is B's Barbecue, a hole in the wall place that was featured on "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives". (A show on the Food Network)

In front of the Raleigh Temple, which is TINY by the way.

Morg and Sissy were matching ... and I had to capture this cute moment.

I think it's clear that Sissy will not be attending UNC any time soon.

Rafiki couldn't pass up the urge to present Sissy to Duke stadium.

I'm OBSESSED with this picture. She is the cutest.

Duke Stadium entrance.

I'm pretty sure that Sissy was a bit delirious at this point :) Skipping a nap will do it to ya.

Morgan running around the Duke track.