Moving

That's right.... Andrea, Eli, Doc and I are moving.  I got a promotion at a different park, so we must leave Eno River and Durham.  We have some mixed emotions as we love Durham, being close to family, all of our friends, our church, and our cute little house.  On the other hand it is an excellent opportunity for my career, the house is a little bigger, and it is only 2.5 hours away!

Map of our move: Raleigh is just SE of Eno River.

Charoltte is just South of Lake Norman

We are moving to Lake Norman State Park in Troutman, NC.  It is a bustling metropolis.... not really, I am sure the picture in your mind associated with Troutman is accurate :-)  It is a smaller but busier park.  I will be a supervisory ranger, supervising two permanent rangers and in charge of hiring 28 seasonal positions.  The park got more than 500,000 visitors in 2007 and has a large number of recreation activities including family camping, group camping, swimming, a boat ramp, boat rentals, picnic shelters, a community building, fishing, mountain biking and hiking.

Map of Lake Norman State Park

Here is a link to the park website: http://www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/lano/main.php

We are excited and the move is planned to take place in mid-November after Veterans Day.  We could use a few prayers though...

• Sanity in packing with an infant and in four weeks
• That we find a good local church
• That we (especially Andrea) make friends locally

As mentioned above the house is bigger which means we will have a GUEST ROOM and are now taking reservations!!  We look forward to your stay!

Grand Gwinns

On October 6, my parents and Pops came to visit also.  This was their first time meeting Eli as well.  It was a fun visit.  I had to work at least part of the day everyday they were here.  It was neat to see their reactions and interactions with Eli.  It was also exciting to see Pops hold Eli.  It was however very sad to think about Mops not getting to hold him, and how excited she would have been...

Grandpa Gwinn

Grandma Gwinn

Great Grandpa Pops

Four generations of men

The Gwinn family (only missing Jill)

Great Eakrights

On October 3rd Andrea's Aunt, Uncle and Grandparents came down from Indiana.  It was the first time they all got to meet Eli.  We had a good time hanging out with them and of course they all loved Eli.

Grandma Eakright, Grandpa Eakright, Great Uncle Curt and Great Aunt Marcia.

Grammie (Great Grandma Eakright).

Great Grandpa (Eakright).

The Renfrow's

Alison, Wyatt and Claire stopped by on the 30th to hang out with Andrea.  I had to work (it was actually our Fall Firearms Training so I had a blast.... literally), but they were all there when I got home, including Andrea's mom.  They made us a yummy dinner and took off soon there after.  The three cousins had fun together especially because our house is now a bit more kid friendly :-)

Claire climbed into a basket and was having fun.

Wyatt was riding horsey grandma.

Eli looking cute and colorful.

Two of our friends from NY got us a swing and rechargeable

batteries.  Everyone says it is a miracle worker.... I think 

we are getting there.  Doc loves Eli to be on his level.

Birthday Party for a Friend

The other weekend Eli went to the first birthday party he has ever been to.  One of his friends, Luke, turned one.  It was a fun time.  Steven and Libby cooked out and we hung out and chatted.  The entertainment was the two toddlers, Luke and his cousin.  I was amazed at how they mesmerized the crowd.

Luke and his cake.

Eli hanging out in the Peanut Shell.

We got Luke two balls and they were a hit!

After the party Eli was very fussy.... apparently he just

wanted to be stripped down and left alone.

Strolling

I had the week before last off and it was a lot of fun.  We mainly tried to catch up on sleep and work on some chores we needed to finish.  We were in and out of a lot of stores and used Eli's stroller a lot.  We also took a walk with Libby and Luke.  I really like Eli's stroller and we think that he really likes being outside!

Eli ready for the wind.

The day we decided to go for a walk with Libby and Luke was probably the coldest day of the fall so far and there were some pretty strong sustained winds :-)  Libby says she only walks when it is cold and windy.  Libby's other tip for strolling is to take a drink.... just don't slosh it onto baby!

Libby and Luke ready to roll.

The gang including Brodey.

Snakes at Work

The week before last seemed like snake week at work.  The coolest sight was without a doubt seeing a Northern Water Snake eat a catfish!

Below is a phone pic of the Northern Water Snake eating the catfish.  I was patrolling a trail along the river and I heard a splash and looked down and saw the snake coming ashore with the catfish in its mouth.  I watched it as it turned the fish around to properly eat it before it took it under the bank and out of sight.

The dark shiny part in the middle of the pic is the catfish.  The lighter color at the head of the fish is the snakes mouth stretching open!!  It was uber cool!

Labeled for those that need help.

I also saw the below Copperhead on the road to the quarry.  I took the picture because of a funny story that happened earlier.  When Andrea was about 38 weeks pregnant we were taking a lot of walks to get labor going, and we would walk the area where this picture was taken.  One day we were walking with Doc and I looked down just in time to see Doc step on a Copperhead!  When Doc stepped on the snake Andrea was about 18" from it!  I jerked Andrea's hand to pull her towards me and she instantly knew why I was pulling her.  Andrea jumped a mile high and started hyperventilating.  Amazingly, the snake did not move except to pick up its head and Doc never saw the snake!!!  It was very comical after the fact.

Copperhead.

Copperhead on the road for perspective.