It's been 1 Year!!!

365 days ago, we arrived in Sweet Home Alabama. It has been an awesome ride. We have learned a lot about ourselves, each other, what truly matters and what we thought mattered but in the end doesn't really.
I have thought a bit about what I love about Alabama. There are so many things, but these things are what I smile about every day.

• I have really enjoyed getting to know what southern hospitality is all about, especially in kids. I love that kids call me Miss Stacee and when asked to do something, they say Yes ma'am. My kids have even picked up Yes ma'am. I think it is adorable.
• There is an over abundance of water in the south. It rains a lot. All summer there has been at least a 30% chance of rain everyday. All that rain brings lots of standing or moving water. I mean, there is a pond on every corner, a couple of lakes down the street and a swimming pool in every neighborhood. And then, add the Flint and Tennessee Rivers- you really don't have to go far until the map turns blue. Which is nice because it is nice and hot here. Except for right now, apparently a nice big cold front is moving through and it feels like late September (low 80's). 

• With all that overabundance of water comes an over abundance of green. Green trees, green grass, green beans, green cotton. Green is everywhere. The trees are so thick here that there are houses on the hills surrounding our house that I didn't know existed until all the leaves fell. It is so beautiful! In the summer there always seems to be a nice fog settled around the fields. It has a dreamy/romantic feeling. I love it!

 

• There are fire flies! I really don't need to say more then that about this one. The kids love running into the woods and watching them. I screamed like a little girl when I saw them swarming in the field by our house. It was so amazing. 

• There is a constant smell of BBQ in the air. And not the grilling hamburgers BBQ smell, but real BBQ. Smoked BBQ! Its delicious and fattening and on every corner. Our favorites have been the ma and pop shops on the corner. But when you want a clean table and a regular chair (instead of a beach chair), Teds BBQ is the place to go. 
• I love the way southerners say July. It's JOO-LY instead of JA-LY.  They also say Sawyer how it is spelled SAW-YER instead of how I say it SOY-YER.
• The weather is awesome. I don't love the super humid days, which aren't really that often at least not in the two summers we have been here. It's humid most days of the summer but it's not stifling. I L_O_V_E the fall here. It is so nice! It's still warm but not hot. We went trick or treating without a coat covering out cute costumes. The leaves take a long time to fall, so the fall colors are around for a while. The winter was also very nice. We went to Chattanooga on New Years Day and the kids didn't even have a jacket on. I will admit I missed the snow on Christmas, but that is the only day I missed it. I loved not having to fight with it in the driveway and on the streets. We did get some snow this year. Just enough to sled down our road for a couple of hours and then it was gone. That's enough snow for me. But lets not forget the spring!!!! I LOVE Spring. It was so beautiful as everything started to turn green. And it was hot enough that we could go swimming by the end of April.

That is just a small list of things I love about living in Alabama. We have been on so many adventures and seen some beautiful country over the last year. I am so glad we made this trek.