GUYS. I’m here. I’ve been MIA since this kid turned one & looked like this…

Now, she’s ALMOST 2 & looks like this:

THAT HAIRRRRRR. As you might’ve guessed she’s only gotten more delightful, hilarious & quirky (three of my favorite human attributes). When we left Japan, she was juuuust learning to walk, but within two weeks of being stateside, she was basically running. I credit all the family support & the carpeting at Auntie Hannah’s house.

In the way of an update, this post will be a quick rundown of Osborne life from leaving Japan to making our home in Sweet Home Alabama (insert guitar riff you’ll be humming for the next hour. YAWELCOME.) I’ll be taking a chapter from Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life and giving seasonal updates because, let’s be honest: it’s the only chapter we need to be taking from that tack-on series. Yeah, I said it. And I know you’re thinking, “Caroline, there are so many other seasonally themed things you could use like Hobby Lobby’s entryway displays or Starbucks’ rotating coffee syrups!” But as author of this blog, I get to make the choices. #sorrynotsorry

We spent the last few weeks in Japan soaking up our sweet routine, which OF COURSE involved Jeopardy & Wheel of Fortune each evening with Daddy. This routine continued in Alabama once we figured out the local broadcasting schedule & set up our whale skeleton antennae. (That’s what it’s called, right, honey? Honey?) I’ve fallen in love with local news–looking at you Allison & Dillon. Those updates on the happenings in the Wiregrass keep me GOING from 6-7pm CST. AND THE FADE OUT BANTER? Don’t even get me started…

In our final week, we also spent a lot of time saying goodbye to friends; true heart friends that made this the hardest place to leave that I’ve ever left.

 

How do you put into words the love you’ve built for 19 months? How do you say goodbye to friends you’ve done life with for all that time? How do you solve a problem like Maria?  Whoops. Joke. Coping mechanism for deep emotion. Just call me Chandler.
In short, we love you guys. We miss you. We’ll always look forward to the next time. lovelovelove.

We also took some time to say goodbye to Fuji san…the morning of our flight…because I’M NOT CRAZY. *YOU’RE* CRAZY. I felt like leaving without a family picture in front of the most iconic symbol for Japan would be akin to visiting Paris & saying, “I’ll see the Eiffel Tower next time…” As my good friend Riley once said in the greatest film of all time (National Treasure): “It’s not that it shouldn’t be done, Ben. It can’t be done.” I feel confident my family will thank me for the 5am, hour plus long drive and camera-tripod-self-timer-mania later. Maybe MUCH later, but I’ll never stop waiting. I feel a little like I channeled some Jill Osborne on this & for that, I couldn’t be more proud.

 

Sayonara, Fuji san. Sayonara, Nihon. Goodbye, Japan.

The home where I became a mama, we became a family of three
& we made some of the best memories & friends I never knew I needed.

A   N   D      H   E   L   L   O      A   M   E   R   I   C   A   !   !   !

Home of my childhood, home of the brave
& new home to our growing family.

(SPOILER ALERT: I’M PREGNANT & DUE ANY MINUTE!).

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s    u    m    m    e    r
(the one where you can tell Rory has never waved a tiny American flag IN HER LIFE.)

Our summer was spent transitioning to American and Alabamian life with pool days galore & lots of moving in. We spent some time in our mountain haven & lots of time with family & friends we hadn’t seen in a while. It looked a little like this:

Oh, and we got a new pup because we just couldn’t wait any longer! He & Skye are best buddies & have been since day one. We needed this guy in our lives & we’re so happy he’s here. Hello Remus, successor to Romulus, aka Remy!

Who now looks like THIS…

…because YES I KNOW I haven’t blogged in months & kids & puppies grow leaps & bounds in that time. This particular blog post is for people who really love those HGTV Before & After reveals.
The rest of the summer was a blur of morning sickness, backyard pool days, crazy good tans & grilling out. It looked a little bit like this:

Uncle Reagan met Skye, we celebrated the 4th of July in America for the first time with our new American citizen & we visited the Biltmore Estate. It was a summer for the books.

For those who don’t know, our move to Alabama was spurred by Oakie’s branch switch from Infantry to Aviation so he could fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming a pilot! We’ve gotten to see him fly a helicopter, make all the Top Gun references, call him an Ace Pilot from Day One & thoroughly enjoy helping him study to pass all his exams with flying colors (pun ABSOLUTELY intended) which he did, graduating number 1 in his class & I’m so proud of him, I could die.

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a    u    t    u    m    n
(the one where I know they call it fall, but autumn is a magical word & I’ll never understand the poor substitution that “fall” is)

Autumn in Alabama is a lot like summer in Alabama. In fact, for most of the summer pictures, I’m not even 100% sure they were taken in that season, but IT HONESTLY DOESN’T EVEN MATTER because heat + pool + eventual coolness + insanely rapid digression into sweaters & hot beverages = just fine with me. #southernborn

During this sweetest of seasons, we announced our pregnancy to the world, got to know our new town in southern Alabama & enjoyed every last drop of summer weather. I also performed in a dinner theatre production in an adorable downtown theatre called Southern Broadway. It was a legal thriller called Juror #7 about a recent law school grad, Lindsey Walker, (me) who becomes embroiled in revealing & solving the scandal of the century for that small, southern town. For some fun photos of me making ridiculous faces (acting) & also looking like I know my way around a courtroom (extra acting), make your way over to the website with the above link. It was a true pleasure to return to the stage & we met the kind of friends that you know you’ll keep for a lifetime. I am just absolutely the most blessed to have found it & been invited to the table for a little theatre & some seriously amazing food.

(and yes, I WAS 5 months pregnant by the end of the run.
Yay for flexible costumers & baggy shirts!)

We completed the autumn season with another trip to our mountain haven just in time to see all the leaves change, fall & make room for new life. It was magical.

This seems like quite enough for one post, so check in later for Part 2: Winter & Spring as we count down to the blog post about Baby Oz being born (turns out the prerequisite for that IS Baby Oz being born).

 

love from Alabama,

the osbornes