MJ Birthday 2013

November has been much anticipated! So many fun things starting with my birthday at the beginning of the month.  Nothing special this year, just lots of love from all my family and friends!

Chris in action, making my special cake

Special, just for me it snowed!! Nothing stuck but I felt like God sent my own special gift

Chris got me croquet! Cant wait to set it up and play

A beautiful piece of art from Cassie especially for my sun room

Some fun nail polish from my friend Angie.. fun playing in it!

More coke glasses for our collection - these look like actual coke cans!! 

Special dinner with our new NC family! LOVE, love the great company and special gifts

First thing down, now on to the best part of the month! Traveling to AZ for Thanksgiving and Catching Fire with everyone.. Can't hardly wait.

Greensboro Gardens

We had a fun Saturday exploring some of the gardens around Greensboro.  This time of year is so special to us!

Bicentennial Gardens

Enjoying God's beauty of Fall colors

I love the contrast of the dark trunk and the light yellow leaves

We are so amazed at the size of some of the leaves!

Bog Gardens

Boone/Blowing Rock NC

I am anxious to see Fall! Last year it seemed to hit all of a sudden, and then it was gone too quick.  This year I intend to be there to catch it in action.  Mostly it gives us another excuse to travel and see more of our wonderful new home state.  So with fall in mind we headed up to the Appalachian mountains in Boone, NC. First up on the way there, we drove on the famous Blue Ridge Parkway, where we saw some of the season's best display of color - well so far.  We soon found we may have gone a bit too early; the leaves seemed to just be starting the change of color.  Oh well, that just means another trip!

Down in the town of Boone, we found it is home to Appalachian State University.  In the mountains, a small college town; it seemed a little like Flagstaff to us - it had that same feel.  We got sandwiches for lunch and then found the Daniel Boone Gardens.  After eating, we wandered the tiny gardens and enjoyed the beautiful mountain air.  It rained on us a little, but not for long,  thank goodness.

This was Daniel Boone's father's cabin, brought here from higher up the mountains

After lunch and the gardens we drove to Blowing Rock, and wandered around until it was too late to really do much of anything.  Last activity of the day, we went to Mystery Hill.  It is an unexplained phenomenon of gravity that pulls you downward on this hill.  It is very strange!

Here you can see the ball rolling up the hill

Chris is standing up straight!

Chris explains it is an optical illusion, this is the orientation of the ground outside in relation to the how the house is built on the hill - which he says explains the phenomenon.  But it makes you sea sick, and you get light-headed.  Chris had to leave because he was getting motion sick.  Weird!

We were hungry and were told there was a fun place to eat in Boone called Daniel Boone Inn.  The line was looooong! But we were there for the experience, so we waited over and hour for our seats.  It was an all you can eat, country home-style place, except they brought the food to you.  They had one menu, and they just bring all the food from the menu to the table, and you can ask for as much as you want.  That night the menu was fried chicken, country ham, country steak, corn, green beans, biscuits, stewed apples and of course dessert! It was yummy!

The menu in the hallway

Sights to see while we waited in line

It was dark when we were finished with dinner, so back home we went.  It was a fun day!

The Unlikely Adventure of Herman the Fish

R.I.P Herman: 3/2013 - Sept/2014

There once was a fish, stuck in a bowl at a pet shop, looking out at all the people passing by day by day.  He wondered who they all were and how it would happen that one of them would eventually pick him to take home with them.  After a bit of time had passed, and many different faces had come and gone, Herman was overjoyed when suddenly he was chosen.  He went to a new home that day and was placed in his very own fish bowl that was twice the size of his previous cup. He was given beautiful decorations in this wonderful new habitat, and placed where his new family could see him all the time.  This little Beta was named Herman by his new owners, and that made Herman very, very happy!

Now, while Herman lived a wonderfully comfortable life in his new bowl at his new home, he always did wonder about the world.  Herman knew that fish should never think about things like this, because, after all, he did live in a bowl and in the water.  Seeing anything other than what passed right in front of him as he sat on the counter was dreaming just a little too big for a little fish like him.  Even so, Herman did dream.  The days and months passed by with nothing exceptional to speak of, except maybe that he was very glad that every day his food was brought to him without fail, and he learned he would never have to worry about that again in his life! Then suddenly, while he swam neatly and gracefully around his bowl, Herman noticed some activity beyond the glass that seemed different than usual.  There was movement, lots of movement! His bowl was placed elsewhere, the counter upon which he had sat comfortably for so long was moved out of the house, and other things began to disappear into big boxes that were taped up tight. One of the faces of his family came close to his bowl one day, and said that they were moving! Soon after that, there was nothing left around the house, and then Herman himself was moved too.  Back into the cup he went, the one he lived in before he came to his family.  And the next thing he knew, Herman was placed into the car right in between two seats up front, and so his wonderful, exciting, and positively impossible adventure began.  

He saw Prescott, AZ.

He saw Albuquerque, NM

He saw Oklahoma

Wow! Herman knew that this crazy adventure he was on would never have been possible if it weren't for his family who had taken all the trouble to carry him around in his cup, and more importantly, that they loved him enough to bring him along on this move across the country.  His dreams were coming true, and Herman knew that he was one very special Beta.

Herman's family was headed to Knoxville, TN, the next stop on journey.  It was late when they arrived, and everyone was tired and stressed. All of the suitcases were loaded onto a baggage cart, and Herman was placed on the very top as his family wheeled it all toward the hotel room.  Herman was not being held in someone's hands this time, and it made him nervous! He sloshed back and forth in his water high on top of the stack of bags.  Back and forth, back and forth, and then to his utter horror, he slid toward the edge! Before he knew what was happening, Herman was falling.  His bowl somersaulted in the air and Herman thought maybe this was the end. Maybe he would not survive this fall, and he would never make it to the new house in a new state.  As he tumbled toward the ground, Herman thought of all he'd seen already, and was thankful for every moment, even if this was going to be his last.  You can imagine his surprise when Herman landed with a thump on the ground, but because of the water in which he lived, he didn't feel a thing! He was OK! His owners were worried, he thought, and placed him on the counter next to the sink so they could keep a close eye on him.

The next day they were delayed in getting on the road, so they spend another day in Knoxville, TN.  They tried to relax by the pool, but Herman could tell everyone was anxious to get back on the road again.

The day after that, it was time to leave finally!  Back in the car they went, and Herman couldn't wait to find out what was next.  He was given a front row seat for a while as they drove through Nashville, TN, where it started to rain a little.

After a few hour's driving, they stopped to have lunch at a beautiful rest stop.  Herman thought to himself that it was the most beautiful place he'd seen so far.

Later that day, Herman heard his family say they were in the new state where they would be living from now on.  He couldn't wait to get his first glimpse of their new home!

There was lots of excitement about how far they'd come, that the journey was almost done.  Even some tears, for the home and loved ones they left behind.

A few more hours on the road and then they made it, the end of the road trip.  Herman was given one last view from the car at the hotel where they would stay until the new house was ready for them.  As he viewed his surroundings from that perch upon the vehicle that had brought him through such an amazing adventure, Herman thought he was the luckiest fish in the world.  No matter where he ended up, he would forever and always be a fish that got to experience the most unlikely of adventures.

The last of summer 2013

It is hard to believe that the summer has flown by so quickly and we hadn't made any trips to the beach! It was our last chance before Fall, so we quickly put together a weekend in Wilmington after Labor Day, hoping most of the people would have been gone by then.  We drove in on Friday, and once there we found our reservation at the hotel had been mixed up! There was some panic on my part, as it looked like most things were all booked.  They found us a room for Friday, but we were going to have to scramble for the rest of the vacation, hoping for cancellations.  We spent a restless first night, but planned on making it up all day Saturday lounging on Wrightsville beach.

View from our hotel at Shell Island Resort

First look at the beach

Found some rentals so we could really lounge

People watching

Sunday we went to Airlie Gardens.  It was hundreds of acres and so beautiful.  The day was hot, but we stayed to enjoy as much of the gardens as we could.

The beginning of the over 1 acre path through the gardens

Frog sculptures throughout the gardens made for a fun scavenger hunt

Bird watching frog; we had fun  finding them all

After Airlie Gardens, we drove down to the Cape Fear River to see the museum of poisonous snakes.  Ugh! I think Chris could have stayed there all day, but I had to leave after a while.  Snakes make my skin crawl.

We had to move rooms, and then hotels when we would come up with a cancellation.  Sunday we moved to the Holiday Inn just down the road from Shell Island Resort.  Our room was so much nicer, and we had a fantastic beautiful deck facing the ocean.

Our balcony view from Holiday Inn

Sunday evening we wanted to go body surfing, so we suited up and grabbed our snow boards as a substitute.  Chris was terribly embarrassed to be seen with those snow boards, but I didn't care.  I figured they would work just as well! In truth, they weren't all that great, didn't support our weight properly, but we made do and played, catching some good waves!  Right at the last minute, Chris caught a huge wave from behind and it knocked his glasses right off his head.  It ended our otherwise fun evening at the beach.  Monday morning we found an eye masters and had to get a new prescription and glasses for Chris!

And finally, his new frames!

Once that ordeal was finally over, could finally get on with the fun stuff, the aquarium at Fort Fisher.

That night we took a long walk on the beach, just marveling at the surf and sand and waves and horizon.  We started out in evening and were able to see the sunset while we walked.  Thinking we might want to swim in the ocean again, I didn't bring the camera.  Next time I will have to make sure I have a waterproof disposable for all the in-water shots! We enjoyed every moment of our last night on the beach.

Tuesday morning we got up early and headed out for our last stop before home, the USS North Carolina Battleship, docked in the Cape Fear River.

And so ended our summer vacation to Wilminton NC! Looking forward to many more summers there.