Time Passed with Amazing Grace

This past weekend, I took advantage of having a free day and drove up to Clinton, NC to visit some family. My cousin, Tommy & his family (I think he's gone to Tom as an adult, but that just doesn't roll off my tongue when I see him), were in NC for three weeks and I finally got to see them. Tommy lived in Okinawa, Japan for 8 years and more recently in San Angelo, TX for 3-4 years. His wife Kozue, son Kaine and daughter Maya will live in Okinawa for another 3-4 years before coming back to the states. It was a great time catching up with them, really meeting their kids and hanging out with them and also getting to see Ann, Ray, Granddaddy and my parents. David was sick so he didn't join me but he was missed. Travel plans to Okinawa are in the works over the next 3 years so if anyone is up for a long trip, let me know! Also, I was very pleased to watch Maya (who is 21 months), climb, bend, jump, flip and fall all over the place without a teardrop. She is so flexible and strong and will make a great gymnast!! Time flies and I know we'll see them again before too long but I appreciate the opportunity to spend time with anyone in my family who I don't get to see very often. Until next time.....

Quail Hunt

Saturday we went to the farm to work Sally & Ginger (Steve's hunting dogs) and see Hank & Reba. The puppies have grown so much!! They are as cute as ever though! Enjoy the pictures by clicking on the title!

Becca & Talley take on Charleston.....

And all we really got was a lot of pictures of Hadley Tate....sore hips from all our walks....belly-aching laughs at Talley's old emails.....desperate searches for Prunchetta.....political and religious conversations amongst 3 girls drinking wine, one of which works in politics.....good talks to catch up on three totally different lives....poopy diapers.....middle-of-the-night wake up cries.....great food.....catching up with Laura Hart and her new life in Charleston.....watching Lauren entertain Hadley and being so happy that Hadley is constantly amused by her mother.....and the list goes on. One & a half days in Charleston is never enough but this trip was well worth it. I always love going there and seeing Klug & Hads, but to catch Talley and Laura Hart made it even more special. Not to mention the fact that although we've known each other 10 years and we are 4-5 years removed from our college days, we can reconnect like no time has passed. Good friendships are a lovely thing......So, par for the course, I took a lot of pictures, but mainly of Hadley....So I condensed them into a collage.

Snow....for the second time!

It snowed again this morning and for the life of me, I can't remember the last time it snowed twice in one winter at the beach. The first snow (a few weeks ago) was definitely bigger with more accumulation but this morning we had huge snowflakes that stuck to our decks and our yard. I think David used all the milk this morning so I decided to venture out for a bagel and a coffee and packed up the dogs for the ride. On the way to eat, they told me they wanted to stop by the beach to see if the snow was sticking on the sand and perhaps play in it. Lucky for them I packed the leashes and we made our way to Cherry Grove Inlet. Jackson & Maddie (our only 4-legged residents at this point) had a ball playing in the sand (not much snow on the shore) and came home with a light layer of sand all over them. It was FREEZING out on the beach as the wind was whipping like crazy. It took a while for my buns to thaw out. During the first snow the little puppies were still here but for this one they were out at their palace at the farm. David built them great dog houses (with 2 rooms!) so they were (hopefully) curled up in their houses and toasty for today's snowfall. Jackson & Maddie are loving the new puppy accomodations mainly because they get their house and yard back. Things around here are pretty normal for us. I'm gone every other weekend for meets and David is here and there with work and play. He went to Arkansas two weeks ago and had a great time with Curry (bro in law) and some of Curry's friends. On my weekends off, I tend to get involved in projects and my most recent project includes re-doing a bedroom. I painted the walls and replaced the bedding and had fun doing it. I also went to a class at Pottery Barn and got a discount on everything for the day and came home with some great pillows, pillow covers and lampshades. It adds some color and a needed update to our living room. I guess my life really isn't that exciting since I'm talking about lampshades and pillow covers but no news is good news in my life......

Before I get to posting pictures, I wanted to touch on Louie's (my boss) newest dream....and I wouldn't mind being a part of it.....its this property in the Bahamas that is for sale. It appraised over 1 million dollars but because the seller is very anxious to get rid of it, he's selling it for $800K (give or take). Its in the Abacos and on Lubbers Quarters. It looks awesome and we want to go visit it. We found a youtube video of ANOTHER property on Lubbers Quarters and these folks probably did exactly what Louie dreams of doing (living on the island, fixing up the accomodations and renting it out to vacationers).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwq3h1RD2fk

Check it out....and while its 30 degrees outside, imagine waking up to this....

okay, now for the pictures....enjoy!