Family Beach Trip 2012

Last year we stayed in a hotel. It had one room. There wasn't quite enough personal space, nor enough sleep since my parents wake up very early. This year, we got a condo. It was wonderful.

 I got to sleep as late as I pleased, we had a kitchen and there was still a pool to sit beside. Really, it was awesome. I did almost nothing except read two books, three halves of books (finished one, started two) and a couple dozen sudoku puzzles.

Ashley finally read the entire Harry Potter series - about time. Now she's started Eragon, which I loved as well. I'm so proud of her!

This was a sad year for jellyfish though; I must have passed a hundred washed up on shore every time I took a walk down the beach. 

Ashley & Michael

Got back from the beach this afternoon! It was so much fun. Ashley's boyfriend Michael was able to come with us this year, which was really nice - they're awesome together. 

I took some pictures of them to commemorate a year and a half of dating. 

More beach pictures later on!

Grama's House

Today has been great. Went over to Grama's house to have lunch and play some cards. She was having her washer, dryer and refrigerator looked at as part of her warranty so we met James, a pretty interesting service man. He's a Carolina fan! :) 

We're both pretty equally good at cards, but she totally creamed me today at Phase 10. She was so pleased she even wrote the date on it and said she was going to keep it forever. Hmph.

Eh, whatever. I beat her at Uno. 

Rain

Rain, rain, go away! It has been the dreariest first week of summer vacation ever. I'm going to the beach tomorrow and I hope the weather is better! 

My dad has more or less finally transitioned to his new workshop; it's really nice.

I remember this stool from fifteen years ago. It used to have stuffing, but the mice have stolen it all!

Maybe it's not such a dreary day after all. 

Birthday Party

The weather was beautiful, the street was lined with cars and there was plenty of cake and ice cream to go around. It was a celebration for Granddaddy Barber's 80th birthday, and there were dozens and dozens of people who came by to wish him well. 

My dad grew up next door to the Barbers. As children, my sister, cousin and I would often wander up to the Barber's swing set when we went to Grandpa's after church. We would head up there as we grew older whenever we were in the neighborhood; there's always hugs, cookies and a cold drink for visitors. Granddaddy has been fighting cancer, and his journey is slowly reaching it's end. 

What a blessing this man has been in my life. He's an incredible person. 

I would consider all the Barbers my family; Sarah is my oldest friend (seriously, I met her the day she was born). We've gone to the beach with the Barbers for several years, though it's been harder since we're in college. 

Here's this branch of the clan (it's three photos, so ignore the weird stuff at the top). 

Thanks for everything. With love, Lady Di. 

Rugged maniac

I didn't run it, don't worry, but today I went with Andrew and my cousins to spectate their participation in the rugged maniac race. It was interesting. The worst parts were the lines. Everywhere there were lines. 

We started and ended the day in lines waiting for the shuttle to the race site. Crazy long.

The rugged maniac, if you don't know, is held in Asheboro and is an insane 5k with a lot of obstacles. Among a lot of other things, there's fire and a mud slide. 

I think they had fun though, even if everything they brought was covered in mud. 

Easter Day

I had such a good Easter with my family. I'm so blessed in so many ways, and I love being so close to my family geographically. I can't imagine what it would be like to not have aunts and uncles and cousins at every turn - probably a lot less interesting!

Two generations:

Nurse Ashley

Congratulations to my little sister on her acceptance into the nursing school at UNC Charlotte! I'm so proud of how hard she's worked to achieve this goal; she's going to be an excellent nurse. We had to celebrate somehow, so I made her a cake. Love you, chica!

Video recording

I've been working on a promo video for the Annie B. Mission, and I needed some interviews from the other people who are involved in the project. This means that I got to hang out with Matt, Elizabeth and Uncle Bear this afternoon! It was a productive time, and even better was M-Staff reunion lunch beforehand!

Elizabeth helped be a shade tree so Uncle Bear's face wouldn't be splotchy from the sun:

The many faces of Matt:

Father and son:

Ikea

I went to visit my lovely sister in Charlotte this weekend; we went shopping with mama on Saturday. And I went to Ikea for the first time! It's a pretty cool place, I even got curtains for my room. The bad news is that the curtain rods don't actually come with screws . . . I'll have to get some tomorrow.

Asher's Quilt

Finally I can put this online!

I made this blanket for my cousin's baby over winter break, but for obvious reasons could not brag about it until now. My cousins are wonderful people and so much fun to be around! I wanted to herald the arrival of their first child with something special, and I love to quilt, so what could be more perfect?

There's some turtles, lions, giraffes and dinosaurs on the front:

It's a pretty simple quilt, just a basic checker-block squares pattern.  

Elephants on the back! I was able to use a lot of scrap fabric for the front, which is always nice.