Just the usual

Trevor and Kurt a couple of weeks ago. In pretty much their usual position.

Beach (Tuesday)

Sunrise. God, totally there. Even if we can't see Him. Even if all seems dark.Until we fix our eyes and see.

Kites.

Kids.

(Even a few big ones.)

Boats.

Waves.

Bare feet.

Another trip to the Boardwalk.  The kids played quite a bit in the arcade; we ate ice cream.  We were more sheltered from the wind, and it wasn't cold.

Back at the condo, the kids had a blast playing Anomia.  Actually, we played quite a few board/word games while we were there.

We celebrated Barb's birthday while we were there.

Robert fixed chile rellanos, and we made tacos, Mexican rice, beans, guacamole, and pineapple salsa. Yep, lots of food--relaxing, beach, hanging out. Perfect!

Beach (Monday)

A second sunrise on the patio. Ocean City Boardwark lights are low on the left; Atlantic City lights are taller buildings on the right.

Most of the others went off to the OC Boardwalk in the afternoon; seemed too cold and windy for me!  In reality though, we had good weather, dry, highs around 60.  Robert had planned ahead and prepared a bunch of breaded eggplant; there was enough room in the kitchen for others to make spaghetti, garlic bread and salad. We feasted!

Sisters

My aunt gave me these when we were visiting last month.

c. 1968

To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were.

c. 1971

We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time. Clara Ortega

Easter on the beach

Robert and I were up at 5:30.


We sat on the deck to watch the sun rise.


Far more amazing than any formal "sunrise service" could be.


We had our first glimpse of the dolphins that swim just beyond the surf. I could have spent the entire five days here, never moving from this spot.


Trevor and I went for a morning walk on the beach.


Weather was plenty nice for mid-April; not a lot of people around. We were at a more remote stretch of the beach, which was perfect for this time of year.

Barb and Dave took off to Atlantic City for the day. Janet and Alex and family would be coming later in the afternoon.

We'd already decided to join worship at a local church that used to be part of the Calvary Chapel network. We specifically chose the last service so we wouldn't be rushing in the morning. It's always a little unnerving to think about visiting a new church. We didn't have room to pack any kind of dressy clothes, but our shorts and jeans were entirely within what everyone else was wearing. Great message; Calvary Chapel-style teaching is like no other. We have such a longing to be part of a CC church again, but our local church is definitely not the one, and the Lynchburg church is just so far.

Afterwards, we went driving around on a hunt to find horseshoes. We ended up outside of Atlantic City, no horseshoes yet, but absolutely starving. We ditched our previous (and sketchy) dinner plans, ending up at Chili's. Back at the condo, we met up with everyone else, with some of us going on another walk.


A totally different Easter than usual, but good for the four of us, reconnecting, relaxing, and just enjoying being out and together.

VACATION!!

Robert's sister Barb and her husband Dave rented a house on the beach at Ocean City for the week. We joined them along with Dave's sister Janet, husband Alex, and kids, Gwen and Nate, who are each a few years younger than Holly and Trevor. Dave and Janet's dad also joined the party. Many, many thanks to the generosity of Barb and Dave, we've vacationed with them twice before, two years ago also at Ocean City, and four years ago in Williamsburg!

We packed everything into my Prius, a job worthy of a televised reality show challenge. We didn't just have luggage for four; we also had linens and towels, a box of books to read, two boxes of food and drink, and a box of things to give Barb. We got off to a two hour late start, haha.

Virginia has several wildfires burning right now, and we saw this one a day or two before we heard it on the news.

Cove Mountain fire has burned about 60 acres

It's a seven hour drive, and we finally, finally, finally made it to Ocean City, driving the last half hour in the dark. On the plus side, they had beer waiting for everyone, including the kids.

Birch beer

Just in time to see the full moon rising on the ocean. We couldn't see much, but what a view!

Off to a wonderful start!

One of Trevor's "best days ever"

A particularly sweet and jubilant victory in first week of the season. We beat a former coach former teammates 1-0 in the last minute of the game.



Trevor signed up to be a line judge this season and received his first paycheck ever. Very exciting!

Spring in my yard

From the end of March:

". . . and then my heart with pleasure fills and dances with the daffodils."

Daylilies

Tulip magnolia

Stunning trees, but I can't capture them at all. I don't know if it's my camera, or if I'm being lazy, but I can't seem to get a good focus on my close ups. That branch is sure sharp and clear though.

(also fuzzy) bleeding hearts

Hmm. Some kind of fruit tree. Robert says apple, but this doesn't look like apple blossoms to me. Whatever it is, it's beautiful! Anyone?

Spring

Backtracking a few weeks. Everyone on the East Coast is used to seeing the redbuds each spring, but this gal from the West is always completely struck by their beauty. This was early on, just as they began to blossom.



Winter around here . . . eh. But spring. It rains warms again, these trees pop, and everything starts looking beautiful again.

Start of spring soccer

Oh, the best time of year is the start of each soccer season! We have several players new to our team this year, and even the first practice seemed quite promsing!



Trevor, unfortunately, missed out due to a cold, but he came out to support his teammates.



I sat around in my usual dreamy state, taking it all in and visiting with my friends . . . my social hour.

A few more pictures from Pennsylvania

We drove past my Aunt Ann Marie's house. This was the house my dad's family had lived in since he was a teen. After my grandparents' deaths, it became Ann Marie's house. She passed two years ago, and now someone else lives here. It's a little weird, a little sad; this is the house of all of my memories of my grandparents. But the new owner is young, enjoying it, and friendly with other family members, which makes me happy.

1529 Elliott Avenue

On our last night, we all met at my Uncle Joe's house. The men were all so sad until we brought out the camera and promised to take pictures of them.

Trevor, cousin Tom, Uncle Al, Uncle Joe

Lots of pictures.

Uncle Joe, Trevor, Holly, Kristine, Aunt Loretta, cousin Tommy

It was a nice trip. I am so glad to now live close enough to see this side of my family again. When my sister and I were little, my mom had aunts that we used to visit regularly. I look back now so fondly on that time and the feeling of family I had and have from that. I am grateful that I can give my kids the same opportunity.

Uncle Al, Uncle Joe and wife Kathy, Trevor, Holly, me, Sr. Loretta, Tom