Summer of Driving, continued

Yesterday, I drove out to Richmond to meet an old friend and boss for whom I worked back in 1989-1991. Mancy was out from Denver, dropping her daughter off at college in Williamsburg. We met somewhere in the middle. We knew it would be a looooong lunch, and when we got there at 2:00, Mancy warned the waitress that we'd be awhile. Four hours later, we left--not because we were done, but because I wanted to be home before dark!

We had a really, really nice time.  Words just don't express how good this was for me, keeping me a bit distracted this past week, bringing back so many nice memories, and just really enjoying visiting and catching up.  We're hoping to have a repeat in the next couple of months, along with our husbands, when Mancy and Will are out in Virginia again.

Annnnd one more from my birthday

Beautiful flowers from Judy.

And beautiful flowers from Lori.

So sweet and thoughtful of them!

This past week

This past week has been absolute insanity.  This is how it stacked up for me:

Saturday: That F-word birthday. As far as birthdays go, nice. As far as numbers go, I could have skipped it.

Sunday:  Handgun class. Stressful.

Monday:  Job interview at 4 p.m.  Praying for them to see me favorably IF it is God's will for me to get the job.

Tuesday: They saw me favorably--even though she literally had not finished all of her interview appointments.  I got the call at 8:45 a.m. and accept the job offer.  :)

Wednesday: Celebrate Trevor's birthday two days early, nice.  Resign from library.  Weird but good.

Thursday: Take Holly to GMU.  She's wonderful and amazing!

Friday: Trevor turned 15. (Can't he stay 14 forever?)  We closed on the sale of our Claybanks house--one week early. Although no one ever closes early anymore, but of course we did because just one more thing had to be pushed into this week.  But good!  We closed five weeks after we first listed it for sale, so you won't hear me complaining!  Such a blessed relief to get out from under that mortgage and to not have to worry about renters there anymore.

That's about enough to last me all year, possibly longer.

Miss McGowan Goes to Washington. Or at least close.

I woke up a bit teary yesterday morning but knew that if I cried, Holly would cry.  Foolishly, I even put on makeup, assuming I would look like a raccoon by the end of the day. But I held it together and was, well, fine.

My FB post in the morning read: 

"Be still and know that I am God."  Perfect verse this morning as we take Holly up for move in day. From the time we knew God was calling us to homeschool and everything He's brought us through, to showing His perfect hand for Holly to be at this school -- I might cry today, but I know with all my heart that THIS is HIS purpose for her, for now. Such an inexpressible comfort for which I am so grateful. ♥

We packed up the car.  "Packed" is perhaps not quite the right word.  There was a TON of stuff.  Robert worked and worked and worked at fitting each piece in like a puzzle until 1) he could close the trunk and 2) everyone could fit in the car.  I drove Robert crazy by asking him questions every three minutes, while Holly and Trevor wisely sat in the house and patiently waited.  ;)

At a rest stop along the way

The kids were surrounded in the back seat, Holly held things on her lap, and Robert even held things on his lap while I drove.

Holly's move in time was 12:30, but that was just the earliest time to be there.  She could come any time later.  We arrived at 1:30--which was perfect timing.  This is what it looked like at 12:30, the line for the elevators snaking down the sidewalk. With temps in the high 80s.

 

Photo from the Honors College FB page

Move in logistics went very well. About 1800 freshman moved on campus yesterday.  We easily found parking in the garage, and Holly and I went to check in while a volunteer helped Robert and Trevor unload the car.  This is what came out of the car, along with a box that Trevor carried.

 

Oh, Holly's building is SO nice!  The Honors College dorm is just four years old, with four students in a suite with one bathroom, and four suites sharing a common area, full kitchen, and study rooms.  

Her roommate had just recently arrived. We helped Holly make up her bed, and tucked other things away so she could unpack later.  We'd already planned to go off campus for lunch, and Allie came with us.  When we returned, Robert and Trevor hung out, and Holly and I grabbed an order from the bookstore, dropped a paper off at admissions, and found her classrooms.  We talked briefly about how much easier this had been than what we'd expected.  We met up with Robert and Trevor back at her dorm and said goodbye.  She got a bit teary, so we made it very quick.

It was all good.

Other than getting stuck in DC traffic (and then flying down the HOV lane!), we had an uneventful ride home. We texted back and forth with Holly a few times, who of course was doing very well and enjoying her group.  For me, at least, and I think for her, it was very good to plan out the next few times that we'll see each other.

LOL.

Yes, it's a new time around here

We moved to Colorado Springs just before Holly started second grade. She began attending The Classical Academy's program for homeschoolers and was required to bring a folder with clean paper. She went to the school for just over two years, and when she stopped, we continued to use that folder for our paper supply at home.

We have often referred to it as "the yellow pap-per folder." Her misspelling embarrassed her at first, but I think she's gotten over it, and for what it's worth, she's always been a good speller(!). It's seen better days. In fact, for a couple of years now, it's fallen apart to the point that I worry the metal will scratch our assorted table tops. But it's been a part of our school life for so very long, something hard to replace. Until now. New year, one kid at home. It's time to begin fresh. Like the rest of our lives this year, our papper folder won't quite be the same. But new doesn't mean it's bad, just different.

Trip to Pennsylvania, Part 2 of 2

Following the reception, we headed to Uncle Joe and Kathy's house. The weather was gorgeous, and we sat in the back yard for the rest of the afternoon, visiting.

Uncle Joe has had the Duck Dynasty starter beard going on since Willie Robertson was a little boy. ;)

He had harvested quite a selection of tomatoes from his garden--

 

and I managed to score a bunch to take home.

 

A good trip, definitely a bit short, but I'm glad the timing worked out and that we were able to go.

Surprise!!

Surprise!! Our smoke detector did not go off!

I suppose it should be checked, don't you think? Birthday cake from the wonderful Judy.

One more post-birthday post to come . . . 

Trip to Pennsylvania, Part 1 of 2

Our Summer of Driving continued earlier this month, as Holly and I traveled to Bethlehem to share in the celebration of my Aunt Loretta's 60th Jubilee (the anniversary of when she entered the convent).  With everything else going on, it was purposefully a short trip.

We got in late Saturday afternoon and stayed with Aunt Barb. The mass was held in the chapel at Monocacy, and the reception next door. There was such a large crowd that many were seated in the overflow room, viewing the service via Skype. (Keep in mind that this is basically a retirement home for nuns, who are more technically advanced than one might initially suspect!)

...

I haven't been to a Catholic mass in years, and this was Holly's first time.

My beautiful girl

There was a candlelighting ceremony, and the celebrants renewed their vows.

Things have changed for the nuns since I was a girl.  I well remember the full habit Sr. Dorothea (as she was known back then) used to wear.  As time went on, the dressing relaxed to wearing just a habit in public, to now wearing regular street clothes. Even for the ceremony, the sisters had freedom in what to wear (as shown in the head coverings--or not--in the photo above).

Sr. Loretta

The reception hall was beautifully decorated, and the food was quite amazing. There was a salad bar (that Holly and I never managed to visit), and three long tables set up with delicious food.  There was also an entire dessert table with kiffles (not as good as our family's!!), different cookies, and at least two different cakes.

(Notice I managed to find one with a lot of frosting.  I know some don't care for it, so I made a mighty sacrifice.)

The was a running Power Point presentation spanning the years of the celebrants' lives.  .  (Remember, I said these nuns were tech-savvy.)  I stood by and took pictures of each of Sr. Loretta's.

About 180 people shared in the celebration.  Since my sister had been there ten years ago, I knew to look for Willie, my grandma's mailman from (at least) the 1970s.  Willie's sister entered the convent with Sr. Loretta 60 years ago; the friendship goes back a long time.  Lori and I well remember Willie coming to deliver the mail, being invited to sit down and have lemonade, visiting as we all gently rocked in the porch swing.

We were rather lax about organizing photos, although we managed to get in a few.

Holly, Uncle Joe, Aunt Loretta, Aunt Barb, me

It was a lovely and special celebration, and I'm so thankful that we were able to share in it with this side of my family.

Birthday

When I came home from work on Friday, these were waiting for me.

Judy had brought these lovely flowers. There was also a big helium balloon, which you can see underneath the glass table top. It was floating when she brought it but was taken out by our ceiling fan.

Ugh, there's that "F" word

And she brought me a giant birthday cake too, which we saved for Saturday! More birthday to come . . .

Kitchen!

I liked the tile backsplash that Robert put in our kitchen in Callaway so much that I begged him to do it in this house.  We shopped for and bought it last summer.  It wasn't easy.  Our countertop has a lot of gray and sage green in it, but the green wasn't something we wanted to highlight.  This tile is mostly browns, with a few greenish brown clear glass tiles, and some silver/stainless tiles mixed in too, to mach the appliances.

He put in undercabinet lighting and added in three more outlets along the two walls. He separated the canned lighting from the light over the sink, and then put dimmer switches on both of those and the undercabinet lights. The backsplash worked out well, since the walls were all cut up from the electrical work.  (lol)

It's gorgeous.  Every time I come down the hall and see it, I just love it all over again.

Oops! And update.

Soccer begins next week, and Robert sent out his annual "Welcome to the team!" email tonight.  Conversation at my house between me, Holly and Trevor:

Kristine: I didn't get Dad's email about the team. Did you guys get the email?

Trevor: Yep.

Kristine:  Holly, did you get the email?

Holly:I don't check email.  But no!

Kristine: You didn't???

Holly: I'm not on that team anymore. Remember???

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Oh, yeah. That's right.

Holly leaves in nine days.  We're about finished with buying what she'll be taking up next week to move in to her dorm. We'll have to start opening boxes, washing linens, and unwrapping smaller thigs to make the move as simple as possible.

So far, so good.  I haven't been overly emotional, although I've cried the last two days when talking privately to Robert.  I cried over how amazing all of this has been, our homeschool journey, how God has brought our kid to where she is now.  And I cried when remembering a conversation he and I had  12 years ago, when I told him that THOSE days of little kids would be the best days of our lives, that we needed to know that we were living them then.  I am so thankful for being at least semi-aware of that over the years.

Oops.  Weepy again; time to turn that off.

And we have a comedian

Holly:  I burned my hand really bad last night.

Me: How?

Holly:  On my hair. I was straightening my hair.

Trevor: Oh, you think your hair is that hot?

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My proud mama moment

As we neared the Franklin County line on our way back from the beach, Trevor spotted this gem.  He really wanted us to go through the drive through to buy two ice cream cones, pay with a penny and then demand change.

Great catch on the signage error, truly a boy after his mama's own heart.

As he was trying to take a photo and make sure he caught the sign at the right time, Robert inadvertently photobombed the shot. 

I didn't know about it until I uploaded my pictures.  Pretty amusing!

Last day at the beach

I decided to sleep in just a bit and missed the sunrise.

Everyone dragged out a bed a bit earlier than they wished--we had plans to hit the famous Britt's Donuts just next door on the small town Boardwalk.  It lived up to the hype. Although they only served glazed donuts, they were the best I've ever eaten.  We bought a bag full of a dozen and headed for the beach.

Holly and I went for a quick walk.  The day was already smokin' hot; it was definitely going to be warmer than the day before.

We saw more pelicans. They are so amazing!  Watching them dive straight down into the water to catch fish--I've seen it on tv a dozen or more times, but nothing compares to watching them in real life.

Oh! Seeing this photo reminds me:  As Holly and I were walking on the beach the day before, the tide was coming in.  We were walking along the edge of the waves. One came up much higher than I'd anticipated and literally knocked me right off of my feet.  I shouted, "Shit!" as I went down.  The biggest surprise is that I didn't hurt myself, and I don't even know how I managed to fall.  Both Holly and I found the whole thing absolutely hilarious.  I came up laughing, and a sweet woman watching close by made sure I was okay before she laughed at me too.  The worst part was knowing the other people had seen me, a tad embarrassing!

We checked out at the last minute and headed for home.  There is no easy way to get home quickly. We drove some interstate (I-40), some two lane back highways, and finally on a four lane state highway nearing Rocky Mount and back in familiar territory.

(Robert and) I'd been squirreling money away for this trip for quite a while. Barb and Dave gave us hotel points, which gave us a lot of freedom in where to go.  It was a sweet trip, knowing that Holly will be going off to school in three short weeks.

Beach trip!

I woke up Tuesday morning at sunrise and sat on the balcony.

I'd grabbed a blanket, but it was already in the mid 70s.  Everyone else slept through this, my favorite part of the day.

I could sit here and take pictures forever, never tiring of the view.

The weather literally changed before my eyes.

Robert came out in time to watch another squall blow through. 

After the rain passed, we woke the kids, and Robert and I went for a walk on the beach.  We rented a couple of beach chairs and an umbrella on the beach--which turned out to be a lifesaver, as the day was really hot, mostly overcast, and a bit muggy.

Holly, Trevor and I went for another walk.  (There's our hotel.)   

Most of my kid pictures look like this:

I grew up on west coast beaches.  I've been to east coast beaches several times now, and east coast beaches win.  The west coast beaches are prettier.  But the east coast has dolphins swimming in the surf.  Pelicans flying overhead, dive bombing into the water. (Really, though, can any beach be bad?!)  I loved seeing that most others on the beach were as fascinated by the dolphins and pelicans as we were, with everyone stopping what they were doing, pointing, and showing their young children.

We hung out on the beach for the afternoon.  Holly and I took another long walk, where we watched a kid pull in a sea turtle on his fishing line.  There were several fishing from the beach, and a crowd had gathered to watch when they realized he'd caught something larger than planned.  I don't know what they were fishing for, but someone came along to help the kid, cutting the turtle free from the line. 

At night, we drove into Wilmington and ate a Brazilian restaurant.  Robert and I had remembered this kind of cooking from a restaurant in Littleton years ago.  Holly and Trevor enjoyed the salad bar and the various kinds of meats that came past our table, hand carved for each person.  A memorable dinner.

We drove to the Kure ("Kure-ee") Beach Pier.  A friend had seen sharks at twilight swimming around the pier, and we were hoping for a glimpse, although we arrived far to late to see anything. 

Hey, more kid photos!

We walked to the end of the pier, past all of the fisherman.  It was definitely a place for the locals.

We headed back to our hotel, and then went out for ice cream just down the street.  Another hot night, waiting in a line that backed out to the sidewalk.  A fun, full day, packed with everything I think we wanted to do and see.

Beach getaway!

Our Summer of Driving continued with our quick trip to Carolina Beach.  I'd researched quite a bit online, and we were grateful for Barb and Dave's gift of hotel points. We stayed at a Courtyard right on the beach--9th floor with an outdoor balcony overlooking the ocean.

We ate dinner at a local restaurant, Hang Ten Grill, on their covered patio.  It was spectacularly warm and damp out, and it rained a bit while we ate.

Nice first day, with the small exception being I realized that I had left all of my shirts at home.  YIKES!  Thankfully, the trip was short, I had a dress, and I had the shirt I was wearing.  If I was going to forget clothes for a trip, this was the time to do it!  For the rest of the night, we enjoyed relaxing in the hotel room during the rain, just hanging out and watching tv.

A rainy day on the beach beats a great day at home every time!