We're back at 42

We're back from almost two weeks outside of the North Country. At least Liz and I have been gone that long. The boys met us for a week down in Hilton Head.

Our first stop was in Roanoke to see our dear friends the Story's and Brooks at their mountainside domain in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Absolutely gorgeous! We ate and talked and talked and continued talking the next morning until we had to continue on our journey to my sisters in Raleigh. Their basement is big enough to sleep the entire youth group from CFC, and Tom can take everyone hiking through the mountains just by stepping out their back door. I miss them here though.

We then headed out to Joan's and had a great time at P.F Changs and enjoyed her and Bobby's townhome and flowers which she had all planted already. We are so far behind in the changing of the seasons, they have already had spring and into summer now.

Then down to Hilton Head to stay with my Aunt Millie whose condominium is located right on the harbor. We had gorgeous sunsets and views of private sailboats and motorboats and the ferry, running back and forth to Dufuske Island. We unloaded the bikes and rode for miles on the wonderful bike trails that Hilton Head is famous for. My cousin and his wife came on the weekend which was a great surprise and a lot of fun. More talking, well into the wee hours of the morning. My men came Saturday from St. Kitts, NYC and Syracuse. We were all together. Yeah!!!! A mother's dream, especially when her children are grown and having responsible jobs!

Leigh came on Monday and we had a great time introducing her to the nuclear and extended family. Great aunts included. They go everywhere we do, although Peter would not let his mom go kayaking with us! Boo Hoo. She still wanted to go even though she's 85! It wasn't so long ago that both Aunt Millie and Aunt June were jet skiing around Higley. Go Aunts!!

The Skoglund clan came Tuesday, except for Lars. Studying and finals got in the way. And the vacation began in earnest. Lots of time by the pool. Us northern people have been starved of sun so we all indulged! Big time. There were a few with sunburns. No one seemed to care, except one who suffered more than the rest. We did crossword puzzles, created MANY Haiku's (thanks to Maja and Rob), played cribbage and speed scrabble. I think the speed scrabble was a little too intense for Leigh, but she was a good sport. Wonderful evenings out to restaurants with fantastic seafood. Walks on the beach, spa time, biking, TJ Maxx.

Most did the sunrise kayaking at 6:00am. We were treated to paddling with a multitude of dolphins right next to our kayaks and Elizabeth even saw a baby dopphin jump out of the water. And then at 6:23am there was an amazing sunrise right over the beach. Thank you Lord for the beauty of creation. Your handiwork is seen everywhere.

Rob and I biked on a national wildlife preserve right off the island and we saw an armadillo foraging along the path. He was so much fun to watch! On another bike ride we saw a huge turtle, giant blue heron and an alligator. We saw many pelicans and sea birds. I love the wildlife. We also visited life time friends, the Larsens and Kilgus's; over 40 years of continuous friendship and following the Lord together.

We arrived home to visit with a family from Texas who was here for a week visiting Laura. They had three little boys and I had so many memories of when my three sons were that age. One was even named Ethan. They enjoyed our little town, experienced small town friendliness and looked at real estate. We walked down to have pizza last night and ended with a visit to Morgan's Ice House to have our first ice cream cone of the season. And then they were off this morning, back to 90 degree weather in Waco.

And we are off to resume our ADL. I gardened for 10 hours straight yesterday. At 6:00pm they sent the troops out to pull me in. I must say my backyard garden is doing fairly well and it is so much fun to see plants popping out and shooting up. I got some wrought iron while in NC that I want to install in the garden. It's up to Rob to see how I can get it into a stable position. I'm bringing all our old windows down from the barn so Rob can visualize my concept of a greenhouse that I have my heart set on as part of the backyard garden. We'll see if that materializes.

Does anyone have any idea what Maja, Ethan and Jon are doing in the last picture? The three of them are so much fun!!!