A Glorious Week at Smith Mtn Lake!

Well, we just returned from a wonderful, relaxing week at Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia with Geoff's side of the family. This was the first time our family had been there...and with it being only 3 1/2 hours away, we hope to return again soon.

How nice it was having a full week to spend together, catching up on each other's busy lives. Geoff's parents, Jim and Janis, treated us all to a wonderful week. Geoff's sister, Jen and her husband, Mike, were there along with their 3 boys (Sam, Levi , and Nate). And, Geoff's youngest sister, Julie, and her husband, Dan were able to stop in for a couple of visits with their chocolate lab, Finn. We ate way too much (great food, though!), stayed up way too late (struggling to watch Rhett & Link clips on our SLOW internet connection), watched movies (Bucket List and Bella...both good), and read books. I had brought a few tubs of toys to keep the kids entertained, but we hardly had to break into those at all. It was fun to watch the creative things the kids would come up with on their own. Pawpaw and Nana had even brought a vanload of several appliance-size boxes for the kids to make a town/tunnel system out of in the basement...which sadly had to be taken down on the last night.

Walking down from the home where we stayed was a dock and small sandy beach. It was the perfect setting for us and the kids. Everyday we took advantage of being just a few steps from the water and sand. Micah and Sam loved jumping from the dock into the lake, while Emma cheered them on from the water. Even Geoff and Mike got into the action jumping off the top floor of the 2-story dock into the lake!

Here's a view from the 2nd floor of the dock. We had some overcast/rainy weather during the week. But, that just forced us to be inside and relax with a good book. I was able to start and finish the 500 pager "A Voice in the Wind" by Francine Rivers...A very good vacation read! I'll just need to go 2 more vacations to read the next books in the triolgy.

Having fun with Finnegan our "nephew" dog. If you look closely, you can see Micah jumping off of the rock "cliff."

Micah climbing up the ladder for another jump off the dock.

Having a splashin' good time in the water.

Micah, making sure his eyes are well protected from flying sand on the beach.

Emma posing by her castle complete with moat.

Micah, Emma, and cousin Sam with the first catch of the day.

Micah the fisherman.

Emma was not one bit hesitant about playing with the fat, juicy night crawlers. No surprise, huh?

Ok, this picture may need a bit of explanation.
One evening, all was very quiet. We hadn't heard from Sam or Emma in quite awhile. Micah went down to the basement to play, and then came up to report that the younger duo had been having a bit of fun with markers...on themselves! Emma got all "glammed up" with the pink marker, even using it for eye shadow. Her shirt also covers the marker that she had on her tummy and back! The children were reprimanded and had privileges withdrawn that night. (Although, despite our seriousness with the kids, us adults had several chuckles about it later.) Before giving her a bath, I couldn't resist taking a mug shot of my little criminal. Jen and I were very thankful that permanent markers hadn't been laying around for the kids to get ahold of!

We couldn't resist getting a picture of the kids with this moose character the night we went out to eat.

So...Maybe it's not Disney World, but the kids had fun on the main attraction at the arcade. Micah begged me not to send this picture to any of his friends...it would be so embarassing!

Sam celebrated his 5th birthday while we were on vacation together! Here the cousins are, hamming it up before whacking the pinata!

Sam, the BIG 5-year old about to blow out his candles on his delicious ice cream birthday cake!

Emma getting ready to set sail.

Geoff and Micah swimming back to the boat after a ride on the tube.

Emma loved being pulled by the boat. She had a big smile on her face the entire time she would ride, and she would yell, "Faster! Make it go faster!"

Micah having a blast being pulled!
I think all of the older cousins had 5 rides each that day...And they would've been happy to keep going except that we were all starting to show the effects of all-day sun exposure!

Although he admittingly fell off the tube more than everyone else combined, Geoff had fun doing it!

As is the custom when we all get together, we gathered the kiddos for a grandkids photo shoot. We had 3 cameras going at once and I'm not sure if we got any "keepers." Although we did get many hilarious shots between Micah and Emma wrestling on one side and Levi escaping on the other! This was the best one from our camera's batch!

THANK YOU Mom & Dad, Mike, Jen, Sam, Levi, Nate, Julie, Dan, and Finn! We had a great time and are already looking forward to hopefully a Thanksgiving gathering. You are such a blessing to us!

Celebrating the 4th!

I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post. Sorry about that, faithful readers! The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. We just returned today from a weeklong vacation to Smith Mountain Lake...But more about that in my next post.

First, I had a few cute shots I wanted to post of our 4th of July Celebration. Since moving to Fuquay 4 years ago, our family's tradition has been to attend our town's fireworks which are always shot off on the 3rd. There are lots of inflatables and games to entertain the kids until it becomes dark enough for the fireworks to start. Sadly, just Geoff and the kids were able to go this year due to my mysterious ankle injury.

(A somewhat brief explanation: A few weeks ago, while on our beach vacation, my ankle started to hurt prior to and during a 6K run. It hasn't gotten better, in fact had been getting worse with swelling etc. After having x-rays and visiting a podiatrist, the only explanation I have been given is that it might be a bruised bone. On July 3rd I had just visited the podiatrist who had given me an aircast to wear to help take the pressure off of my ankle when I walked...Needless to say, I didn't want to wear the cast and have to walk the mile away that we usually have to park when we go to the fireworks. So, I stayed home...I know, what a party pooper!)

Anyway, back to the fireworks...Here's the cute family!

On the actual 4th, we were invited to our friends' Ward and Cam's for their annual celebration. They live about 1/2 mile from us on a very plantation-like property with buildings over 200 years old. We enjoyed some great southern hospitality, fellowship, and music on the lawn while waiting for their own awesome fireworks show to start.

Geoff and Emma did not feel like smiling for this picture. Why, you ask? Well, before supper, Emma and a bunch of kids were playing in a big Magnolia tree when a nest of yellow jackets decided to attack. Emma got stung at least 5 times and Geoff, trying to rescue Emma ended up getting stung a few times himself. After treating herself to a few sweets from the dessert table, Emma felt much better.

A Priceless Reunion

As mentioned in an earlier post, I recently began a Facebook account. Through this, something truly wonderful happened a few weeks ago…I was able to find Lara, my best friend from elementary school in Cape Town. The day we connected, she told me that she was planning to travel to the Washington, DC at the end of June…This past weekend, to be exact. I was estatic. I sure didn’t have to mull over the decision very long. A mere 5 hour drive to see my long lost friend? What was there to think about? I was on my way!

A few days before I planned to leave, I was talking about the trip with my friend, Pam. She was like, “A girls' getaway weekend trip to DC…I’m there!” So, the two of us set off (kid-free!) on Friday evening. On Saturday morning, we stopped for some shopping at a HUGE mall just south of DC and then drove another hour up to Bethesda to see Lara!

Even now, nearly a week after our reunion, there are simply no words to describe what it was like to see Lara again…after 18 years. In a nutshell, it was simply an amazing blessing! But, it was so much more…Despite the many years that had elapsed since we had talked and the many life-changing events that had taken place in each of our lives, it was like we could just “pick up where we left off” and talk…laugh…and cry together…remembering so many special memories from our childhood.

Lara had been my lifeline when we first arrived in South Africa…way back in 1981. She was asked by our teacher to be my “buddy” and help me get around my first day of school at Pinehurst Primary. Well, our friendship started there, and soon we were inseparable. We remember having countless sleepovers (complete with reading Archie comic books and having “midnight feasts” until the wee hours), playing field hockey together, building tents and “ghost trains” (like haunted houses) that we forced our parents and siblings to go through, eating the delicious sausage rolls her Gran would bring after school, riding our bikes, going on “holiday” together, and just finding any opportunity to giggle and be mischievous together. She was the sister I never had…but one that I tearfully had to leave behind when our family moved up to Johannesburg after my 6th grade year. We kept in close contact through letters and visits until I graduated from high school in Jo’Burg and moved back to the States to begin college.

Here we are around age 9 with my parents at the “Scratch Patch,” a place where we dug through gravel to find semi-precious stones.

Here is a picture of Lara and I the last time we saw each other in December 1990.

And, here we are today.

Lara is married to her sweetheart, Casey, and has an 8 year-old daughter, Emily. They live in a beautiful cottage on over 2 acres in the English countryside. How I would love to visit her there someday!

Growing up as a missionary kid, our family moved many times. Until connecting with Lara, I hadn’t been able to keep contact with a friend who knew me from such a young age. I feel like a little piece of growing up years has been put back in place. Lara, what a blessing to have you back in my life again!