October 22, 2011 - admin

Fall at the Farm

My friend Tiffany and sister Melissa both brought their boys to ‘Papa and Honey’s farm’ to run off some energy and play with the animals. I used the opportunity to practice my photography skills on my nephews (even some in full manual mode!) and wrangled Baxter into a photo shoot for something coming up next week… here’s a bit of a sneak peek:

I was sad that the sun went behind the trees so quickly.

Hunter was ready for fall in his adorable skeleton shirt.

Papa’s bees. I can’t wait for that honey!

Bubbles will capture any child’s attention, no matter how young or old.

‘Papa moo’ is N. speak for “I wanna see Papa’s goats”

Checking for chicken eggs.

Feeding acorns to the goats. Hunter didn’t want to let go of his ‘treasures’.

Just two boys playing with leaves, and acorns and sticks.

What an eventful day, and I bet every one of my nephews (and adopted nephew, Hunter) is sleeping soundly from their busy day.

FALL is for FAMILY and FRIENDS!

September 21, 2011 - Oh Happy Daze

Adjustments and then Evacuating!

I’m sure it’s obvious to you by now that I am about three weeks behind in my blogging.

I don’t know if I’ll ever catch up at this point but who’s counting, right?!

The week after coming back from Mexico was a tough one for all of us.

I called it ‘re-entry’.which is a term my mom ‘coined’ when I was little.

After spending the night at a friends house she tells me I would always go through a period of ‘re-entry’ which typically involved some sort of disobedience and trying to get away with things that had been okay to do in my friend’s home because their parent’s rules were different. After being away from the ‘norm’ I had picked up different habits and it was a adjustment to try and get back to what my parents expected from me.

When we came back from Mexico the same was true, only in reverse. I had picked up habits in Mexico that I wanted to keep! And I didn’t want to go back to my old ways, the old ‘rules’ of living my life. God had changed me so I wanted to avoid going back to the things that were expected of me from others. It was very difficult to head back to work and interact with people because, while my heart and mind had been changed for the better, those I left behind had stayed the same. It was difficult to relate to others because my mind was filled with my recent experience and that was really all that mattered to me.

Then after a long work week and struggles with ‘re-entry’ … Chris dropped a bomb on me. There was a hurricane headed towards the east coast. More specifically – us. He had made the decision as the head of our house that we were going to head out of town to avoid the loss of power and flooding that was imminent. Now, I’m alright with road trips but, being the home-body that I am, I prefer as much warning as possible.

Fleeing our home at the last minute added to my stress and made for an eventful weekend. We went to Roanoke, which is my old college stomping ground. It actually turned out to be a really fun trip – I was just on edge because of the circumstances.

I had to take the wheel for part of the trip because I get pretty car-sick when I don’t drive. Chris thinks that it’s just a mind game to gain control of the wheel. (I wonder if that same tactic will work for the remote?). With me behind the wheel that left him to man the camera.

We walked around downtown Roanoke which offers really great people watching year round. We also ate at the Roanoke Weiner Stand. Nuff said.

Chris had fun at the old train station.

There were a lot of pretty cool architectural details to be photographed. Unfortunately, my mood wasn’t up for the challenge. There’s always next time.

We visited my alma mater. They were gearing up for move-ins the next day.

It was so exciting to be back. I felt like a freshman again!

We brought Baxter along with us, of course, and took him to a local dog park to run some energy out. He made fast friends, as usual, and had so much fun.

Back at the hotel Baxter got to hone his hunting skills with the rubber duck that was in our bathroom. He was definitely afraid of it at first, then nuzzled it like a friend, then gnawed it’s poor little beak off!

One evening we ventured down Main street in Salem (which is actually where Roanoke College is located – off Main Street in Salem, VA and not actually Roanoke, VA).

We headed to my most favorite coffee shop ever – Mill Mountain Coffee.

I found the location where the shop HAD been and GASP! In its place was a tattoo and piercing parlor!! WHAT?! My old study spot?! The hangout?! How could it have gone out of business?

Chris tried to console me and informed me that ‘things change’.

My retort was “not in Salem they don’t”. And with that, I slumped to the ground on the stairs of a nearby church to mourn the ‘change’ that had just occurred in my life (or so I ‘ve been told. I wouldn’t have believed It had there not been photographic proof of my mini temper tantrum).

This is me, thinking about how my world was crumbling down around me.

And this is me, wondering how everyone else can walk by so calmly on the street as if NOTHING IS WRONG?! only everything was wrong because my home away from home had vanished!

Then Chris decided to try and salvage the night by calling Mill Mountain’s number from their website. “Yes, where are you located? I’m having trouble finding you. Oh, across from the library?”

We pan our gaze to the right one block.

There’s the library. and across the street? Mill Mountain!! Hazzah!

It was a miracle!

I felt so grateful for Chris who, in times of disaster and meltdowns, always has a level head and somehow solves even the most impossible dilemmas like disappearing buildings!

He did comment on the way back to our home that “Next time we’ll stay home for the hurricane”. Oops! Hope it wasn’t because of me.

June 14, 2011 - Oh Happy Daze

Baxter learns to swim

Memorial day weekend we went to a good friend’s house to hang out and swim in their pool. They have a little Maltese, Buster, who is basically Baxter’s best friend (aside from Chris – he is always at Chris’ heels). Anyway, we get Buster and Baxter together for a little play-date whenever we can.

Baxter is an instigator and rarely gives Buster a break while we are over there. During one of their ten-thousand laps around the pool Buster seemed to zig right while Baxter, who was doing the chasing, zigged left…straight into the pool. He tried his hardest to come to a halt before he went over the edge, but it was futile and he plunged in head first. I screamed and ran over, almost jumping in to save him (with my camera around my neck).

Then I remembered he’s a dog. and that he can swim. crisis averted.

As it turns out, he’s a pro swimmer.

Sort of looks like an otter when he’s wet though.

My little otterdog.

Chris thought he might like a frolic in the little boat as well.

He endured the boat ride for .3 seconds, then did an otterdog dive back into the water.

Good dog.

May 3, 2011 - Oh Happy Daze

just an update…

things have been pretty low-key around here lately.

I’ve been heading over to my parent’s house on Fridays (my day off) to help my mom do some things around the house. Last Friday was GORGEOUS and perfect for walking my mom’s gardens.