Lake living

We just got back from a long weekend on the lake with our friends from back home. We rented a cabin where babies and Ike had plenty of running room. We don't get to see each other enough so it was great to have some quality time to relax and catch up.

The decks were awesome. We spent lots of time sunning outside and in the kiddie pool. A few of us got in the lake, though it was murky and you smelled like poop when you emerged. One of Drew's Crocs was also lost in the abyss that is Claytor Lake. R.I.P. camo Croc, you had a good run. Apparently it's my fault for taking too long to get in the water while he was sinking into mud. I just wanted to make sure we were clear on the plan before I jumped into the nasty water. The quote of the trip was "No, I want you to catch me like baboon baby." I panic around water. That's never been a secret.

These were the souls brave enough to get in the water the second day. After all of Drew's bitching I wasn't about to have him lose a second shoe on my account so I stuck to the kiddie pool this day. 

Friday night we ventured to Floyd for a yummy dinner and ice cream. It was so nice to introduce our friends to our soon to be home. 

These two babies were the best things. And I know a puppy who is going to miss them feeding him constantly. They are the two sweetest kids and were so good all weekend. Jackson learned Ike's name so quickly and it cracks me up how much he loves dogs despite his mama's hatred of them. At one point he took his shoe off and started licking his foot and when his mom asked what he was doing he said "Ike does it." Oh my goodness he was a hoot. Also, watching Gracie kick her feet and and get the biggest grin on her face as Drew fed her ice cream was hilarious. 

Our bedroom was in what Molly called a "hobbit hole." It was so cute and she snapped this picture of us last night, creepily, but I'm glad she did. 

The fishing wasn't too great. I either almost caught a sea turtle or got stuck on something but I'm telling myself it was a huge catfish that I was too weak to reel in.

Last night we had a fire and roasted s'mores and watched neighboring fireworks. 

We had lots of visitors as well: 1 snake, 1 bear, 1 million mayflies, 1 deer, 1,000 ants, and 1 dead animal we would catch a whiff of occasionally from the deck. I think this will become our annual trip. 

Graduation

So, I did it!!! I graduated with a Master's of Science in Education with a focus on Curriculum and Instruction. Sound like a mouthful? What if I told you I was overall outstanding graduate student in my graduate program? Yeah, they don't give awards for humbleness in grad school and if they did, I'd get zero. But I'm proud of myself I worked my ass off and made straight A's in all of my graduate classes. But the thing of it is, I probably wouldn't have done it if I hadn't been surrounded by such amazing people, some of whom are pictured below. This is the Social Studies cohort aka my current job competition :) I'm just kidding. They are lovely and they challenge me to be a better teacher.

Friday at the hooding ceremony I warned my friend Matt that I was about to scream loudly for Audrey whose name was about to be called . He asked me who she was and I responded "she's my soul-sister." I don't know how else to describe her but she is one of the best people I have ever been lucky enough to call a friend and one of a handful of people whom I call soulmates because God intended our souls to meet. She will make an amazing counselor one day, after she returns from being Jesus' hands and feet in Kenya for the next few years. She is an amazing gal, I tell ya.

 

 

And these two lovely ladies are "the Marys." We were the three girls in our cohort grad program so I, too, have answered to Mary for the last year or so just to make it easier for everyone. These are two of the smartest most driven women I have met and they have become 2 of my closest friends. They are cheering me on through Harry Potter and I can already tell you our summer book club is going to be epic!

My brother and sister were, likely, bored out of their minds through the graduate awards ceremony and then the hooding ceremony. They were also quite disappointed that the hooding ceremony didn't actually mean that I wore my hood on my head so they fixed that for me.

 

 

I've already bragged on the bearded man on facebook but I'll do it again here, what the hell. His birthday is tomorrow after all so I'll throw him a bone. :) Drew organized the best eva' grad weekend on the river and invited all of my family and friends there to celebrate. He has cheered louder and harder than anyone for me these last two years. The thing about me being done is, as our history suggests we take turns going back to school so the ball is in your court, dear.

 

Deno and Big Mommy as they are affectionately called by Ike. They got all sappy on me this weekend. The thing about being 3 hours away is they had no clue what I'd been doing all this time. (I think mostly they thought I'd just been backsliding). But I was so glad that they got a glimpse into all of the hard work I've put in over the last 2 years. They are my best ole' goody thangs and always will be.

These two gals came to my grad party on Saturday and dragged their loved ones along with them. When I say I've never had a choice in whether or not to be friends with them, I mean it. I was born with these 2 friends and they have never left my side. I am lucky to still have them be such a big part of my life 25 years later. (I have other lifelong friends too but they're busy doing thing like grad school at Columbia and chasing adorable little blue-eyed toddlers around).

 

This was the lovely view from our porch.

And this is Deno getting frustrated teaching me to fly fish...in the yard....with no fly. I so desperately wanted to be a natural at fly-fishing but that was not the case. I've been talking for months about learning to fly fish after graduation but I think it's safe to say I won't be winning any awards for my fly-fishing abilities.

 

These 2 were little angels all weekend but after the party we were all pooped.

 

I was so grateful to all of my family and friends who travelled to celebrate with me unfortunately the rain kept us from getting as many pictures as I would have liked with everyone but tt was an awesome weekend and I couldn't have asked for better! Now onto much more time spent doing this..... Cute, huh?

Memorial Weekend Festivities

So this weekend my family came up to camp with us on the river at New River Junction.

It is a lovely little place where we tube and fish in the summer. Some of us fished (I'm not included in that us) but it was a bit frigid to tube. P.S. I'm not sure who that particular person fishing is but some of our crowd did too).

Hey there are some fishermen I recognize! My dad and his brother Tim.

It was 30-40 degrees the first couple of nights, but we survived to see Sunday which was, overall, a lovely day.

 

Usually in the evenings, though, we looked like this:

 

 

 

 

We played cornhole which I have no pictures of because Rachel and I were too busy kicking ass. But we ate really good. When we camp with this bunch Drew and I eat better than we do at home.

Yes, that is deer meat. And yes it tasted even more amazing than it looks. My mouth is watering just remembering it.

Sunbathed...in our sweats.

I read this book. It is awesome. Go read it. Preferably while in the woods.

And stayed close to this at all times.

I think this is the only sighting I had of my husband all weekend. He was too busy fighting off hypothermia from being in the river to make many appearances.

The dogs had a blast and I suspect they will be resting all week to recover.

Salty thought the cornhole board looked like a good place to sun-bathe.

Sleepy boy.

 

 

Oh, also there are train tracks along both sides of the river so at night we felt as though we got a free train ride but they were just passing by, fast and loud. (which is sorta like fast and furious but honestly watching a train pass by is more entertaining).

We got home early this morning and I was a little sad washing the smoky smell out of my hair. I love being on the river and outside. Even when it's a bit chilly. I'm looking forward to many similar weekends camping since Drew and I inherited a tent from my parents this weekend (they upgraded to a pop-up last year). So any interested outdoorspeople bring your tent, fishing pole and a good book and let's set up camp!