Just Another Week

Hi Ya'll!

Lyndsey is away at overnight church camp this week. The house is quite. Olivia continues to work at the retirement home and being with friends. Brad is enjoying using his smoker. This week he smoked both a pork loin and a turkey; not too bad. I have started doing research for work and lunching with friends.

Olivia's senior year is officially beginning; we got her appointment for her senior pictures. It is hard to believe that she will soon be 17! Where does the time go?!

Back From Vacation

We're home from our family vacation in Virginia!
Jenn and Baby Jack picking raspberries

Playing on the New River with Uncle Ross, Lyndsey and Cousin George

Baby Jack and Daddy Chad

All the grandchildren!

Lyndsey and George standing in back

Olivia holding Baby Jack and Mary
My Mom with her cousins in Mt. Airy; Anne, Marie and Dot is sitting
Lyndsey, Olivia and Brad enjoying the fire
Olivia and Mary taking a go-cart ride
One of many pigs at Smoke on the Mountain

Nana and Pap with Baby Jack

Tubing the New River

We're Back! My entire family spent a week at our Virginia mountain home. My brother Chad and his wife Jen and new baby Jack drove from up up state New York. My sister Jami and her husband Ross and their two children, George who is 8 and Mary who is 5, and my parents all drove from Pennsylvania to the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Including my own family there were a total of 13 visiting. We had a wonderful week of fun; the guys played golf several days, the girls went to a berry farm to pick raspberries and blackberries, we tubed down the New River, hiked to a hidden cave, visited my Mom's relatives in Mt. Airy, had a campfire with smores, went to Smoke on the Mountain; Virginia's state bar-b-que competition, and we all ate way too much!

My siblings and I reminisced about childhood vacations and now our own children will one day reminisce about this family vacation. It is so nice to be all together, it has been a long time since we were all together.

Summer Time Fun

The girls and I took off for two days to Wrightsville Beach last week. We had a great time; too much sun, warm water, and henna tattoos for all. We plan to take off again for a quick get away soon.

This week Lyndsey is away in Gatlinburg, Tennessee on a youth mission trip. According to their blog it seems everyone is working hard on fixing up a house for a family. I can't wait to hear all about her experience when she returns on Saturday.

We plan to be in the mountains all next week with my entire family coming from Pennsylvania and New York. I finally get to see my brother Chad's baby boy Jack.

Here is Olivia and her friend Nick on Prom night. They had a great time joining friends in a limo to Franklin Street for dinner then on to the dance. All the couples looked beautiful and had fun.