for someone who's job it is to talk, though, it creates an interesting dynamic. i coughed and squeaked my way through two days of work, but was able to schedule my clients for later in the week and was told to stay home this afternoon. so i continued to knock myself out with cold meds, indulged in some egg drop soup (the most appealing food to me right now) and sipped some hot tea. it was much needed.
before this became a full blown cold/chest congestion, i was able to enjoy a wonderful weekend at the beach with my family. this trip had been planned for a few weeks, and we were excited that we had the opportunity to stay at the seahawk motel villa, the place where we stayed for several summers in a row while i was in middle school and high school. it was great to bring justin and rachel there to share in some of our "beach" memories from when we were kids.
we were able to head down on friday afternoon, after we finished our CARF (accreditation) process at work--which went fabulously, by the way--and had to get some seafood for the first night. the closest place that served a tasty shrimp burger was the big oak drive-in, and i loved the vintage style. we joked that we should call guy fieri from "diners, drive-ins and dives" to come check it out! (the shrimp burgers really were great--though they typically serve them "all the way" with ketchup, slaw and tartar sauce--which seemed like just a bit much for me)
i got a quick shot of the sunset that night...
the next day we spent the morning and afternoon on the beach. it was cooler than normal and overcast for most of the day, but it did make for perfect kite-flying weather. we struggled through setting up two cheap plastic kites that did not make it (one took a nose dive into the ocean, the other never made it off the ground) and then we tried out a nylon one that mom found in alan's room from way long ago. once we got it set up, it really took off and justin easily had it flying out on 500 ft of line. you can just barely see it in this picture.
if 500 ft doesn't sound like a lot, let me put it to you this way. when justin started to reel it in after letting it fly for a couple of hours or so, he timed himself. it took about 45 minutes to reel in the kite, with him twisting in the line the entire time. talk about a work out!we also had a great time playing frisbee on the beach...
alan is regularly playing disc golf now and enjoyed getting in some practice.
and yes, we did get in the water! well, some of us. despite many weather warnings about strong riptides and huge waves, we actually did not experience that. both days, we saw some decent size waves with very little undertow or riptides. maria, carmen and their friend rachel were catching some awesome waves... and, well, i just had to check it out myself. these were perfect boogie boarding waves--not too strong, breaking at just the right depth, and enough to carry you in all the way to the sand. we had a blast and only got cold when it was really overcast or we got out of the water.
by sunday at lunch, it was time to head home. we know we'll probably get one more trip in to the beach area, but this is the last one where we could get in the water. we got back home and tried to get ready for the week (while i started to feel the full effects of the cold taking over.)
we did find a great "dog sitter" for pepper this weekend--my friend dianne graciously offered to watch her, so pepper had a great time spending the weekend with them. dianne has two daughters that absolutely loved pepper, as well as a couple of dogs and cats that were willing to play with her (well, the dogs were. the cats felt about the same way mine do.) she did very well and we're really working on training this week. we practiced "sit" a few times tonight and she seemed to catch on quickly.
so in the evenings, pepper does calm down to the point where i can have her in the house and the cats don't seem to mind her quite as much. sunday was an excellent example. i was watching tv in our room and had her up on the bed with me. milo came up and made himself comfortable, and then grace joined us as well. before you knew it, we had a bed full of animals that were peaceably sharing the space. it's rare, but enjoyable. i keep hoping more moments like that will allow the cats to warm up to pepper, but milo continues to play "mr. tough guy" and hisses at her any time she's on her leash in the house and is walking around. he can only tolerate her when she's sleeping or sitting quietly. and this is a puppy!
i do ask that everyone pray for justin's grandfather who lives up in west virginia. he was admitted to the hospital yesterday after some blood work came back from a doctor's appointment with signs of myeloma, a type of cancer. they're still doing tests to see what stage it's at, but there's the possibility that it's quite treatable. his family is going through a lot right now with his grandmother as well, who has had alzheimer's for the past several years, and was primarily being cared for by his grandfather. so with one grandparent in the hospital and the other one now needing daily care and supervision, it's tough to handle. please keep them in your prayers through out this week and we'll update you as more information becomes available.
i would like to add that i have enjoyed expanding my "blogging" horizons and becoming a regular reader of some other inspiring blogs. it is such a blessing to be able to keep up with my friends and family members who blog, but i have also been getting into some other popular blogs that are written by some amazing Christian women. it is so refreshing to read about the lives of other women who have gone through (or are going through) some difficult times and can write about it with such grace and strength. i've also found that there are some awesome photography blogs out there, too, and i just keep adding new feeds to my "google reader." it makes for a nice morning treat when i can pull up my feeds and have several new posts to scroll through that are inspiring, humorous and heartfelt. any recommendations on good blogs out there?
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Wow!! A family beach trip…. you are lucky to have it.
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