Count those blessings

On the way home from grocery shopping this morning, I caught myself feeling a little down.

Joel's family couldn't come visit at the last minute and now we are in a holiday weekend, the last weekend before school and cross-country start up with gusto, but we don't have plans. And we don't have family around. And we don't want to travel because we wore ourselves out this summer (plus my bladder doesn't handle long trips very well now...)

So, Joel's mowing the lawn and the sun is shining and it's time to pull myself out of the self-induced funk. Blessings abound!

1. Our babe is healthy and has a strong heartbeat, wiggly arms, and long legs!!
2. Last night we went on a dinner date to my favorite local hole-in-the-wall Mexican place.
3. It's still summer but not unbearably hot.
4. We both have full time jobs, with health insurance. A huge blessing!
5. We own our house and can decorate it the way we choose.
6. The farmers market is already selling delicious apples, perfect for homemade apple crisp.
7. Outside is green and colorful and fresh.
8. The zinnias finally finally finally (!!) showed up. This is the third summer we have planted them and the first time they actually grew well!

Getting ready for Granada

Well, our bags are packed, mostly. We have copies of our passports, drivers licenses, and credit cards. We have snacks for the plane rides and for long days with late dinners. Our collection of socks and underwear should be enough to last 11 days without laundry (!!). The bank got us some euros so we don't have to exchange money at the airport.

It feels so surreal. When we first started talking about going to Spain, I don't think I imagined we would actually get to go. Once we realized we would get to go, it seemed so far off... We had to finish school, interview for a job, paint our basement, go to Charleston, and do all sorts of summer stuff at home. But now, the time has come.

And we are ready.
Scared, sure. Overwhelmed, of course. Uncertain about so many details we have yet to discover.

But we are beyond grateful for the privilege.

We are ready to explore, play hard, ask good questions, stumble through our Spanish, be stretched, walk a lot, pray a lot, eat new foods, and make relationships for the long term.

Charleston trip: Part 3 (Sunday, Monday, and our house!)

On Sunday evening we finally got to walk through quintessential Charleston: water (!!!), pastel hued houses, sailboats, fountains, and old, old, beautiful homes. Since our house was on the northern edge of the city, quite a hike from the historic area, we drove to the historic area and parked along the water. The weather was wonderful and the breeze was much cooler than we expected.

Some highlights of this evening include watching little kids giggle through the fountains, staring at the sky and clouds as the sun started to set, eating gelato on a bench near the water, and taking what could totally be a band cover photo...

 

Our last day in Charleston, Monday, was a rainy, buggy day. We went to Magnolia plantation which is a 30 minute drive from downtown Charleston. It was gorgeous and I highly recommend visiting if you ever go to Charleston (which you should!). Our spirits were dampened a little due to at least two hours of rain and the resulting mosquito stampede we experienced afterward.

 However, the petting zoo was really fun. Plus, Lauren met us there!!!! The gardens were amazing and we got to see a couple small alligators. If it hadn't been so nasty outside, we might have done the swamp tour, which is where you can see a lot more alligators. Sounds really fun, but not when it's hot, wet, and buggy.

One of the absolute highlights of our stay in Charleston was the house we rented. Since there were four of us traveling together, we figured it'd be cheaper to stay in a place with two bedrooms and a kitchen where we could make some of our own meals.

Melissa found this property on vrbo.com. It was about $500 per couple for 4 nights and 4 days, which is much less expensive than staying in a local hotel. Plus, we bought breakfast ingredients at the store for the mornings and we used the grill to cook dinner at home one night.

The house was seriously awesome! Clean, fresh, modern, and within walking distance of tons of restaurants, shops, and sights. We had off-street parking, wireless internet, a grill, cable TV, and super helpful owners who accommodated our requests and gave us the insider's scoop on the city.

I would HIGHLY recommend using VRBO for your future vacations and of course would recommend staying in the specific house we rented in Charleston.

Recipe for a successful July 4th

Lay around in your air conditioned house for most of the morning, after showering and cleaning the bathroom, of course.

Ask your husband if you can eat lunch at Chick-Fil-A. Make sure his car is parked in the back so he will drive and you can just sit lazily in the passenger seat.

Pack a couple snacks for the neighborhood parade. This is important. The parade, after all, does come right past your backyard and you don't want to get hungry on the long walk there/back.

Sit in the shade to watch the parade. You won't have as good of a view, but really, it's much cooler there. Totally worth it. Get up from your chair to high five some kids from youth group and friends from church. Then go back to that shady chair.

Don't take a single picture. Even if your outfit is super patriotic and includes red converse sneakers.

Casually mention to a couple friends that your grill will be on if they want to bring their own food over for dinner. Take out a couple burgers from the freezer. Cook up some green beans. Pour potato chips in a bowl. Eat some food other people brought to share.

Load the dishwasher. Which takes about 4 minutes.

Walk to the fireworks up the street. Take some snacks to share with friends for the long wait beforehand. Enjoy enjoy enjoy.

Charleston trip: Part 2 (Friday & Saturday)

Since we drove from Virginia to Charleston, we arrived in the late afternoon on Friday. Just in time to get settled into our cute house (more on this later!) and find some dinner.

Throughout our vacation planning, Melissa and I established a list of yummy looking restaurants we wanted to try. Hominy Grill was high on our list so we went there for our first dinner. The above photo is of their she-crab soup, a Charleston fav. It was good but pretty salty. I'd recommend the fried chicken/ribs combo, which Joel and I shared. YUM! 

After dinner we wandered around our neighborhood and got a feel for the city of Charleston. We saw some funny signs (like the one below), meandering tourists, and even more delicious looking places to eat.

Our top priority for Saturday morning was hitting up Charleston's farmers market, which was huge. And amazing! Freshly made pastas, southern sweet tea, homemade popsicles, fresh flowers, coffee sack posters, locally grown veggies, and more. We spent at least an hour looking around and taking it all in before we chose veggies from a local farm to cook for dinner on Sunday night.

Since Joel and Melissa had a wedding to attend on Saturday afternoon, my Joel and I had our first time alone together in Charleston. We took a beautiful ferry ride to historic Fort Sumter. We explored the fort and heard a park ranger talk about the history of it. Highlights include taking a nap on the ferry, seeing Joel excited about history, and taking pictures of cannons. :)

After we showered and ate pizza from the shop across the street, Joel and I spent the evening doing what we do best on vacation:

Charleston trip: Part 1 (Yorktown pit stop)

To break up the 12+ hour drive from Philadelphia to Charleston, we stayed overnight with my Granddad in Yorktown, Virginia. It's a 6 hour drive and we arrived there to find perfectly gorgeous weather. The beach had plenty of people around, but it wasn't too crowded to walk with our feet in the water. I love love love Yorktown and would live there in a second if we could find jobs, so it was a total joy to show some of my favorite people around town.

 Melissa is a beach lover, so our walk was right up her alley. I could NOT get over the amazing weather! 

We also stopped by the Yorktown battlefield, which is the site of an important Revolutionary War battle (aka: the British surrendered there!). My Joel was thrilled to share all sorts of historical facts with anyone who would listen. Plus, the sunny, mild weather made it great to just walk around and be outside.

Granddad and Thelma took us to dinner at one of their favorite restaurants. This guy was hanging around outside, just waiting for friends to pose with him. :)

Up next: the rest of our Charleston trip, including plants, animals, delicious meals, a farmers market, rainbow colored houses, a special visitor, and lots of self-timer portraits.

Playing catch up. A little.

Whew! Things have been busy over here!

We spent last Thursday until this past Tuesday traveling to and from Charleston, SC. We stopped in Virginia to see my Granddad, too. I took a few pictures in Charleston that I'm excited to share sometime later this week.

As soon as we got home my parents arrived to visit. We are so so so blessed to have family who loves us and comes to spend time with us (even though they've been here three times since we last went to their house!). We ate delicious meals, ran some errands, drove downtown to see my new classroom, devoured a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts, and laid around the house trying to keep cool.

We also had two mornings with the junior high kids during their summer service week. It was really fun to watch them work hard at the tasks set before them... so encouraging to see kids growing up well.

It's been hot and we are using all our AC units. Tonight we'll open the windows and let the cool breeze freshen up our rooms. I love sleeping in the summer.

Stay tuned for vacation photos and some of my musings as I mentally and spiritually prepare for Granada. We leave in 11 days. 

loving life lately

A couple fun things lately:

1. Last night I skyped with my gals Annie & Mandy, who were together at Ann's apartment in Vancouver. It was a breath of fresh air to see their smiling faces. We talked about all the Japanese food they'd eaten together and the Japanese-y stuff they were still planning to do. I daydream often about those old days in Toyama. I'd love to take Joel there someday, along with any future kiddos. Though it was a hard, confusing and lonely season, Japan holds a little piece of my heart and I had such great times there.

2. Last Sunday Joel and Melissa came over for dinner. I grilled. The guys threw the football. Melissa and I both wore new, summery maxi dresses, while we sat on the back steps to talk. The weather was basically perfect and we spent hours chatting and enjoying each others' company.

3. Tonight we have our final fundraiser for Granada. Two weeks after that we have our final team meeting. About two weeks after that we'll be on the plane, heading east to Spain. Unbelievable.

4. As the school year winds down, I am thrilled to spend more time with Joel. We really try to own the summer, filling it with lots of mini-adventures just the two of us and some trips to visit loved ones. Our little family, so far from our families, is an indescribable blessing to me. I love living life with this guy.

last vacation of summer 2012: Acadia National Park

My parents invited Joel and me to join them for a few days at Acadia National Park, in Maine. I'd never been and they both think it's one of the most beautiful places in the country. They're totally right!

On our first evening we took a bus (free with park pass!) to some tiny little harbor. The sun was beginning to set and the view was so gorgeous.

The next morning we decided to hit all the important things because the weather was due to get gray the next day. We started with a drive up Cadillac Mountain. Joel took it all in, looking studly.

(Cute couple using each other as a backrest... )

Joel, Dad, and I rented bikes so we could ride on the Acadia carriage roads. We met Mom for lunch and rode back. The day was perfect for biking.

That afternoon we drove to Somes Sound. The sun was about to set (again!) so the view was perfect... so quiet and peaceful!

One of our best dinners was take-out pizza on the grass in Bar Harbor's downtown. We walked there from our B&B, then strolled along the water. That night the fog was really thick and cool. We loved watching it curl up over the hilly islands...

Our second full day was rainy/foggy/cloudy. We had a great time, but didn't take any more pictures. We would highly recommend Bar Harbor/Acadia as a vacation spot. We hope to go there again someday!

second annual trip to washington state

last summer our friends flew us to visit them in washington for a week. it was gorgeous, relaxing, and so fun.

this year joel got accepted to a educational leadership conference and they covered his ticket to washington. we decided to buy me a ticket, too, and go for our second annual trip. who knows what next summer will bring?!

i didn't take pictures until the last day of our trip. that was the day we borrowed an inflatable kayak and took it out on the bellingham bay. the weather was perfect, completely extraordinary for washington state.

 that was also the day joel sat next to the two little ones in the car and cared for them so sweetly.

 these two darlings are melt-your-heart adorable and so so sweet.

 on my way out of washington i got a nice glimpse of mount rainier.