Just a Tad Bit Behind

Whoa, I'm way behind on posting - guess I have a lot of catching up to do!  I'll start with this...

On June 29th, the Friday night before the boys left for their Philmont trip, our area was hit with a derecho - wind blowing like crazy and rain, rain, rain!  It didn't take long for the power to flicker... flicker... out it went.  We were watching cars go by our house, only to turn around again.  Once the storm had pretty much passed, we went out to the road to see the damage.  DH ended up having to get his chainsaw to remove one the trees further down the way.  Luckily, Nathan didn't wake up at all and slept through it.

The church picnic was cancelled the next day, take a look at the damage here.  Although they did sell some food and the white elephant and auctions were still open.  My MIL, Nathan and I went for a little bit and then headed to Wendy's for lunch, along with lots of other people without power! 

That afternoon, Nathan and I had planned to visit my gf in South Carolina and after hearing that our power might not come on until the middle of the week, I decided to follow through and get out of town - power or no power!

So off we went, in the heat of the afternoon.  What should have taken us just under two hours to get to Frederickburg, VA, ended up taking over four hours.  The traffic was terrible and I thought maybe we should stay there since it was already 7pm, but there were no rooms available since that area didn't have power either.  We drove on to our scheduled destination, outside of North Carolina - driving through a couple bad storms and finally arriving about ten... very tired!

The next morning, after sleeping in a little bit, we headed on our way again.  Bright skies and super hot, yea!  Along the way, wouldn't you know it, the AC in the car "froze" - it was only 104 degrees, who needs AC?!  After stopping for lunch at McDonald's (Nathan's favourite place, for the toys), it luckily started working again and stayed that way.

We arrived safely that afternoon, with a wonderful welcome from Karen and her three babies - here's two of them, Henry and Sadie.

Nathan was in heaven with the dogs since we are a cat family, he was very good with them and they all loved him!  They love their snuggles and are quite happy to give lots of kisses.

The next day, we headed out to a water park nearby.  Quite refreshing in the heat and Nathan had a blast!

 Our next adventure took us to the Children's Museum in Greenville.  I'm not sure who had more fun, Nathan or Karen!



She's studying to be a nurse - good practice!

 Our evenings were pretty relaxing, coloring and cross stitch = happiness for all!

Even Sadie wanted to be included!

And of course, the pups kept us entertained... Henry vs Emily!



 This is my most favourite picture, love it!!!

Nathan also got to "help" Karen in her garden.

And of course, play with sparklers!

On the way to her parents house one evening, we stopped at this store - I'm sure I heard something calling my name...

... and there was!  I think when I make them, I'm going to leave out the month and stitch just a bit of colour in it.

I hadn't seen Karen's parents in quite a while, so it was wonderful to see them again!  Her Dad was a firefighter for years and he's now teaching in the FD.  He's been in the FD for about 55 years or so and in the picture below, Nathan is wearing his chief's hat.  Can you tell he's a proud fireman?  I was very impressed with his collection and I hope he sends me a picture of it at Christmas when it's decorated.  If you can see the pictures above the cabinets, they are all fire trucks that Karen's Mom stitched for him.

So here we are in her Mom's craft room... amazing!  These are just some of the things she's made, in addition to her WIPs.  Not only does she stitch, but sews too - something I wish I liked to do! 

These are some of the pieces that she and Karen have made - loving the mermaids of course! 

Our last night there was the 4th, and we got to see fireworks in Karen's backyard, from the nearby park.  She had a shindig at her house, so I got to meet some of her friends and see her parents again.  Great evening! 

The following day, it was time to say goodbye until the next time.  Hoping that's sooner than later!  You were the most amazing hostess, thank you for such a memorable time!  Big hugs to you, Karen - we miss you and the pups, and can't wait to spend time with you again. ♥