Beach Week 2

Well, its over and I'm back at home in Collegedale. I suppose this means the summer is about over. Here are a few pictures from the last bit of our week at the beach:

Playing Pegs and Jokers, boys against girls. Girls won.

One last sunset

Our chariot

As MJ would say, "HOT!" I think all Mark III's have similar issues with pulling weight while producing AC because this trip was strangely reminiscent of backseat van rides to Harrison Bay x's 9 hours. But, we got 6 people plus all of our stuff including Ross's summer belongings into the van and a trailer which definitely made it worthwhile.



It's been one year since Ryan and I started dating but it really doesn't seem that long until I look back at pictures from when we first started dating like this one... We look pretty much the same but when I think about how much I have learned about him since then and how we have grown together and changed it makes me realize how wonderful good relationships are (and how wonderful Ryan is). Ryan tried to send me roses on our anniversary but long story short they never came and ended up getting shipped to his house in Charlotte the day we left for Florida. But hey, its really the thought that counts and they kept the kitchen beautiful for the week we were gone. Here's to a year that's been much more fun and much brighter than the last one, and hopefully, the first of many just like it.

Beach Week part 1

After spending a week and a half relaxing at home, I'm down at New Smyrna Beach with Ryan's family. (I was so relaxed at home, I didn't really take any pictures except at the ballgame. We spent lots of time watching great movies, talking, relaxing, walking, playing games, and hitting the sales in every store possible. It was perfect to just do whatever we felt like doing!) Here's a few snapshots of what we've been up to:

Reading by the water while the "kids" play in the surf (no shark bites yet, btw)

Ryan and his mom, Valeri

Celebrating Uncle Andy's birthday: L to R (there are 16 of us here)
Vicki (standing, Valeri's twin sister), Luke, Gramma, Uncle Andy (kneeling), Chelsea (standing behind), Ross, Valeri, Robin, Zach, Whitni's arms, (these two are Vicki and Andy's kids), and Aaron (Whitni's husband)





I've learned to play shuffleboard










Eating at Manny's with Zachary and Ryan





Zach, Whitni, & Aaron


We're all getting a chance to sail with Ryan's Uncle Andy

Ross skimming










A storm blows in

Watching the storm while eating Gramma's mac & cheese

Ryan and his Gramma

Papaw laughs with Stanley

Papaw and Ryan playing marbles

Rendezvous

Carrie and I couldn't pass up the opportunity that our close proximity afforded for an evening in Burlington at a baseball game. After all, what are the chances of ALL of us being in NC at the same time anytime soon?
Even though the baseball left a lot to be desired (as did the weather, Carrie's got a great lightning picture on her blog) we managed to have a fine time talking, throwing baseballs around (even into the back of the dugout), making massage trains, taking pictures, and catching wildlife. I can't remember when I've had more fun in an evening.


Stephanie's back home from camp!

Since you can't catch a ball sitting under the roof, Carrie stores the glove on her head.

Coming in from a grand slam... I'm not quite sure how they won this game. If we could have found Carrie a uniform she could have knocked out the short stop during the 2 hour rain delay and helped them immensely. I don't think anybody would have noticed, the whole affair had the air of a hometown baseball game with kids running through the gates into the dugout during the rain delay and players who stood out in the rain playing random games with baseballs.

Safely thru another week

Last week about this time I was just finishing the prelude at first service at the Collegedale church. I decided while sitting in the bowels of the organ during 2 sermons that church musicians are underappreciated. Out of 19 things on the program, the organ played 10. That's a lot to prepare for if you were doing it every week, all the little calls and responses... Unless you play very simple things all the time, preparation on some songs can take months. And most often SDA musicians never get paid for what they do. Tragic really. I've decided I'm going to thank the church musicians I see more often.

Ryan and I left on Tuesday to head for his house in Charlotte. Wednesday he had surgery on his knee. Its just not quite the same seeing somebody you love on that gourney in a hospital gown with oxygen up their nose as it is my everyday patients. (This is a before picture by the way, but after some wonderful Versed.) Hopefully this will fix his knee pain so he can get back to sports full tilt in... oh... November. I left that evening and am now back at home in Raleigh where I went and watched some physical therapy at my mom's work on some spinal cord injury and stroke patients. Its amazing to see how a person's focus can be riveted on one thing so seemingly simple as moving a foot. I've also had a few shopping sprees at the amazing sales at Kohls (and two grocery stores). We'll see what else this week of vacation at home has in store...

You may be a nurse if...

You would like to meet the inventor of the call light some night in a dark alley
Your sense of humor gets more warped each year
Almost everything can seem humorous...eventually
You know the smell of different types of diarrhea for identification purposes
You wash your hands BEFORE you use the bathroom
You check the caller ID on your day off to see if work is trying to call and ask you to work
Discussing bodily fluids over a gourmet meal seems perfectly normal to you
You think that caffeine should be available in IV form
You get an almost irresistible urge to stand and wolf your food even in the nicest restaurants
You believe that unspeakable evils will be befall you if you say, "It's unusually quiet around here today"
You have ever had a patient look you straight in the eye and say "I have no idea how that got stuck there"
Every time someone asks you for a pen you can find at least 4 of them on you
You live by the motto "to be right is only half the battle, to convince the doctor is more difficult"
You've told a confused patient that your name was that of your coworker and to holler it if they need help
Your bladder can expand to the size of a water cooler
You find yourself checking out other customer's veins in the grocery waiting line
You avoid unhealthy looking shoppers in the mall for fear that they will drop near you and you'll have to do CPR on your day off
Your finger has gone places you never thought possible

With the boys away, the girls will play...

I decided the 4th was one holiday I wouldn't work this year so I drove up to see Carrie instead. We took a trip to the Hermitage, President (or General) Andrew Jackson's home.

Carrie made friends with
the carriage horses

Perusing the map...

I thought this was a neat tombstone












On the way back home I crossed the border into old carland. Yeah, yeah, I see the speed, I was trying to get back to an appointment with Mrs. Glass since I'm playing the organ for church this week.

Bowling birthday

We surprised Ryan with a trip to the bowling alley for his birthday on Sunday complete with Baskin Robbins icecream cake and surprise presents.







Ryan's parents mailed him a new wedge which I was able to conceal until the party. Ryan's dad had him convinced it wasn't going to get there in time.

The boys

The girls

Ryan trying to use "the force" to help Carrie and Chris knock down the pins. (For you older MPA alumni, that's Krista Collins on the right, she was there with Matt Nash.)



I think I made a strike... no tellin' what he got. Either way it added up to this... later the tables were turned however