{these moments} a week in pictures

our traditional Rosh Hoshanah trip was monday

it was wet and really foggy. we hiked anyway.

this is about 200 feet from where Drew proposed--on a similar day in winter 2002.

i accepted--of course--and this is where it got us. down the road just a bit, with a few extra passengers.

and we got kittens. 2. and they've got fleas, so we bathed them.

a pirate was banished for a moment, and she suffered...

and this pirate practiced fiddle. recital coming on saturday!

{these moments} - A weekly tradition. A few photos - short captions - catching some moments from the week. For moments when we didn't blog--though extraordinary--on account of distraction, but never-the-less, we don't want to forget. (Adapted from Soulemama's {this moment}--happy if you'd join lifeasaschoolhouse and do the same--one picture is sometimes not enough.)

A Week of Celebration

We are full swing in our craziest time of year.

Yesterday was Rosh Hashanah and we spent the day in the mountains, per our tradition. (We visit the creek there every year in part to perform the ritual of Tashlich that Margaret speaks of here.) It was great, and friends/family joined us this year which made it even more adventurous. The weather, as it has been in years past, was perfect. 70s, cooling off in the evening.

We enjoyed honey cake & round challah, kite flying, hiking, dam building, downtown perusing and a delcious dinner at a new place in Boone (at least new to us). There should be heavy napping today...

On top of all that, tomorrow we are headed to Raleigh so I can go to a friend's bachelorette party--i love a good night out with the girls. Sunday Naomi will be 7. WHAT?! so, we'll be celebrating that with the requested picnic with family and friends. Then, back home and Monday will be a day that goes down in infamy as my 30th birthday. I'll take a slow day for that, the older I get the less I want to do and the more I have to, so a nice day of mosey-ing about would hit the spot.

Anyway, older is better. Recently one of my oldest friend's and I discussed our aging. It's not nearly as dreadful as you think it will be. When you're twenty you think life can't get better, but it does and that's surprising and it's really the best part of my birthday is thinking about how I have SO much of what I want out of life and I'm still relatively youthful. Not that I can't think of other places to go, or more goals to reach, but, to quote Anne Shirley, "I'm pretty nearly perfectly happy."

The fun won't end this week. October is FULL of camping for Sukkot, Leviah's birthday, and the general celebrating of Fall--which is (once again) my fave.

mountain celebration

I must post about this before a new weekend arrives...

our day at home
6.17.09

So, I've been wanting to post about our trip to the mountains for weeks--asking opinions & the like. BUT it was a surprise. Drew officially turned 30 on June 17th & we had a fun day. Grits & Turkey bacon for breakfast, a trip to the Farmer's market to buy whatever we see, home again for some down time, dinner out with some friends at a new place (brazilian buffet), mini golf (where I unleashed the putting beast), and back home for cake & Ice cream. It was great! Per Drew's request there were no huge surprise parties, or unexpected guests.

don't compare with other cake. please.

Little did he know...& he didn't until we pulled up a VERY steep driveway to a mountain getaway--very unlike the primitive campground he thought we were headed to!

cherokee lodge drive

So, the surprise worked, the friends came & we had a blast. 30 is a big deal, not because you're old then, but because there are now SO many things experienced. I believe at this age we're only just beginning to understand all the possibilities--good and bad--and appreciating what we have, who we are, and who we love. (cheeeeese)

did I mention she hiked 4 rugged miles? with minimal complaining?

Did I mention the cake? Out of this world.

blueberry cake with lemon curd filling. mmmmmmmmmmmm. & look at that great decor!!

But, we also celebrated the 4th and what a magnificent show. Being only 3-4 miles from the Tenessee border really had some pluses, i.e. "real" fireworks. The boys had quite a display for us, as did the dozens of others in the holler we shared. There were explosions on mountains tops miles away, in valleys just down the drive, left & right, everywhere we looked. We couldn't have asked for a better show. Not to mention the weather--sweaters necessary makes Lacey very happy!

2 birthdays at once!

Other things not elaborated on: Art Crawl in downtown boone, bear scares while picking pounds of black raspberries (not to be confused with blackberries--mind you), hours soaking in hot tub, king size beds, Va-poo-rize, 4th of July surprise cocktails, babies, corn on the cob, candy, coffee, black cat, mountain home dreamin'.