Family vacation at the beach

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Corolla on the Outer Banks with Shelley's extended family for a week long vacation. It was a week full of family, good food, laying on the beach, and playing cornhole (we had 2 sets of boards and bags), and of course Gillian. Here are some pictures:

Shelley and her sister Laura with Aunt Nancy

The family all together

The center of attention just after enjoying an oreo

Grandma Bev with her great grand daughter

We weren't going to get an opportunity to go to Nashville or Michigan this summer to catch up with family, so we are so glad that they were able to come to North Carolina! These are the things that we miss being overseas. Thanks to John and Roz for opening up the house to all of us!

maple view farm

love this place. and love it so much when i get to go in june with jarred, sarah jane, kat, and gillian. love. her.

more things about america

1. when and why did all of the green lights for left-turning vehicles turn into blinking yellow left-turn signals? did that many people not yield?

2. at stop lights left-turn lanes go first, then straight vehicles. in asia, it's the opposite. i have to remind myself not to jump the gun.

3. ceiling fans are the best invention in the world. why does asia not agree? we have been basking in them as we go to sleep, ac or not.

4. so far jarred has succeeded in his commitment to not eat one bite of white rice this summer. this has, however, apparently challenged those cooking for us as different times to step outside of the box. this has resulted in us eating some new foods at my sister's house, where these foods aren't so much "outside the box." for example, a couple weeks ago we ate quinoa. it's a grain that apparently is a good substitution for starch if your guest is boycotting white rice. then last sunday night as jarred and i were driving to durham at 10pm kat called.
me: "hey, kat, we'll be there in 30 minutes, what's up?"
kat:"i just finished grocery shopping at target but there were a couple of things i couldn't get and need to you stop at harris teeter on your way in to get. one is key lime juice. and ahickumu,"
me: "awhata?"
kat: "ahickumu."
me: "i have no idea what that is."
kat: "ask jarred. he'll know." (not sure what kind of foodie she thinks he is but...)
me: "jarred, do you know what ahickumu is?"
jarred: "a what? do you mean like ahickumu or a hickumu?"
me: "kat, he doesn't know either. what are you talking about?"
kat: "it's a vegetable. in the produce section. kind of like a coconut but without the fur. spelled j-i-c-a-m-a. you'll find it."
and sure enough, after perusing the entire produce department we found 3 jicamas. yes, that is all they keep in stock. we had seriously thought we had lost our minds or americans had lost theirs if this was now normal fare, so i did a little research. and when 100% of the people i asked had also never heard of a jicama i felt quite justified. and sane. but, after eating black bean-jicama salad i will strongly recommend this potato-apple-esque food to all. yumm.

5. mumford & sons. my friend sarah jane knew how out of the loop i am on anything popular in america and graciously introduced me to some new music. apparently everyone else in america knows how good this band is, but so far i've only heard a few songs. and this brings me to my point- america has culture and it is great. kat recommended some more bands to jarred and me so we'll be stocking up on some new jams in the near future.

6. salads. i think i have eaten 15+ different salads since i've been in america. whenever we meet people for meals, i get a salad? why? well, one it's fresh and i like that. i wish i could say it was healthy, but not the way american restaurants do salads. but, also, because there are so many kinds. so far i've had: a cobb salad, a sizzling fajita salad (who knew a sizzling salad was possible?), a pecan-encrusted chicken salad, a berry and pecan salad, and a tortilla salad. it's crazy, but delicious.

7. ice cream. america does it right. (and i'm nothing of an ice cream fan compared to everyone else i know.)

8. guys' pants have gotten WAY tighter in the past 2 years. were first discovered this the first sunday we were here and jarred's sister jada informed him that his suit pants had pleats and that was no longer acceptable. and we learned the extent of this new style when jarred had to try on 8 pair of khakis to find some that didn't feel like spandex. interesting fashion, america.

best friends

one of the best things about being in america has been getting to see friends that we clearly never get to see. and one of the most exciting things i was looking forward to was a couple weekends ago when four of my best friends from college and i would descend on charlotte. for 48 hours we, for the most part, holed up in krista's parents house and...talked. like crazy. and about everything. about funny memories. our lives now. our families. our jobs. our walks with the L ord. funny stories from our lives now. the happy things. the sad things. real. honest. vulnerable. everything. and it was wonderful.
9 years ago (i can't even believe that even as i type it), but yes, 9 years ago we all met in hinton james where we lived and stayed together for the next 4 years. the blessings these girls were in my life and then have continued to be are beyond anything i could have imagined.

since college we have added 3 husbands and one adorable little son. and the last time we were all together was my wedding. and i am beyond thankful that we were blessed with 2 days and nights when we could get together from 2 foreign continents and 3 separate states in the US. and since i don't know the next time all 5 of us will be sitting together in one room, i'll be remembering these memories until then.baby j (the only boy allowed), beth, krista, me, sarah jane, and jess.


somehow, there wasn't quite as much of this as there was 5 years ago...