family...a good thing

so we really enjoyed our time with family the last few days...it was busy, i am tired, but all well worth it. and yes, being with family always brings up issues, right? but there is such hope in being together, as we learn to accept the good with the bad and grow closer in the process. my status as 'big white girl' is diminishing, and i am thankful to feel less threatened by the different culture in which jeffery grew up. it's an interesting dynamic but one that probably every married couple experiences -- we each grow up in a different culture, whether our nationalities are different or not. so we're looking forward to the next one, already. and hoping that everyone is home, safe and sound.

some highlights: we LOVE montreat. that place is so great! the lake, the playground, the quaint town of black mtn just five minutes away. the musty smells, the whirring of fans, the hikes with a weighty double stroller up and down steep hills. we went to asheville and ate at one of my all-time favorite restaurants, Salsa. oh my gosh! i think it's the fusion of carribean & mexican, a really interesting combo. we also shared a fun game of dominoes, and well, i guess the rest was playing with the kids and just hanging out. oh yeah, and the creek down at the montreat playground. noah loved skipping rocks and wading through the cool mountain stream! joshua liked it too!

of utmost fun for me was seeing noah connect with uncle rich and aunt julie. living so far from them we rarely see one another, but noah had instant connection with both. uncle rich let noah play with his camera (he took LOTS of photos from his three-year-old perspective. here you see one of 'akon' with a hard to capture smile.) and there were lots of wrestling matches, pillow fights, games of hide-and-seek, and lego building. so fun. noah and i both cried as rich drove away yesterday. so sad to think it will be months before we see them all again.

so we're back. heading to charlotte tomorrow to visit with cousin zoe (age 5) who is with yah-yah for the week. we should have some great fun there too.

i'm trying to learn more about this blogging thing, so hopefully i can post some video soon. and learn how to put captions in the pictures.

enjoy your hot day!