Grandma's 92nd Birthday

As I probably say every year, ALL birthdays for Grandma are BIG birthdays at this point. So...we always have a big family celebration. Thankfully, Uncle Johnny and Aunt Bev are gracious to open their home to the huge gang and host a nice lunch for Grandma. Everyone brings one of her favorite side dishes to share to go along with chicken on the grill. Despite Grandma's very sweet demeanor, she makes it very clear how disappointed she is if one of her favorite dishes doesn't make it to her party. In fact, that happened this year when somehow Watergate Salad was not on the menu. I believe she pouted for a good 5 minutes! At the ripe old age of 92, I suppose I can understand being set in your ways.  All we do is chuckle.

As always, she loves her large family singing "Happy Birthday" to her and the fact that it means it's time to enjoy a big piece of cake! 

Speaking of cake, here's the family's newest cupcake. There literally is a new baby almost every year and it probably has been this way since the 70s (at least it feels this way)! There's always a little cutie to hold at family functions. This one is my youngest cousin's sweet girl, Charlotte. 

When the Castonguay family is involved, there's enough players to have a cornhole tournament. At least that's how it looked when I walked out back. 

One of the most enjoyable parts of the party was watching Grandma open her cards and gifts. She read each and every word on each card aloud. You can tell how much she enjoys all the attention and love.   

Yep...at the age of 92, she's so excited about her very own tablet and learning how to use it!

My Mom and her Mom

All of Mom's 5 brothers made it to the celebration. This is #3 of the 5. 

I love how Grandma is holding both of their hands in this picture.

Grandma and her newest Great Granddaughter. I was so excited to get them both looking my direction and smiling at the same time. 

Easter

Easter is always a special celebration and time of year.  It marks a time to reflect on the significance of what Jesus did for us on the cross, the love He demonstrated in his death, and the amazing meaning of the resurrection. It also marks the start of my favorite 6 months of the year. 

When I think of this time of year, I think of...

Spring. New. Green. Sun. Beginnings. Fresh. Warm. Colors. Beauty. Blooms. 

This year my family had a nice Easter lunch at home with Grandma, Uncle Eddie & Aunt Linda, Ted, Spencer, and Ted's parents. Good food and good entertainment with this bunch...a delightful day!

The teacher of the group always makes sure to bring decorations for holidays...thanks Hayley!

Sun, Sand & SLEEP

My favorite time to travel is in the early few months of the year when winter is lingering and the cold seems to not be letting up...especially to a warm destination...especially THIS winter. Making this happen isn't always possible and I didn't think a trip was in the cards this winter/early spring, but at the last minute, I got to go on "spring break"...even though my schedule absolutely does not revolve around the school schedule. Ted found a great house down in Rodanthe and we spent a nice, long week down there. Close friends (like all the way back to middle/high school friends :) ) joined us as well with their 3 girls.

I was thankful as the trip got closer that we were able to make this happen in early April. Things were getting ready to really heat up for me at work with my upcoming conference in May and this break away was just what I needed to prepare me for the big push later in the month. I was feeling quite depleted and exhausted right before the beach so a week of plenty of sleep and rest was timely. 

View from the top deck

This house was considered 'one row back' from the beach but I'd say this was pretty much oceanfront. In fact, I wouldn't want to be on the front row because many of those houses looked as if they'd be a part of the ocean during the next hurricane. 

As these first pictures show, the first few days at the beach were overcast and rainy (and cool!). This turned out to be perfect sleeping weather and a great way to kick off a restful vacation.

This house happened to be located in a prime surfing spot in Rodanthe so there was pretty constant entertainment right out back.

A perfect spot and seat to watch the NCAA national championship game.

While it was rainy and cool the first few days, all of the time I wasn't sleeping was spent working on this puzzle. I love puzzles but had not worked on one in years. I forgot how hard it is to stop working on it once I've started! So...I was equally happy to finish it and disappointed to finish it so quickly and be done with it before half the week had passed. 

Neat decor around the house...it made for a very comfy home for the week

Beautiful sunsets...

The rain had gone, the sun had come...and it was time for the beach (even if still a little chilly)!

The girls were so excited about finding sand that it took some persuading to convince them that the beach sand was better than playing in the driveway!

Our house in the background

Dolphins!

All of the rest I got made it easy to get up early to watch the sunrise. 

By the time Friday rolled around, the weather was getting to be pretty perfect. It seemed to improve a little bit each day that we were there. Because of the weather, we took full advantage of all possible fun beach activities.

Watching Daddy surf...

Nothing like a fun Dad who likes to play in the sand, too!
Kite flying...

Finally enjoying some meals on the deck

After a full morning on the beach and a nice lunch, we headed over to the sound side to watch some of the kite surfers on this windy day. I couldn't believe the number of surfers on the sound.

Because the weather was getting better and better, it was hard to pack up on Saturday to head back home. We got a girls picture before we had to say goodbye.

                                      
Ouch...this shows my sunburn. I get so mad at myself when this happens. The cool temps a few days before deceived me and kept me from being mindful of sunscreen because I was mostly wrapped up with jackets and towels. 

After we were all packed up, Ted and I decided to hang on the beach right behind our house for the day. And how glad I was that we did when this started launching out of the water!

I've been to the Outer Banks a fair number of times and have never seen a whale off of the shore. The great part was watching the whale make its way down the coastline. We saw it come out of the water too many times to count. Of course, I was so glad to have my camera close by. For as remote as it feels down in Rodanthe, there sure was a lot of activity in the ocean with the dolphins, surfers, and whale. It seemed that we just happened to stay in the right spot.

I'll wrap things up with a picture of our home away from home. It sure was the ideal getaway. What a great week of rest and relaxation...it truly felt just like how vacation should be.