Summer in Review

We are wrapping up our summer "tour of the East Coast" this week, which has me thinking back over all of the fun memories of the past month with our family and friends.  In a nutshell, here's what happened this summer:

One month ago today, my "little" brother Tim married Christine Briere in a beautiful ceremony at Hope Presbyterian Church (Winston-Salem, NC).  The event held many special moments: watching radiant bride Christine walking down the aisle, hearing Larry Jones' usual humorous homily, dancing with the Demon Deacon at the reception, watching Benji meet his cousin Knox for the first time...the list could go on and on.  At the end of the day it finally hit me that my little brother is all grown up--and this brought a few tears, although they were mostly happy tears, because I am thankful for how he has become a mature, godly man.  These lovely photos are thanks to Shanna Duffy photography:

After the wedding, we headed to the KY Reunion which was in Beech Mountain, NC this year.  The week included good time with friends, hikes, meals, games, and yes--the annual adventure race!

Next stop was Figure 8 Island, NC for the Fourth of July.  Benji was a big hit among his grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins!

From NC we drove north to Maryland for a week on the farm.  Benji had a wonderful time with Nonnie, Papa, and Rosie.  He also came to love riding in the little red wagon.  A special event for me was good friend Kelly Money's baby shower.

From MD we drove to Capon Springs, WV for a week with the extended Nicodemus family.  As usual, it was a week of relaxation, family fun, and good eating!  Benji had a blast in the pool!

On our way back to North Carolina, we stayed with Wade, Emily, Caroline, and Andrew in their beautiful new house in Roanoke.  What a gift it was to have those few extra days with some of our very favorite people!

Back in NC, we headed to Charlotte to visit newlyweds Tim and Christine as well as Andrew, Meghan, and Knox.  The weekend included a fun night out "on the town" at Vapiano's restaurant and lots of good time with aunts, uncles, and one adorable cousin!

Finally, we arrived back in Greensboro for a week with Captain and MereMere; Jonathan flew to Los Angeles for a math teachers' conference, while Benji and I enjoyed a slower pace for a little while.  We enjoyed a few days with French exchange student Auriane and had a nice visit with Genavee as well.  We also returned to Charlotte for one more visit. 

Whew!  This month has been a whirlwind and I don't think any of us want to get in the car for another year...but I am thankful that we got to have so much time with family and friends and it has been a joy watching Benji's abilities blossom.  He is now very much on the move and is learning new words every day.  Let's see if he can learn how to survive a 26 hour car trip back to New Mexico!  :-D

Ridgway, Colorado

One of my favorite things about living in Gallup, NM is that within 3-4 hours of driving you go from this:

Goodbye, New Mexico

To this:

Hello, Colorado!

The San Juan Mountains are so beautiful; we have enjoyed Durango and Silverton several times, so for a quick summer get-away we decided to drive up the western side of the San Juans from Cortez past Rico and Telluride, arriving at our destination in Ridgway ("Gateway to the San Juans").

On Thursday we hiked the Blue Lakes Trail, which unfortunately did not take us to the Blue Lakes (a particularly snowy winter meant the trail was still snowed in past the creek) but did give us some spectacular mountain views!

 We arrived that evening at our beautiful Bed and Breakfast in Ridgway.  The friendly couple who runs the B&B have a dog, two llamas, and breathtaking mountain views from their deck.

We had dinner at a local favorite, the Colorado Boy, and explored the town of Ridgway a little bit.

On Friday, after a trip to the local farmers market, we spent the morning hiking the Perimeter Trail around Ouray, CO ("The Switzerland of America").  This trail had a little of everything: rocks, forests, flowers, creeks, waterfalls, mountains, a tunnel, and views of the town from all angles.  It was a great hike!

As we ate lunch in Ouray it began to rain, so we had to abandon our hopes of swimming in the afternoon and instead went back to rest at the B&B. 

This morning we wound our way back through rainy, misty mountains home to sunny New Mexico.  As usual, we left with great memories of Colorado and the desire to return soon!