Three Weeks in Alabama!

On June 6 I flew back home to Alabama, leaving Rod behind in Nevada, to spend some time with family and friends. I was able to spend three full weekends there, which were chock full with loved ones, interspersed with relaxing weeks spent lounging around the pool, taking walks around the neighborhood, and taking advantage of having nearly any store I could want nearby to purchase needed baby items.

The first full weekend back, Sarah Roberts and Carter drove down to Athens to visit. We had SUCH a nice time, catching up, visiting, playing with Carter - how I miss good friends! (Let me rephrase - how I miss having someone at all to socialize with way out on the refuge! But seriously - I miss my friends!)

The second weekend, Heather Wagner drove over from eastern Alabama Friday morning. I got to spend the better part of a day with her, before my aunt Marjo and cousins Jasin and Maria arrived Friday night. Saturday the rest of my family showed up - the rest of my Dad's side of the family, including my Nannie, my aunt Jane and uncle Lynn, and my aunt Mary, uncle Steve, and cousins Elizabeth, John Louis and Stephen. From Mom's side, Mammaw, aunt Lisa and my cousin Kasey, and aunt Suzie and my cousin Rachel showed up. WOW! I felt very loved!

Saturday afternoon, the guys went golfing (except for Lynn and John Louis who decided to hold the fort down back at home) while us girls all went to my baby shower! I was SO fortunate to have such wonderful friends host this beautiful shower for me: Heather, Donna Cotten, Barbara McCollum and Sue Rowe - thank you AGAIN! I can't thank you enough!




And I am equally lucky to have a family willing to come all that way to spend it with me! Here are photos of everyone at some point during the weekend!

And Sarah Downs drove up from Birmingham for the shower, and she, Heather and I went out for dinner and spent some time catching up Saturday night. Luckily, I felt like I had the chance to spend a little time with everyone, which was nice!

My final weekend in AL, we drove up to Kentucky for my cousin Daniel's wedding. So, not only did I get to see Mammaw, Suzie, Rachel, Lisa and Kasey again, but I also got to see my uncles Russell and Denny, my aunt Sandy, and my cousins Daniel (and now Amanda, his new wife), Anthony, Brent, and the rest of my family - Gracie, Hunter and Shannabeth. It was a beautiful wedding!




It was SO great to spend such an extended time at home and get to see so many loved ones, but I sure was missing Rod by the end of those three weeks! So - back to Ruby Lake I go!

Travels with Mom

Mom and I spent my spring break traveling through Kentucky and Indiana, touring historical sights and visiting friends and family (she grew up in Indiana, I grew up in Kentucky). A series of articles about our journeys are posted here on my blog, but the personal details aren't included, like how on the second night I got the chance to jam-out to Mountain's Mississippi Queen with my dad and little cousin Kasey on Rock Band, and visit with my Mammaw who I only see 2-3 times a year. Or how when at the Lincoln Birthplace Memorial there was an exhibit on "Women in Conservation" (since Obama designated March Women's History Month with a focus on women saving the planet), and alongside heroes of mine such as Rachel Carson and Jane Goodall they profiled - get ready - Sarah Palin. Yes, believe it or not, they included the devil herself, Mrs. I-hate-wildlife-and-want-to-shoot-wolves-from-airplanes-and-grant-permits-to-hunt-threatened-polar-bears Palin. After an email to the administration I was informed the exhibit was pulled and in the future information would be verified before being put on public display. Sheesh. Or how we got to visit the Winchester KY fire station, sit in the fire truck, and get a tour from my dear cousin Ashley. I recently found out that I am distantly related to Abraham Lincoln (my mother and others in my family are very interested in geneology, and Dana Brown has published a book on my great great grandfather Thomas Lynch, who was Abraham Lincoln's cousin), so I became very interested in learning about Lincoln on our journeys to his memorials/parks. In Spring Mill State Park (which was gorgeous), we saw a beaver and heard a Barred Owl in mid day, and photographed lots of sunning turtles (Painted perhaps?). On nearby Patoka Lake I got a lifer- Horned Grebe! There were 6 birds, but 1 was in breeding plumage- so cool! I wrapped up the trip by spending some time with my Nannie and Pappaw in Indiana, who I also see about twice a year. I sifted through some OLD family photos (we're talking early 20th century), taking some to have scanned and burned to a disc. My Pappaw has carved over a hundred ducks (and we're talking amongst the best carvings you've ever seen, he's INCREDIBLY talented), and I found an article the newspaper ran on him and his craft- he's amazing! Interestingly, I also found 2 photos of my grandparents as a young couple at Spring Mill, where we had just come from, in 1939, the year the park opened! These are posted in my Spring Mill article. I also had the chance to talk with my cousin Elizabeth about her upcoming trip to Africa (I'm so jealous!) and visit several other family members, not to mention the fact that I got great quality time with mom!