June 19-25, 2023

It was recovery week for Ally and Mommy and a celebration week for Becky because it was her last week of school and her birthday.

Lazy mornings watching TV and eating breakfast.

A first for Becky. A student gave her a purse as a teacher gift!

Ally and I went shopping one day, Sephora, Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn and a bookstore. Lunch from Shake Shack on the way home. Pretty good afternoon. Here we are back at home.

Thursday we celebrated Becky’s birthday. Above is the post Dave put on Facebook. I thought it was a great photo montage.

Always cuddling these two.

Birthday dinner was take out Mexican food.

Gifts. 

Family photos. 





delicious cake…thank you grandma and poppy 



It was a long day.

Saturday was a scorcher. Outside it was hot.

Inside the air conditioning Ally had on a sweatshirt and a heavy blanket. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon.

OuterBanks Part 3; the trip home

Our flight was canceled!! 

So after checking for new flights and realizing we couldn’t get one out until Sunday and it was Friday, we decided to drive north. To Grandma Debbie and Poppy’s house. Spend the night there and drive the rest of the way home or take the train on Saturday.

Lots of states. I missed Delaware.





It was a lovely time with Dave and Debbie.

We got a tour of Emory, Dave’s train town.

It looks pretty cool in the dark.

He has places named after family members. Ally’s Place is adorable.



Dave’s Father’s Day gift of BBQ arrived.

In the morning I got a tour of Debbie’s garden and yard. It’s gorgeous.

Especially this succulent garden.

Good Bye Selfie.

Ally and I were ready for the train.

Finally!!

So ready to get home

We made it!


And Ally was reunited with Daisy and Cloey.

OuterBanks Trip Part 2

Our last full day started out pretty rainy, so we hung out in our room longer and then headed over to the house after lunch.

Chips and lemonade on the deck.

Younger cousins loved the ocean waves

Aunt Martha on the beach

And she climbed up the very steep sand dune to get to the beach house. 

Girls playing pool.

Ally and I after dinner on the deck

Sherbet colors; Jim, Jessica and Katy

The girls put on a gymnastics show/exhibition. Ally came out of retirement to demonstrate a few skills. 

She’s still got her handstand! And her splits and she did a front walkover. 

Quinn has some impressive flexibility.

Amelia did a wonderful back kick over

And Adelaide showed off her split. It was so cool to see everyone proudly show off what she could do.

Lila joined in for a few rounds of freeze dance and then they all posed for a cousin’s picture.

We ended the evening and our time together with a rousing game of Uno.

OuterBanks Trip Part 1

It was an adventure.

We were supposed to leave on a Monday but when we got to the airport Ally felt sick. Soon after she threw up in the bathroom. I changed our tickets and we went home. Above is Ally 3 hours after we got home, sound asleep with Daisy on her head. 

She woke up eventually had some easy food, relaxed in bed with the pets and we agreed to try and go again on Tuesday!

On the way to the airport!

We made it! Landed in Norfolk, VA and then drove about 2 hours to Duck.

Beach! And pool.

I went out to dinner with my cousins and their spouses. It was a lovely time. I don’t think we’ve ever had that much time to talk and catch up and reminisce. 

Meanwhile back at the house there was a search taking place to find Aunt Martha’s iPad  and iPhone. Turns out I inadvertently put it in my backpack that I left locked in our car. 

The girls rallied and looked adorable in matching T-shirt’s. 

Beautiful sunset back at our hotel.

Gorgeous beach day on Wednesday.

Ally, Adelaide and Amelia. 

Katy and Jim and their girls loved swimming in the ocean. Ally and me, not so much. I love the beach and sound of the ocean. 

Ally likes the sun.

And the pelicans.

There was pool time and conversation with Aunt Martha.

I sent a selfie to Becky.

The Jones family. Jessica, Dan, Lila and Quinn had blue crabs for dinner. Ally and I were grateful to Jim for making spaghetti for us.

Late night tv in bed.