Home Again!

Before I begin this monster post recap, be sure to check out the Week 2 Update of our 101 Days of Summer Challenge – I love how many of you have loved the accountability of having to check in with me – we had a great week last week!

I also have to give a shout out to the lovely Erica at Itzy’s Kitchen – I won a recent giveaway of hers and received it last week but forgot to mention it – can’t wait to check it out!  Thanks Erica!

The internet connection was so slow – I was beginning to think it was Hannah’s laptop, but when I used it at the airport coming home it was lightening fast.  So what else is one to do but pour a glass of wine while waiting!

This was at the rental of my cousin Lynn and her husband Martin – they were so kind to let me stay there on Friday night!  Here they are with my Aunt Cele at the cocktail party on Friday night.

Saturday morning before it got too hot out, I swam for about 30 minutes – I loved the pool!  When I was by myself in the pool I did kicks off the side of the pool like I was on Biggest Loser! 😀

I loved all the different kinds of trees not only around the property but everywhere on the island – so different!  My favorite was the magnolia trees.

Here is the prayer circle right before dinner on Saturday night – too many people to get them all in!

Luckily I had some hot sauces to chose from for my pork bbq!

It was a fun night, but I think I had more fun later that night at my Aunt and Uncle’s condo they rented for the week – that’s where I stayed the remainder of my time.  We just sat up and talked about my grandparents and life in general, and as always when we get together we laugh so much!  This is another example of the “unseen humor” Tony talks about!

Aunt Cele wanted bragging rights at her church – I believe 35 of us showed up for church and she was just beaming from ear to ear.  One funny part was when the pastor announced “Cele you look great for 90!”

After church and lunch we headed to the beach!  My cousins kids earlier were at the beach and brought home a couple dozen sand dollars, but we took them right back since they are still alive – its against the law to remove them!

My Uncle Dave just walked right in the water!  I needed a little while to get used to the idea.  Me and the ocean just don’t get along that well!

After a while on the beach it was time to get freshened up for my Aunt’s big birthday party!  It was held at the Sea Pines Country Club.

Here I am with my cousin Karen’s daughter Kimberly – yep, I am actually wearing lipstick!

And me and Aunt Cele at the club – I hate how red my face still is!

The food was described as “heavy appetizers” and it was delicious!  Everyone raved about this smoked salmon – I just loved the presentation!

I had cheese and crackers my first plate:

And then they had a pasta bar – I got broccoli, garlic, artichoke with shrimp and marinara sauce – it was really good!

I videotaped most of the toasts that night which I plan on transcribing – I’ll post those later in the week!  It was a wonderful time, my Aunt was in her element the whole weekend and I hope it was everything she hoped for!

I didn’t take any pictures of our last trip to the beach.  Sometimes its nice just to remember the memory in your head!  My mom and I headed out around 9:00 and after 10 minutes letting the water splash our feet, we walked for 40 minutes.  By the time we got back to our spot, the rest of  my cousins and their spouses and kids came.  I usually never go into the ocean past my knees because I got pulled by a rip tide when I was 16 and vowed I would never step foot in any ocean as long as I lived!

But this beach was different – the sand was firm and soft, and there was no pull when the waves came by – I actually went out to my neck!  Of course, I never let my face go in the water but it was fun to “jump the waves!”

I had a connecting flight and my second flight was delayed two hours.  Um, lets just say that Helen and I talked about it and decided that calories don’t count in an airport!

Then Tony picked me up!!  I missed his lips and am glad to be home with him.  Since we were right by our favorite restaurant (I can say that since I’ve been there twice now!) we stopped for dinner.  I ordered a tri-colored pasta stuffed with spinach and ricotta cheese over a creamy tomato sauce.  Perfection again!  I am actually going to try to recreate it – I’ve made spinach pasta before, now I want to try carrot pasta!

It was nice to come home, throw my clothes in the wash, get in my comfy clothes and snuggle with Tony on the couch – pretty sure we have about 10 hours of shit on our DVD to watch!

Looking forward to catching up on what everyone has been up to – its weird not checking any blogs for 4 days!

Hope you have a great Tuesday – off to figure out my food for the day . . . not even sure what’s in the fridge!