We need rain!

My friend and I went to a local park yesterday to walk around. I've been there before for a wedding and another time for a baby shower but I have never walked around to see the rest of the place. I got to become acquainted with these geese...I think they were hoping I would feed them.
Look at how yellow that grass is! It's so burnt. It looks like that everywhere. We need rain so badly! I'm a blue-skies-sunshine-loving kind of girl, but I am really hoping it will rain a lot! Soon!

Happy Birthday, Holly!

Today my little sister turned sweet 16! I can hardly believe she's that old already! She's halfway finished with being a teenager. Boy, we're getting old! :)

These are some pictures of Holly that I've taken through the past couple of years. Some of them are very recent, others are a bit older. They aren't in chronological order.




She's such a cool person. I don't think she has any idea how special and unique she really is, which is probably partly why she's so cool. She's sensitive and sweet but edgy too. She reads biographies on Beethoven and enjoys his music and also listens to Guns and Roses. She has her own sense of style and knows what she likes. She's very down-to-earth as well. Much more so I think than I was at 16. And she used to always pose for the camera if I told her to. Now she tells me no sometimes. I'm losing subjects for photography every day! :) She's her own person and I love who she is and who she is becoming.
Happy Birthday, Holly! I hope this year is amazing!

Happy 20th Birthday, Adam!

Today is my brother's 20th birthday. I cannot believe that he is 20 years old now. So I compiled a few photos in honor of his special day.

I feel like these pictures show a little bit of Adam's personality: he's cute and has a sense of humor and a serious side and he sure loves his guitar. :) Other facts about Adam: He can do impersonations like no one else I know. I love the way he impersonates Willie Nelson and he does a good job of talking like President Bush too. When he was really little he would call the little girls on the playground "toots" like Curly from The Three Stooges would. He was one of the students at my school that tried to help start a Campus Crusade for Christ ministry at our community college and his dedication and commitment to trying to make that work was an inspiration. He can do almost anything he puts his mind to and is usually one of the best if not the best at what he likes to do. He has natural leadership qualities. We sure love him!
Happy Birthday, Adam! I hope this year is the best one yet. :)

Lancaster County

Yesterday I went to Lancaster county with my coworker friend Pam. It was a beautiful day outside and a fun-filled day with shopping, eating, conversation, laughing and just enjoying being in a lovely place. I hadn't been to that part of Pennsylvania since I was a little kid.

We got to feed some goats and see lots of puppies and horses. We went to lots of bakeries, markets, a couple of farms and a really awesome thrift shop.

Kitchen Kettle Village was this really cute little village of shops with markets, coffee shops, boutiques, galleries and more.

I thought this family was adorable.

Lovely sunflowers...

My friend took this photo for me. I love sunsets. I feel like I'm watching God paint the sky for me. It's so gorgeous.

During our trip I enjoyed seeing such beautiful country. I sometimes wish I could move away from the mid-Atlantic region and go west or something, but I will say that sometimes I see how beautiful the area I live in is and I just thank God for allowing me to live in such beauty. No matter where I end up in life I will have a special place in my heart for this area.

Home again, home again...

So we are back from our trip to visit my parents and younger siblings at their new home in NC. Mom and Dad's new house is lovely. Their neighborhood is pretty sweet too (hello private community pool!).

little house in NC...

where I spent most of the evenings while I was visiting down there...

the little poolhouse...

the tennis courts which we did not use. I've always wanted to learn to play tennis though...
As usual, I came home from my trip with more than I originally brought. Clothing bought at my first ever visit to an H&M, tons of pictures, seashells from the beach, stuff to take back to school with me, and probably a couple of extra pounds along with some fire ant bites (blast those pesky insects!) and a nasty sunburn!
(I have tan-lines for the first time in years. lol. I haven't cared about having a tan for a very long time so this burn was unintentional. I'm not the type to purposely burn to try and get a tan.)

Yes, it was quite a full week! I miss my parents and siblings, but it was reassuring to see them settled in their new house. They are quite blessed because with what they sold their house up here for they were able to buy this house without taking out a mortgage and are in a place where the economy is still pretty good. It's been over a year since my dad lost his full-time job so I'm happy for them since this move has presented them with more job opportunities. Dad already had an interview today and has another tomorrow! We're praying that he'll get a job offer soon! Now I can't believe that there are only less than 6 weeks left in the summer!

NC Natural Science and History museums! (Or, too many pictures!)

On our last day in NC we visited the Natural Science museum and the NC History museum. I loved the science museum. 4 floors of so many interesting exhibits! I highly recommend it! The history museum was okay, but I guess I'd rather read or listen to a lecture when it comes to history. Science seems to capture my attention much more these days.

Can you spot the T-Rex skelly in the window?

Both museums were across the street from each other. History on the left, science on the right.

Huge whale skeleton!

My parents in front of the indoor waterfall.

he he...playing around. ;)

Cottonmouth Water Moccasin. I believe this is NC's deadliest snake!

Huge disgusting cockroaches. Blech!

Huge disgusting tarantula! Ick! Seriously, these are the things my nightmares are made of.

They had a conservatory with butterflies, turtles, snakes, spiders and sloth.

Somehow I identified with this poor thing. Don't ask me why. ;)

My younger sister thinks this is gross. I thought it was fascinating.

My favorite exhibit at the history museum! They had potters there giving live demos. I watched for awhile. Ohhh, how I miss it!

This was cool too. It was an interactive screen demonstrating a Sabbath meal. There was a large exhibit for NC Jewish history.

Cool ceramic pot made by old North Carolina people. Not sure if Native Americans made this or not. I snapped a photo to file away for inspiration. :)

So that was our last sight-seeing stop in NC. There were a lot of cool things in Raleigh. I'm hoping that when I go back during my Christmas break to walk around downtown a bit and explore. We mostly just drove around the city during this visit instead of walking. I much prefer getting out and looking around. You find so many things you would miss when just driving.

North Carolina Museum of Art

Yesterday we paid a visit to the NC Museum of Art. I've never been to an art museum before so it was a lot of fun to go there. I got to see works by artists I studied this past semester. It was a beautiful place.

This piece was called "The Dentist." I thought it was funny since I'm a dental assistant.

There were quite a few different displays of art from other cultures. This menorah was very large and beautiful!These were traditional African articles of clothing

These glass vessels were part of one of the multicultural displays.Picasso

Giacometti

This piece was cool. It was a large picture of the Mona Lisa upside down and it was made of spools of thread. You had to look through the glass ball to see it right side up.

I thought this piece was funny.

The museum had a large collection of Rodin pieces. Among them were a small sculpture of one of his ideas for The Burghers of Calais. Most were housed inside the museum, but a few, including this one were displayed outside in the garden.

This metal tree reminded me of The Tin Man. I'd like one for my yard. :)

And that was it!