Weekend update

We had a delightful weekend - it was well deserved after an especially hectic work week for both of us. We started off the weekend with movies. In preparation for the new Indiana Jones movie, we bought the special edition pack of the previous 3 movies and watched "The Last Crusade." Lovely evening!

We continued our movie watching by going to see the latest Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian on Saturday morning (11:50am showing!). It was quite good and I wished I had finished reading it before seeing it. Now I really have a fire to finish up the entire series, I think.

Saturday evening was filled with Mario Karting with Becky & Kevin. They may live hundreds of miles away but we can meet up to race on the Wii anytime. I don't know how those 2 hours went by so fast, but they did! It was a blast! They have skillz - for real! I've got to 'practice' this week so I can hold my own in a team race next time.

Finally, on Sunday we knew we had to get a new gas grill. Our beloved gas grill has not aged well and after taking a fatal spill over the patio retaining wall a few weeks ago, it was done with grilling. We've shopped around a lot and considered many different brands and even charcoal (which we love! but don't love the time it takes to heat up). We finally took a leap and bought a Weber gas grill. It is more amazing than we imagined!

It has stainless steel cooking grates and "flavorizer" bars that make a wonderful grilling experience. Seriously. It is an experience! We are ready to host a cook out at our house!


See? Ready for a cookout!


Our [happy/giddy] reflection


And finally, we had our regular weekend storm (I'm pretty sure this makes week #8 in a row!). It delayed our grilling on Sunday night, but we were not going to wait another day to try out the new grill. Then today we had super thunderstorms and HAIL. I was home alone when they struck and admit to feeling a bit uneasy. Thankfully my car was in the garage and the new grill was under the patio cover, so no damage!

Photo update (cabin weekend)

Hi! I haven't posted much lately, but I've taken a ton of pictures. So instead of a lengthy update, I give you pictures:

Cabin view (Grandfather Mnt)


Wii boxing action (also a good cardio workout)


Up on the Parkway


SLOB sistas


Lunch in Blowing Rock - Becky's face says it all (it was, uh, ok?)


Storm brewing on Grandfather


Kitchen duty (we ate good!)


Paul telling funny stories


When Paul has the camera


Shea & Micah


Photo shoot with Becky & Kevin (my favorite shot)


When Becky has the camera


Perfect weather on the day we leave... headed down Hwy 421 out of Boone

Weekend getaway

This is where we'll be this weekend:



So excited!

Additional proof of our nerdiness

Last night we stayed up way too late watching TV. We were not watching the usual comedies or dramas of Sunday night, no, we were watching a documentary. A darn good one at that (well, besides some sound issues, which I think we'll blame on the passing storms).



Paul had received an invitation to view Carrier from UNC TV a week ago but the timing didn't work out for us, so we had to wait to see it on TV. Thankfully UNC TV has a great HD (high definition) channel so we could watch it in all its glory (sadly, not hear it though). We both have interest in past, present and future military battles, weapons, technology and people. We watch in awe and admiration at what our men and women in the armed forces do to protect our freedom every day around the clock.

A little background on Carrier (Episodes 1 & 2 aired last night, it will be on all this week on PBS):
"In May 2005, the USS Nimitz embarked on a six-month deployment to the Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Global War on Terrorism. These operations helped stabilize the maritime environment and complemented the counter-terrorism and security efforts of regional nations.

The Nimitz and its air wing, Air Wing 11, launched more than 4,500 sorties totaling more than 11,000 flight hours. More than 1,100 sorties and 6,000 flight hours were flown in direct support of troops on the ground in Iraq. (sorties = term for deployment or dispatch of one military unit; usually has a purpose of accomplishing a specific mission, whether alone or with other aircraft or vessels)

Ships from the Nimitz Strike Group also conducted 286 queries, 410 approaches and 14 boardings of foreign vessels in support of Fifth Fleet Maritime Security Operations.

During the deployment, the Nimitz Strike Group made a number of port visits throughout the Western Pacific and Arabian Gulf including stops in Hawaii, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, Thailand, Bahrain, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Nimitz also made her first-ever stops in Guam and Perth, Australia before returning to California in November 2005."