August and September 2012

August and September were very full months. Dane and I went home for a week in August because he had a couple of weeks between his summer Field Ed in Raleigh and the start of the Fall semester. We had a very full week when we were at home. We drove home and stayed one night in Nashville on the way down and back. I love it that my sister lives in Nashville. It is a perfect rest break for us, and a perfect excuse to see my sister!

 

 Corey graduated from FSU film school the week before we got home. We are very proud of him, and we were glad he was able to be at home while we were there.

 I love this picture of Dane and his Dad sitting outside at Dane's grandparents' house.

 It was great to see Dane's Aunt Jody and Uncle Richard.

 Dane and his Nanny Mert catching up.

 We made a trip to Conway to visit with our C. Ark friends. I had lunch with my PT mentors and friends Charlotte and Leah. Dane visited with his new DS and one of his pastor friends. We had potluck dinner with our Plummerville UMC friends. Finally, we ended the night with deserts at Conway's favorite Stoby's with our friends Merritt and Mallory. Adam and Max were out of town working. Mallory and Max are moving to California. It was great to catch up.

 I helped my Mom a few days in her classroom. I was also there for a short time during her Open House. I love seeing my Mom in action. Her kids absolutely love her.

 Reading is a big part of second grade!

 My parents. :) Love.

 With Momma.

 We had our Twilley family reunion when we were home. This was our first reunion without our dear Gran. It was a wonderful weekend, but we all had moments of sadness without Gran. I love seeing her siblings. She loved all of them dearly. In the above photo is her brother Charlie with Mom.

 Here is Gran's sister Doris. She is only 13 months younger than Gran. They could be twins.

 Charlie's daughter Kristin with sweet Rocco and my Aunt Julie. 

 Pop and Doris's husband Mickey.

 Some of Gran's sisters. Doris, Peg, and Ann.

 Beth and Rocco. Rocco loves Beth.

 My favorite teenager.

 Mom and Julie.

 Charlie's newest grandchild - Sunday! She is beautiful.

 Kristin and big brother Rocco.

 Marilyn and Toby. He is a cutie.

 Sunday :)

 We learned a new game with dominos. 

 The back porch at the Lodge. Too many great memories at this Lodge.

 Charlie and Nancy and Sunday.

 Shelby and her adorable daughter Milly.

 Ross chillin in Beth's remodeled bedroom.

 Sunday lunch at the Womacks.

 The men under the shade tree. Good to be home.

 Last lunch with my sweet sister in Nashville. I cannot wait to go back for my birthday in October!

 We had a great fall kick off for our Duke Div Spouse Group. I am serving on the leadership team this year. We decided to have our first event as a family event. It was a great turnout! We had it at a local park which worked well for the kiddos.

 Todd (fellow Arkansan) and Maddie.

 Too much cuteness.

 Dane's 27th birthday coincided with the first day of college football. We had a party at Satisfaction Pizza (the first restaurant we ate in when we moved to Durham) with all of our Durham friends. In the above photo: Raygan, Sara, and Todd.

 Josh, Dan, Tim, Zac, and Will 

 Allie, Christina, Parker and Alisha.

 Our friend Karen also celebrated her 28th birthday. Her husband Zac organized a very sweet surprise party at their home. It was a "Karen is Made Well." We all got Karen gift cards from her favorite clothing store Madewell. We pulled off the surprise. Karen is a precious girl. We are so thankful for our Oklahoma friends. We will share our 5 year anniversary with them in January. We will celebrate on the 4th and they will celebrate on the 5th.

Most recently, Corey came to visit us last weekend. I did not get any pictures because the Womack men do not like pictures. :( While Corey was here, we had a time catching up, eating good food, listening to live music, and watching Razorback football. Ok well, maybe not that last part. Having Corey here was good for my soul. I was missing home, and he came at just the right time.

We went camping this past Friday night with the Workuns and the Bests about 15 minutes outside of Durham. It rained almost the entire time, but we had fun anyway. We also celebrated the birth of sweet Baby Weigelin. We were blessed to visit with this sweet family last night at UNC hospital. Mike and Vail are already amazing parents. We finished the night with dinner at Nana Taco (our Durham favorite) and Texas football with Kevin and Allie (our favorite Texans). Today we enjoyed a wonderful church service at Highland UMC in Raleigh and then had lunch with Todd, Emily, and Nora. Too much fun for one weekend.

This week we have: Spouse Group Tuesday night, Div School Fall Festival Thursday night, and I have a Continuing Ed course Friday and Saturday. We are headed to Nashville in 3 weeks to visit with my family, and we already have our plane tickets booked for our trip home for Thanksgiving.

WHEW!! Blog wrap-up complete. :D