~ congratulations joe! ~

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Last weekend, we traveled to Virginia

to celebrate my cousin's high school graduation!

At the picnic that would follow the next day, 

my uncle gave a short, simple, moving speech,

thanking everyone for attending, 

and to say how proud he was of his son.

I thought about what his parents were experiencing,

watching their first-born excel in not only his academic studies,

but also his honorable character emerge.

I was impressed to see my cousin meet everyone's praise 

with genuine gratitude and grace.

The family gathering was so much fun.

Plenty of good food and laughs.

Plenty of sweet baby smiles.

There was a great family volleyball match,

just the right mix of competitive spirit and good-natured fun.

Congratulations Joe!  

~ camping season ~

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A couple weekends ago

we had our first camping trip of the year!

We eased into it by staying at our local nature preserve.

We stayed in a primitive (no water or electric) site.

It was perfect!  

Our tent is the REI Kingdom 6 and we love it.

Very spacious and an adult can stand up inside.

It has kept us dry in several heavy downpours, and stood tall during strong winds.

There are a bunch of pockets inside for everything.

I cannot say enough good things about this tent.

Everywhere we looked,

the first leaves of Spring were appearing!

The girls ran up and down the ravine,

creating little play areas and finding spring ephemeral wildflowers.

At the end of the day, they were tired in a way you can only experience camping.

We made a pot of curried butternut lentil stew

in the cast iron dutch oven, and warmed it over the fire.

Hearty and very filling!

Of course we roasted marshmallows!

I managed to squeeze in some knitting as well.

This was March 19th, and we had camped to see the "Super Full Moon".

But it was very overcast, so we couldn't see the Moon.

I had fun trying to get a picture of the night sky.

I held my breath while taking these pictures.

They turned out kind of neat.

The next day we went on a hike to find more spring ephemeral wildflowers.

I found quite a bunch, and got some decent pictures.

But I will save them for another post.

Okay, just a couple.

Meet round-lobed hepatica.

Oh, she's so sweet!

And goodness I love this last photograph.

~ carrie ~

~ the happiest thing ~

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freshly picked dandelions

just for me

from my sweet lela

~carrie~