A Lovely Sunday

It really has been a lovely Sunday. Mr. Russell and I started our day with a bike ride on the beach.  After a leisurely breakfast and a cup of coffee or two, we heard God's Word preached via Kevin DeYoung and YouTube. Then we had to go and make sure the beach chairs and umbrella were right where the nice people said they would be.  We found 'em.  Thanks, Thomas!

Our afternoon included a short nap.  I think we were exhausted from pumping up the air mattresses for Mercy and Wilson. (They are coming tomorrow!)

We headed back to the beach, and this time we actually got in the ocean with the boogie boards.

We ended our afternoon with a another bike ride to see if there were any basketball games going on at Night Heron Park.  Sorry, Ethan.  There were no takers for the scheduled pick-up games.  We are going to try again on Tuesday. I just know that Team Russell will dominate.

When we arrived back at our Villa and turned off the path, Walter came to a very abrupt stop. I skidded to a stop just in time.  There was a female deer enjoying a leisurely dinner right next to our Villa.  See the video below.

Now it is time for our dinner. We had better rest up.  Tomorrow is a big day.

Saturday

My true love and I arrived on the Island around 4:15 this afternoon. After checking in and grabbing a free bottle of water, we headed to our Villa. We then walked to the beach so that we could tell the beach chair guys which boardwalk we wanted Thomas's chairs set up at.

Next we returned to the Villa to unpack and put dinner in the crock pot. Then we went for a long walk on the beach.  We immediately came upon a family of deer. We took a selfie so we could prove to our children that we really had arrived. It was such a beautiful late afternoon.  There was even a cool breeze.

After enjoying a dinner of Bucky's BBQ, baked beans, and coleslaw, we hopped on our bikes to find a lagoon.  After less than two minutes of riding, we found one.  We also found a gator - no kidding!  We decided to ride bit further and we came out right in front of the house that my parents used to own a share of.

Sitting on our back deck, we could hear the ocean.  We listened to the night sounds and made plans for tomorrow.

We can't wait for our children and grandchildren to arrive, but I am not going to lie - it is pretty great to have a couple of days just to ourselves. We are truly blessed!

Kiawah Island, Here We Come!

Vacation 2015 is almost upon us.  Once again as most of our clan will gather at Kiawah Island, SC for a week of fun and relaxation.  Whereas most years we go in August or even early September, this year we are going the very first week of June, and for a very good reason.  Thomas is giving a recital as part of Piccolo Spoleto. The music promises to be fantastic, and his mother couldn't be any prouder.

But it gets even better.  Thomas and Julie will be staying at Kiawah with us along with their THREE children.  A lot has changed since 2012.

Faith and Ethan will be joining us on Monday, and Seth will drop by Wednesday evening after a long flight from Taiwan. I hope that he will  have enough energy for Mandatory Craft Time on Thursday.


I have prepared and frozen meals, and I have shopped and shopped and shopped.  My wonderful husband promises me that we will be able to fit everything in the trusty Suburban.

And did I mention that the very same wonderful husband and I will be in the villa by ourselves until Monday afternoon. Wow!  That hasn't happened since 1982.

The bikes have been ordered, the beach chairs reserved, and half of our household belongings are stacked by the door.

Let's go make some memories!