Ode to Virginia

Dear Virginia,

I'm leaving soon, for Utah calls...
I'll miss you dearly - and all your malls.

When I'm gone, Nate just might relax,
who knew shopping sprees caused heart attacks?

I found solace in the slower days,
if not in malls, then catching rays.

The apartment pool - the Eastern shore
you know tanning is what summer's for!

You've been a great host, oh sweet V-A,
if given the chance, I'd come back to stay.

But in the end, U-T has you beat,
with mountains, deserts, and normal streets.

Although, the one thing you can truly boast -
Your license plates! I will miss them most.

So in honor of you, oh state of states -
my personal plethora of crazy plates.

Edward + Bella

AWESOME.

It had me quite shocked at a few parts, laughing, crying. . . the whole spectrum.
So what did you think??

Happy Birthday Little Sis!

BOOIE! Hope you have a happy birthday...
Sweet 16 that is! 16 years ago Bekka patiently waited until my 6th birthday party was over before she decided make her debut. A new baby sister was definitely my best birthday present ever, and I love sharing my birthday with her.

In honor of my middle sis, here are 16 sweet Rebekka Lyn facts:

1. She can make anyone laugh.
2. She's a genius, just ask her. ;) But really - 4.0 and honors - I guess third kid is the charm.
3. She's very creative.
4. She takes care of the house and dishes for everyone.
5. When she sets her mind to something she can not only do it, but do it well.
6. She's probably the most talented of the family...tennis, piano, sewing, drawing, writing, EVERYTHING!
7. She loves to watch PBR, aka Professional Bull Riders.
8. She's managed to trick my dad into thinking she's the clean child.
9. She's the only child in our family with freckles.
10. She's not afraid to be herself...something that most teenage girls struggle with.
11. She can throw one heck of a tantrum, or as we like to call them, melt downs. :)
12. She can make friends with anyone and all her friends love her.
13. She loves Chris LeDeux and classic country.
14. She's the best steer showmen I know...after Cade. Haha, jk Booie.
15. She's got a great sense of humor.
16. She is an awesome little and big sister!

Love you Booie!

Colonial Williamsburg

It's taken me a bit to get these up, but here are a few pictures of our day in Williamsburg. We drove up with Rem, Traci, and Sawyer and had lots of fun even though the weather was peaking into the 100's. The city is all historically preserved and the people are dressed up in colonial attire. We didn't want to pay to go in some of the homes...but we still had lots of fun just walking down the streets and peeking in where we could.
On the way home we had a Jelly Belly competition to see who could eat the grossest flavors. Someone would eat a bean without looking what it was, and then we'd laugh as they were forced to swallow or spit out jelly beans that tasted like vomit, rotten egg, moldy cheese, booger, pencil shavings, and skunk spray! If you've seen Traci's blog, these pictures will look very familiar!

Back Home, Barfing, and Batman

Now that I've had a few days to recover from my travels, (and more importantly-I found a spot where my computer will finally connect to the internet) I thought I'd record my experiences getting back home.
A couple weeks ago I had the chance to fly home for a week of visiting my family. My dad's side of the family has a camp out reunion every summer and since I missed it last year, I really wanted to be there. The fact that Cade is leaving us in less than a month also played a big part in the return.
The actual trip home was a story within itself but I don't really want to say much more than I now have a strong dislike for Dallas, Texas. (In particular, one American Airlines worker in Dallas)
When the Wallentine family gets together there's no lack of good food, laughs, and story telling. My dad has 7 siblings and they all have large families of their own, so dinner time with 40 relatives is normal. I love it! Here just a few of my favorite camp traditions:

Wallentines NEVER cheat at games ;) Some more action shots. Yes, that is my Dad.
And here is the close up. Watch out Cade!Uncle Chris reading the famous "left/right" story.
My Nana, with help from lots of others, gets enough gifts for EVERYONE to pass around the circle while listening for all the "left" and "rights".
And of course, sitting around the fire. I love listening to all the hilarious stories!
While I was home I caught a 48 hour flu bug...or something...so I had to leave the first night of camp to go home due to a upset stomach. (I won't mention any names of who I contracted this sickness from...ahem, Ashley :) ) However, I didn't have to miss too much of the reunion so it all worked out.
I had lots of fun at home and I'm glad I went, but it also made it hard to leave my family again. I was excited to come back to Virginia to of course be with Nate, and it won't be long until we head back for Cade's farewell.
Soon after I got back, Nate's sales office made their goal for the day and his manager paid for all of us to go to the midnight premiere of Batman. I haven't seen any of the other Batmans, but I loved the new one! It also helped that Christian Bale is VERY good looking. :) Heath Ledger was freakishly awesome as well.

July 4th - East Coast Style

Nate worked until 5 on the 4th of July. I think that is the only day they get a slight break...(?) because they usually go until 9. As part of the festivities, his company is awesome and pays for a huge BBQ dinner. It's a BYODC event (bring your own Diet Coke) , which to me, is basically any event.After dinner we went down to the beach with 95% of the population of Virginia (the other 5% was packed into a park a few blocks from our apartment). Then parked 10 blocks away from the action, walked behind slow people for 10 minutes just in time to catch the firework show, and walked the 10 blocks back with the same slow people who were ironically then in a hurry, all after a max 20 minutes of fireworks. I'm used to Romney Stadium's 45 minute celebration duration, so I was completely NOT ready to leave after the so-called grand finale.

I know I probably sound a bit pessimistic/sarcastic, but Virginia Beach really did put on a good show and it was a fun night. The fireworks were set off on boats out in the ocean and therefore reflected in the water when they exploded, so it was like a double dose.
(If you're like my sister, you notice my shirt changed colors. Just think clumsy, BBQ, ketchup, and white shirt...but Nate is very festive)
(This doesn't do the water reflection justice, but I tried)

We missed our families and their parties (and Nate's dad's birthday, Happy Birthday Darrell!), but we also realize this is such a great opportunity for us. It's a time of our lives that we'll never be able to duplicate. The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays because it's not focused around spending money or other such things, but just a time for everyone to celebrate our country. Happy 4th!

Princess Laci

I've seen this on a few people's blogs so I decided to try it. I'm very sure if it's accurate...but entertaining none the less!


You Are Mulan!

Strong and spirited. You're no one's girly girl; actually you are very determined person with a strong sense of self. Never let go of that! The only thing that equals your sense of self is your family, but the traditions of society can always be bent to protect something or someone you love.

Which Disney Princess Are You?