Joey-Natalie-Slade-Naomi

Yes. This is Joel. Once again he made it out to visit us. But this time it was not only Joel but Beave, Hugh, and Dave as well. What a surprise. Joey and the guys all picked me up from work with the boat and we spent the late afternoon and evening boating on the James River. What a great night. Afterward we went downtown and ate at a great pizza place that is right next to the train tracks that go through town. It was such a cool setting. Then ended the night playing shuffle board. We love Richmond!

3 comments:

RobAar said...: You sound so happy about Joel's frequent visits. Haha. Hopefully those boys weren't to rowdy last weekend. You and Joey are pretty daring to climb up that dock! Fun, fun...(but Austin will be funner) :); July 20, 2009 at 1:40 PM
Darrick Hatch said...: I am so jealous that you have a boat. How about a trade? Anything... but the baby of course. She's too cute. Way to go on the killer air Joey. I would break my back if I tried any of the tricks you can do.; July 20, 2009 at 1:51 PM
The Allens said...: Awesome pictures!!! Tell Joey that Chris and I want a jersey shirt to wear during one of these seasons! I'm glad you guys got your boat back. That's a killer pic of Joey with the bridge. How fun. We can't wait to have you back!!!; July 21, 2009 at 9:15 AM

"Beautiful Like the Darkness Between Fireflies"

Every evening on Richmond's boulevard, our front yard, between the hours of 7:oopm & 8:30pm, the sidewalks are filled with the magical glow of fireflies. There are so many that it is almost as if walking in a fairy-tale. Joey and I try to go on a walk every night at this time and we just watch and enjoy the glow. It is fascinating. I feel like a child again. Last night we were sitting on the couch and Joey caught my eyes following a flying bug. Joey assured me it was just a moth, when suddenly it lit up and glowed! It was a firefly in our house! It must be good luck.

WHALES!

I love whales. Why? Christmas 2006 we woke up to sunshine and glassy water on the west side of Maui. I don't even remember opening presents that morning. We were out on the boat as a family and ready for a Christmas packed with tropical adventure. I was wakeboarding when I noticed that everyone on the boat had become disinterested in me and were anxiously looking to my left. They signaled that they were going to drop me. I thought I was left for the sharks and was less than calm until finally they turned to pick me up. It was a family of whales they had spotted. We watched as they sun bathed on the surface, a mother, a calf, and an escort. I think it was my dad who jumped in the water first. Then several of my siblings followed with their snorkles and soon the adrenaline was pumping as we were swimming with the whales! We were screaming and scared and so excited. I have never experienced anything more thrilling. The calf kept trying to swim closer to us, and he was easily bigger than a car! At one point the escort was about 30 feet under us and we starred him in the eye. You could see every detail. Breathless is the only word to describe it.