Home and Back

I've noticed that as I get older, I look around and feel thankful I'm not the only one. It's strange to live so far from my family and friends I knew in my younger life. A few years can make so much difference. The kids in my family are growing up so fast I can't keep up and my friends are producing new kids at an alarming rate. Everyone is so grown up these days.

Last week we spent about 10 days in North Carolina and spent a lot of quality time with family, but also old friends, mainly from college.

I grew up spending summer weekends at our house at Lake Norman. This year, we hosted a weekend long party with a bunch of old friends. It's scenes like this one that really make me want to do this more. We called this the "first annual lakehouse reunion."

From the lake we went almost directly to the beach (Emerald Isle, NC) with my family. Here is the whole crew.

And of course all this is made possible by my Mom, the matriarch and grandparent extraordinaire. Thanks for everything Mom! This is Mom, Dad and Turbo.

Of course, I had to experiment with the waterproof camera... I thought this one was funny.

I do love the coast and time with the family, but after living with just Sachi, a huge family for a week is a jarring experience. We all get along wonderfully, so it was all good. And speaking of growing up, the first generation of my nephews and nieces are college age and that means we try to keep up with the college-style partying.

As if the lake and beach weren't enough, one of my oldest and best friends got married on Saturday and it was another reunion. Congrats James and Joannie...

This a group of guys that is surely my closest group in my young life. We started playing select soccer at about 8 years old and have been friends ever since. The stories we tell.

Good times, but oh so exhausting. I can't wait till next year.