Heading North

Well, to North Carolina anyway. We took a trip to Asheville, NC to see relatives and test my ability to deal with temperatures below 70F.

First things first, we roadtripped it to Houston so my Dad could babysit the pups. (Ha ha, sucker!)

Cora took the time to chill...

while Luna took in the sights.
After a night at Hotel Mom and Dad, we picked up Nathan and Kelly and flew away from flat old Houston, to a place where the topography looks more like this.
Have I mentioned that my Aunt has never been someone you'd call a "city girl"? Welcome to her front yard.
Spending some time with family was the best part of this trip. We don't get together nearly as often as we should since we're generally at least a few states apart.

This is my super awesome grandma.

I've always known my Aunt to have a plethora of animals - Horses, dogs, and cats always. I kind of miss the chickens whose eggs I'd help collect when I was a kid on visit, but I hear she's thinking of getting goats, which cheers me immensely since Rob still won't let me put one in our backyard. The real mainstay, though, are the Great Danes. She has 5 currently. They're all giants, and they're all big sweethearts.

Maverick isn't always big on the picture taking.

Me and Maverick hanging out. Yes, his head is at least as big as mine.

Bella (or maybe Fancy, they look a lot alike), Maverick, and Hanauma.

Me and Hanauma, who I'd like to rename "Snuggle Pig". I'm sure she won't mind since it turns out her Hawaiian name means something like "Stinky".
Nathan wades through dogs.
Meanwhile, Kelly gets the mellow version.

Rob is too cool for dog accompaniment.

Mom, Kelly, Nathan, and Rob out for a walk on the property.

The tobacco barn. Apparently, this was once used to smoke tobacco leaves. Now it leads a much less controversial life by storing hay and feeding horses.

Free car with purchase of property!

No horseback riding on this trip, but that doesn't mean I can't go make some friends.
Baby stretch.
It's hard to tell from the picture, but I was actually showing Rob the ginormous sticker burr that I pulled out of the horse's mane with, wait for it, knit gloves. My brilliance is astounding sometimes.
Sunset from the back deck. Thanks to my Uncle Ted for snagging my camera and reminding me that, duh, sunsets are pretty.

After leaving North Carolina, we headed to Houston for Turkey day and more of the good life that comes from staying at my parents' house and doing a lot of nothing in particular. 

My one remarkable adventure in Houston was going to see "Twilight" with Kelly. Wow, was that horrible. I don't mean the movie. I can't accurately tell whether that was any good. I can tell you that if someone had offered to tie my tubes as I walked out of the theatre, my response would have been something like "Oh please yes!". There were many many many many teenage girls at the movie. I saw that coming, but I failed to recall just how awful teenage girls can be. The first time the audience screamed and yelled "He's so hot!" as Edward walked onscreen was kind of cute. The eighteenth time was a lot less so. I told some girls next to us to shut the F up. Yes, I'm going to hell. It was an effective strategy, but only worked on the small number of girls I'd managed to traumatize. The rest of the crowd continued in obnoxiousness. Anyway, going to see "Twilight" at the drafthouse this weekend. 18 and over. Sounds perfect.