My sister Jessica came into town the day before I got home from France, and so we have gone on many "adventures." In my family we like to just get in the car and drive. We call these little excursions Adventures, because we go and explore new things and just go to have a good time as a family.
Last week we decided to go up to Harrisonburg, Va for the weekend. On the first day that we got there we went to explore the Lauray Caverns. Omigoodness, it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It's amazing to see what nature can create, these beautiful caverns, with lakes and stalactites and stalagmites, were such a wonderful example of the beauty that cannot be created or copied and can only be found in nature.Besides the sheer beauty of it all, it was so much fun to be there with my family. I can honestly say that we all laughed the whole way through, from the faces and the jokes and the stories that we all told each other, it was so much fun.
We also got "caves kisses," when the water drips off the ceiling of the caverns and if it hits you it's a year of good luck. I can say if I ever needed a year of good luck, it would be my senior year.
That night for dinner no one could think of anything they wanted except for me, so we decided to go with my suggestion, barbecue. Now it had been a long while since any of us had had real barbecue, and for me it was the first time I'd ever had REAL southern barbecue. Nothing can beat a meal like the one we had that night. We stopped at this little diner, and it felt more like coming home to a meal than to a restaurant.
My favorite part of that day though was after dinner. I had suggested that we drive up the mountain a little more and to park the car and go star gazing. I couldn't get enough of that sight, the stars sparkling like a million diamonds above our heads. You could hear a little babbling brook off to the side of where we were. All in all, with the clearest night sky I've ever seen, and the sounds of the night all around us, I couldn't have dreamed up a more perfect moment.
The next day while we were in Harrisonburg we decided to go hiking. We found some fun little trails. When I was really little we used to go hiking all the time as a family, I wish we still did because every time we do we always have so much fun. One of the trails we took brought us up to the edge of one of the mountains, and the view from that point was absolutely breathtaking. You could see for miles and miles.
We spent our last day in Harrisonburg exploring the little town as well as the area around the campus of JMU. And of course we took many photos. Sometimes I wonder what people do with their cameras if they don't go out to explore like my family does. And I know that few families are like mine, and I can honestly say I am forever grateful for the bond my family has. Ours goes beyond blood, because we're also friends, and I don't think anyone could ask for more than that. 
We also decided to spend a day at the beach as a family. Down by the boardwalk they have those four person bikes that you can rent. They always looked like such great fun, and a nice leisurely way to go down along the beach. Well I was wrong. People don't bike slowly on those things by choice, it's because they don't go any faster than a slow walk, I swear. However after our hard work, we all went to get ice cream, and on a day as hot as that one was, that ice cream was well earned. 
After grabbing our ice cream, Tanner had been asking for quite some time to go putt-putt golfing, so we went to one of the courses there by the beach. We decided to try the Jungle Golf because we have passed it an innumerable amount of times but have never gone. Well, I can honestly say that I suck at putt-putt golf. As you can see I was very clearly third place, and I only lost to the five year old... haha. But it was a lot of fun, I can honestly say I have never had that much fun at golfing before.
My mom has been making this dress for Jessica and she finally go it finished while she was here. It is a Pride and Prejudice style of a dress and was it beautiful. We decided to go up to the Westover Plantaion on Turkey Island to take photos of Jessica in the dress. I mean, she's already one of the prettiest people I know, but my sister looked stunning. And I just couldn't help but share, I mean, have you ever seen prettier eyes? And her hair, I wont even get started on how perfect her hair is. 
Horses. My family loves horses. Especially my sister. Since these last few weeks have been our "Jessie Time," we decided we needed to go take her horse back riding while she was here. Well we have some friends who own a farm and so went for a day and rented a couple of their horses to ride. I was so amazing. I think that people who have never had the chance to ride a horse need to. There is no feeling that can compare to the feeling that you have when you ride a horse. And ever the smell is amazing. Now you may be thinking, "who likes the smell of horse?" Well the answer to that would be me. The smell of horse, and nature and wind and even sweat, all together they're more than the individual smells. To me it smells like freedom and no perfume or any other scent can compare to the smell of freedom.
And that brings us up to yesterday. Shopping, lunch out, it was a total girl's day. Even though we literally shopped until we dropped it was so much fun. I can never say it enough, I love getting to spend time with my family. The best part of yesterday though was getting to have a little photo shoot at sunset. We went down to Norfolk and took photos on the docks. Sitting there watching the sunset with my family was perfect. And then getting to go home and all snuggle up with blankets and watch a movie together? Perfect.That's the one word I think I would have to describe families as. Perfect. No matter what's going on, or even if we're mad at each other, family always comes through, and that is perfectiton.
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