The Ginn-harski's

Earlier this month Lauren and I had our favorite treat: visitors!

Lauren's parents, along with Brian, Danielle, and cute baby Elliot came to visit for a week. Lauren was on spring break, so she had the entire week to spend with them. What a blessing.

On my day off, we headed to the coast. We spent the day on the beach and went into Wilmington in the evening for a walk through downtown and dinner on the river. The weather was nice, but a little too cool to swim. The ocean waters were very cold. The star of the show was, of course, Elliot. It was his first trip to the beach and he was entranced by the sand. He would pick up a handful and let it slowly sift through his hand. He would do this over and over again. As you can see in the photo above, sifting sand can be quite tiring.

We had a wonderful day and a wonderful week. Of course it went by too quickly. The whole gang is now back to MI, but still missed dearly here in NC. Can't wait to do it again!

k&lb

Firestorm

Last week we had severe storms roll through town. It was the heaviest rain I had ever seen. The locals tell me that it looked like a hurricane, but only lasted 5 minutes rather than 5 hours. The wind and rain was so heavy at it's apex, that the silver SUV in the photo would not have been visible. The storm knocked down a power line in front of the dealership and caused an electrical fire. I had never seen an electrical fire before and was amazed by how bright it was. The light was so intense that it hurt your eyes to look at it for more than just a few seconds. The fire lasted for about a half hour; luckily it was contained to that location in the road (the busiest road in Fayetteville). The next day a road crew was out patching the holes that were burned into the road. No one was hurt in the incident. Just a safety reminder: Never touch a downed power line...especially one that has turned into a raging inferno.

"To Rise up out of Asia"

That is roughly what Kia translates to in English. That stylish, blue, 2006, Kia Spectra translates into my new wheels. Last Tuesday Lauren and I traded in the yellow Focus. I'm sorry I didn't give you advanced warning to say good-bye. It was an exciting experience to purchase our first new car. I not only sell Kia's, I buy them too. Here are some photos...