badger badger badger badger mushroom mushroom!

i was informed that a post was being waited for on here, and who am i to deprive you people (or at least bethany, haha) of the goings on.

first off, it was a great weekend. hands down.

on friday evening the Stranger's dad and grandad came up. I used the Andrea Charm (patent pending) and I think they like me. i know i definitely liked them. we took them up to show off how awesome Coopers Rock is (thus completing one of my 101 Goals actually, taking new people to CR) and they were impressed. We even took them on a ride on the PRT (i forget how neat that thing is to people who didnt have to sit on it when it was broken down on a 98 degree day with 30 people packed in.) I think they had a good trip and they all told me to come visit soon. I think we are going to since his grandad's cancer is quickly progressing. I'm going to be sad when he goes, even if i met him just once.

saturday we headed to the geographical center of the state. thank goodness he's also from a small hole in the wall kind of town, bc it wasn't a culture shock to him. everyone else i've brought home (past boyfriends, friends from college, etc) had all come from bigger places and were amazed how we survived. i'll be the first to make fun of b.county, but i hate when other people do it. so i was really glad that he got it and enjoyed it. we went to the damn dam which he was surprisingly impressed with, and took the walking tour of historical sutton (we walked the three blocks of town.) he took a lot of pictures of things, his favorite of which is:

yes. i am aware that there is artillery pointed at my head. i mock the face of danger.

we had a great dinner with the entire Ware clan to celebrate Laura and Mark's engagement (the one that my grandmother is quickly taking over and I'm willing to step in as the maid of honor at tell her to back off if need be) (coughcoughLAURA). everyone met and (seems to anyway) like the Stranger quite a bit. He can talk coal, exercise, cars, and beer, the favorite topics of some of my aunts and uncles. and then the kids came back and we built a bonfire and drank beers. and pink champagne. with a foil rim. because that's class folks and we want the best for our newly engaged types. and if four dollar Andre doesnt spell class then i dont know what does.

sunday was the day of great feasting. and the peasants did rejoice with pasta salads and hot dogs and lemonade. and naps. and redneck slip-n-slides, and more naps. and it was good.

and yesterday, we canoed. (canoed? is that even correct?) we started in town and paddled (floated and pretended to paddle) to the next town. it took about 3.5-4 hrs. i have no pictures from this, but my aunt has a very good one i believe (laura can you ask her to email them to me?) of me sitting oblivious in the front of teh boat and the Stranger standing over me with the paddle ready to clock me in the head. such love, i tell you.

and also, i rescued a dog. it followed us several miles down stream, along the side. we figured it would turn around and go home but it kept coming. it disappeared at one point and i was ok with this, until we saw it again, paddling toward our boat. being who i am, i made the Stranger pull it into the boat so we could check its tags. and also, puke in the boat. obviously i did not plan for the second part. Ratler is a good dog, if a little un-seaworthy. but we got ahold of the owners and dumped her off to them. and all was well and the canoers did rejoice. i also saw deer and a bigass turtle and some ducks and laura fall up a hillside of mud.

and also there was a bigass rainstorm on the drive home and we hydroplaned and it was not good.

and then i passed out because i'm a lazy bum who'd been in the sun all day and had eaten much all weekend.

when i get more photos i will share them with you. but overall it was a really great time. mom says the Stranger could talk to a tree stump, which i -think- is her way of making a compliment. but mammaw approves, and thats always a big deal.

and that is that. not exciting, but really really great.

hope all your weekends were equally fantastical.