Yes, I took some time off. It has been another busy season in our lives. In addition to dealing with all the garden produce, we were enjoying some much-needed time with family.
Josh, Lauren, Tate and Peyton came for a visit and it was the highlight of our Summer. Josh timed their visit to be able to spend his and Chris's birthday together. This is a big deal for the two of them, being twins and all. That bond is so very strong. It was wonderful to see the grandkids all playing together and for the 2 youngest to have a sleepover with their oldest cousins while their parents got to go to a WSU football game. Another day we all spent part of the day on the river and some of us went fishing or just for boat rides in Chris's boat. Tate caught a fish with Isaiah, Chris, Josh and I cheering him on in the boat! Peyton got to drive the boat and was thrilled to bits. Steven played keep away in the river with his uncles and older cousins. That boy has turned into a fish! Bradley amazed his cousins, along with his aunts and uncles, with his agility and acrobatic skills and strength. One afternoon I took my 3 beautiful girls out to happy hour at Applebee's while Jeff took the guys and the grandkids bowling. This was our gift to all of them. We want to build memories with all of them. There was lots of good food, laughter, love and family bonding as we celebrated Chris and Josh's birthday along with Jeff's birthday, which is a few days after theirs'.
Lauren and the kids are now back in Utah and Josh has deployed to Japan for about 6 months. Before he left, he got great news! They had put in a request for their next duty station to be Germany and they got it! They wanted so badly to be stationed somewhere in Europe so that Lauren and the kids could experience living there and so that they could travel around Europe seeing so many wonderful places and soak in the history of it all. It is going to be a great adventure for them all as Josh has been stationed at this same base in the past and had the time of his life exploring Europe. Jaysn had even made a trip over there to see his brother at the time and experience Europe for himself. Josh was a great host and thoroughly enjoyed showing his big brother around, along with being able to spend time with him.
With the start of the school year, it has been harder to spend time with our kids and grandkids here. We have been squeezing it in when we can coordinate it. Yesterday we popped in to see Heather and the boys (Chris was at a training) since we were in the area having a lunch date and hitting up a thrift store and antique store before that. It was so good to see them and Isaiah sent us home with zucchini, a pumpkin and spaghetti squash from the garden and Heather gave us some eggs from their chickens. I felt like we hit the produce jackpot! Tonight, we are going over to Jaysn and Rachel's to spend some time with them and Steven. Rachel messaged me this morning and invited us over. Of course, we said yes! Jeff and I were just talking about how we wanted to make plans to spend some time with them and then this morning, we got their invitation for dinner. :)
Later this month, we will be heading over to Montana to see my parents and brother Fritz. Mom and I are already planning on making some special treats together. We have also invited our hanai son #5 Ben to come up for lunch while we are there since he lives at the lower part of the lake. My parents love him, and he has been to their home a few times now. They watched him grow up with our boys, so it has been a long relationship with them also. We are so excited to see him before he heads to California for the cold weather months to play music gigs down there. This is our son who was on "The Voice" and was on Team Blake. Ben really is a very talented musician and songwriter. Yes, proud hanai momma here. ;)
I suppose I should get myself together and get a few things done before we head out later for dinner with Jaysn, Rachel and my bubby Steven. Jeff has been busy winterizing the swamp cooler and changing the oil in the car. Me, I have been a slug up until now today. Yep, typical for me after the busy but fun day we had yesterday. It takes me at least day to recover from too much fun or from doing too much. You should have seen me the week after Josh and family were here. I spent the next week recovering since it was go, go, go the entire time they were here. Do I regret it....not one single bit! Be blessed!
