School Year's Eve

Tomorrow is the day we've all been trying not to think about since May 24 - our 1st day back to school. We had a really good summer. We always do. I'm so grateful to have a job that allows me to be home when the kids are home. At dinner tonight we talked about our summer highlights. Both kids said church camp stuck out as their most favorite. They also said hanging out with their cousins a couple weeks ago was a highlight. Tyler also mentioned his dive trip. There were a lot of things I enjoyed, but mostly it was just having time to be together.


 



 

 

We all have high hopes for this school year. We always do. :) I hope both kids grow in their relationship with Jesus this year. I hope they're kind to others and each other. I hope they stay safe both physically and emotionally. High school is hard. I hope they don't feel too stressed but just enough to learn how to function. I hope they go to bed on time, pack their own lunches, and get their homework done before dinner time (ha!). I'm excited about halftime shows during football games, band shows, softball games, and spring break. I hope I remember to be kind even when I'm tired and the kids at school are less than deserving. So many school kids have to deal with issues that we can't imagine. I don't want to lose sight of that. We have lots of hopes.

I suppose my most immediate hope, though, is that I don't oversleep. I haven't seen 5:30am for several weeks.

Cousins Couch Pictures

2007

2010

2011

2018

Celebrating 50 Years

Ron's parents celebrated their 50th anniversary last weekend. For their anniversary, they wanted to bring the family together to celebrate, but it ended up being just as much a gift for us as it was for them. Their anniversary is actually toward the end of next month, but this was the best time for everyone to get together. Andy's family flew in from Japan, Rob's family flew up from Florida, and we drove up and all spent a couple days together. Don joined us on Sunday, too. It had been several years since we'd all been together. After about 15 minutes of awkwardness, the cousins were exploring and playing and laughing together like they hadn't missed a beat. When we left on Sunday evening, the kids were disappointed we didn't have more time together.

We hung out together at the house on Saturday. On Sunday, we all went to church together (we took up 2 pews) and later enjoyed dinner and a ride on the local scenic railroad. It was a very memorable weekend, and I'm grateful for the opportunity we had to all come together. I'm also grateful for my mother & father-in-law and the example they have set for their kids and grandkids. 50 years is a very long time...and they still act like they like each other. I'm glad our kids can see what marriage is suppose to look like.

Here are some cell phone pictures from the weekend.



(Thanks for the picture, Rob.)

 

 

 

 



They all have so much personality. They were fun to be around.

One of the bridges we passed on the train ride.

 

This is what 50 years of loving God and loving each other looks like.

My Birthday

My birthday was at the end of July. The kids' birthdays bother me because they're getting older, but I don't usually mind mine. I'm happy with where my life has lead me to this point, and I get cake. How could there be a problem?

This year my brother took the day off work and joined me, the kids, my mom, & Jack on a visit to the wildlife park. The weather didn't really cooperate with the whole "open-air safari" concept, but it was still a fun trip. There were actually a lot of animals to see if the rain splattering on the side of the bus didn't splash into your eyes and blind you. ;) I didn't bring my camera because I was afraid it would get wet. It was a good thing I didn't. There wasn't a dry spot anywhere - on the bus or on my person - by the time we were done. In fact, there was a river running along the bottom of the bus. It pooled at the back of the bus when we went uphill and ran towards the front when we went down. At some point in the trip I unknowingly dropped my eyeglasses into that river. (After several phone calls, I got them back about a week later. They had big smudges all over the lenses and the case was waterlogged, but thankfully they weren't scratched!) Despite the rain, it was a really fun adventure and a great way to spend my birthday.

Obviously, this is the "before" picture.

Baby rhino

Baby giraffe with his back to us at the far right. I wish I could have used my good camera to get a picture of this little guy. He was only a few weeks old.

"After" picture. We had dried off in the bathrooms a little at this point. Notice we are all still smiling, though.

The four of us enjoyed dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant and then stopped by the park to humor mom with a short walk since it had cleared up.

 

We enjoyed a lemon-raspberry Nothing Bundt Cake later that evening. It is a limited time flavor, and I have been looking forward to it since last July. It was just as yummy as I remembered it. Now I have a reason to look forward to my next birthday. 

Happy Bday to D!

We celebrated Danielle's 15th birthday last week. It was a rather low key day, which is probably because Danielle is a rather low key kid. She wanted to go to lunch with her best friend and then have a few friends over to spend the night. We squeezed dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant and birthday brownies in between the two events.



She's been licking the brownie batter bowl since she was 2.

 

The traditional post-present birthday hug.

 

We enjoyed dinner on the restaurant's patio.

Danielle is a pretty special kid. I hope she's blessed with a daughter like her some day. (And I don't mean that in the mom-curse way at all!)

Along the Way

I have been trying to walk a lot lately. My favorite places to go are our nearby metroparks. We have such a nice park system. The sun is setting earlier and earlier, and before long it will be too cold to do much walking outside, but I am enjoying the summer evenings as much as possible while I can.

One reason I love to walk at the metropark is because there are so many distractions along the way that's it's easy to walk farther than you realize: the flowers blooming in the prairies, the butterflies, the birds, the baby turkeys waddling after mom & dad, the turtles in the wetland, the clouds changing color as the sun sinks lower, the deer...I could go on and on. I especially enjoy counting the deer every evening. I saw 10 one evening last week. That was my highest. It doesn't matter how many I see, I have to stop and look at them every time. I don't understand why everyone else just keeps on walking. Those little spotted fawns following their mama are too cute not to enjoy for a minute.

I don't take my camera with me because it's too heavy, but I've taken a lot of cell phone pictures and videos this summer. I thought I would start sharing some of the things I see along the way.

I was a little later than usual getting to the park yesterday evening. By the time I finished my walk, the bats were performing their acrobatics. I enjoy watching them, even when they fly right at my camera.

The clouds were pretty last night, too.

Today's Pic