Summer Vacations - 2008

Just for you, Aaron, a title! And thank you for giving me the title in the first place! ;)

Okay. In July we went to Montana, but I'm guessing all of you already knew that. Why am I telling you what you already know??? Anyway, I promised to blog, and since we've taken 2 trips in 9 weeks, blog I will. As follows:

First, to Montana over Little Big Horn Days and July 4th. Saw Hannah and Isaiah in a parade. Josh preached at the community service, and we just generally had a super good time. Took Hannah and Isaiah to their first circus. That was a hoot! It was a small (although 3-ring) circus, suitable for a small town. But we went to the afternoon showing on a week day, so it was very sparsely attended. We were able to sit so close! The kids really enjoyed it, and we really enjoyed the kids. Also enjoyed watching Hannah ride an elephant. Also watched the bookends in a soccer practice another day!

It wasn't just about Hannah and Isaiah though. We got some good time with Su, and after a day or two, she began to wake up in a really bad mood. The adults couldn't figure it out, but Hannah had a thought: she thought perhaps Su thought we were no longer there. So I showed myself to Su, and she settled right down! Seems she liked having G-ma and G-pa there. That felt really good!

We also attended the church service the morning we left, and the former pastor was there. That turned out to be a very moving meeting - we were so thankful that God allowed us to be there on that particular Sunday.

Holly and I spent lots of time in R&R - Resting and Relating. It was a very restful visit, and we loved every minute there. Thank you, Josh and Holly, for a great week plus, and for your restful hospitality.

After a couple weeks of work, we took off again for the southern kids. We fly into San Jose, rent a car, and drive south 3 hours on 101 to San Luis Obispo. Surely a slice of heaven on earth - at least weather-ly speaking. Very moderate climate (usually). And although I don't consider myself a beach bum, I do enjoy the beaches they have there. We visited Pismo and Avila Beaches, and Morrow Bay. Pismo has the finest sand I've ever seen. It's almost powdery! A few miles away, Avila Beach sand was so warm, we couldn't walk barefoot on it, and had to crouch under the pier in the shade, where I, of course, hit my head. Every Thursday night they have a farmers' market downtown, where they block off several blocks of a main street. It was very much a fair-like atmosphere - at least where the eating was concerned! Corn on the cob dripping with butter, tri tip, pork, beef, & chicken kabobs, hot dogs, I could go on and on, but the pounds like to pile on just at the thought! Every Thursday night! And their weather almost always cooperates. One of the things I think we enjoyed the most (if you can tell by the number of times we went) was Bali's. It's a serve-yourself yogurt place - about 7 kinds of yogurt, I think. And then bins upon bins upon bins of add-ons. A diabetic's nightmare, and a sweet-tooth's delight! I think we hit that place 3 or 4 times! You took a styro cup (and not a 6-oz cup, either!), from about 10-12 oz all the way to 32 oz cups. Select your yogurt(s), and mix in whatever toppings you wanted. Then pay by the ounce. Thankfully, they always had a sugar-free, fat-free yogurt for me. And it was really yummy. We went to the Old Country Buffet for breakfast this morning, and they had a mini-bar of the same thing. Only it was so far removed from Bali's, I didn't even connect the two until Ric said "It's not Bali's, is it?" No, not quite. I'm gonna miss that place!

Spending time with Taylor and TJ was awesome. We saw a t-shirt at Morrow Bay that I wish I had bought for Tay: it said "Yes I'm a girl. Yes I'm an athlete. Yes I can kick your butt!" She's all girly-girl, and at the same time, loves to play hard and tease her brother. TJ is the most amazing carbon copy of his daddy. It took me a couple of days to get used to that. And throughout the week, he kept doing things that Aaron did, which I had forgotten about, but had a flashback when Tommy did it. He has the cutest way of beckoning you to come when he wants something. Wish I had gotten that on video.

And it was good just being with Aaron and Courtney. Although Courtney had to work a few days while we were there, since she just started, we still had good time together. I hope she was able to rest up after we left. She was pretty busy with company and work, too.

You know, I could go on and on. There's just so much to say, but I promised to start making them not quite so long. So I'm going to quit and try to get a few pictures added. Tomorrow I go back to work, and work an extra half-day for the next 3 weeks. It's a good thing I feel rested!

Until next time. Sayonara.