We are having Spring Break! RIGHT NOW!
We didn't travel anywhere. Gas is too expensive (wish we could have gone to Arkansas.). We're not doing any big projects. But we are still having FUN!
Here's how:
I can get up and make a REAL made breakfast in the mornings! Like blueberry muffins or scrambled eggs and bacon or whatever sounds breakfasty good.
We can have friends over any night of the week! One of our friends came over for supper last night, and we have another friend coming over tonight.
We can clean the house slowly. Very slowly. No, cleaning house is NOT fun, but it's more fun cleaning slowly day by day than trying to cram it all into a Saturday. Laundry included.
We don't have to get up early!
We don't have to go to bed early (even though I still have been)!
Even if the kids get up early, we don't have to get out of our p.j.s for hours!
We can hang out as a family all day - watch a movie, go play outside, go to the library, or whatever.
I can take a nap EVERY DAY!!!!
And many, many other fun and relaxing things. I heart Spring Break!
Showing posts with label vacations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacations. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Pictures!
Pictures! Yay! I figured out how to download from the new program!
Wish we would have gotten a better pic with our digital of the M&J M family. We didn't take near enough pics with our digital. Oh, well.
The girls, participating in one of their favorite vaycay activities - watching TV in a hotel room.
Some interesting fish that we saw at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.
The girls walking to the Metra train station. We rode the Metra into Chicago each day.
At Water Tower Place in Chicago, which is a great shopping mall! I wanted to get a pic of those cool fountains behind us, which shoot droplets of water up every now and then and it looks really neat. But we didn't get a great pic of it. But WE sure look great!
A fuzzy pic of us girls on the bus, riding around Chicago.
Banana, chillin' on the bus!
BW on the bus. Standing up and letting the ladies have the seats. What a gentleman.
View of Chicago from the Art Institute.
MY FAVORITE!!!!!!!!!!!
On Lake Michigan in Algoma, Wisconsin.
Getting used to the chilly water.
Noodle running from the chilly water!
Cute pic of Banana wading in the waves.
Friends on the beach - building the gigantic sand castle.
Hawaii Five-Oh, a bit out of place in Wisconsin.
Look! Lake Michigan!!!!!
Wish we would have gotten a better pic with our digital of the M&J M family. We didn't take near enough pics with our digital. Oh, well.
The girls, participating in one of their favorite vaycay activities - watching TV in a hotel room.
Some interesting fish that we saw at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.
The girls walking to the Metra train station. We rode the Metra into Chicago each day.
At Water Tower Place in Chicago, which is a great shopping mall! I wanted to get a pic of those cool fountains behind us, which shoot droplets of water up every now and then and it looks really neat. But we didn't get a great pic of it. But WE sure look great!
A fuzzy pic of us girls on the bus, riding around Chicago.
Banana, chillin' on the bus!
BW on the bus. Standing up and letting the ladies have the seats. What a gentleman.
View of Chicago from the Art Institute.
MY FAVORITE!!!!!!!!!!!
On Lake Michigan in Algoma, Wisconsin.
Getting used to the chilly water.
Noodle running from the chilly water!
Cute pic of Banana wading in the waves.
Friends on the beach - building the gigantic sand castle.
Hawaii Five-Oh, a bit out of place in Wisconsin.
Look! Lake Michigan!!!!!Our Vacation
Our pictures from vacation have been downloaded to a new program, and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to download them onto this blog! Until then, I must apologize to those of you reading this blog, but you'll have to endure nothing but words this time as I give my report, sans photos. :o(
We left on July 20 and first stopped off to see dear friends of mine from seminary, Charley and Marianne, and their adorable son, Joshua! Joshua was adopted from China, and it was such a joy to keep up with their "Journey to Joshua," and then it was absolutely wonderful to meet him in person! Seeing Charley and Marianne again felt just like old times. We had lots of fun back in the day, didn't we ya'll??? And it was just the same. To top it off, we had Mexican food - yay!
We got to my parents' house later that day and then had family pictures made on the 21st. That was fun! My BFF Elizabeth's hubby, Johnny, takes pictures. We all color-coordinated our outfits and went out in the back yard and had a blast of a photo shoot. Later that night, My brother, his girlfriend, and I went to the River Market in Little Rock and met up with some other friends from Matt's and my growing-up years. It was fun being back and seeing some home-folks.
We went to church the next morning, and again it was good seeing old friends; after lunch (thanks, Mom and Dad!), we headed up to the Ozarks to visit my Aunt Nancy. It was so nice and relaxing. The kids had fun playing out in the back yard, catching fireflies, and crawling through the doggie door (sorry, Aunt Nancy!). BW and I had fun visiting with N, kicking back for awhile, and enjoying all the yummy stuff N made to eat! Especially the potato salad, some of which magically made it into our cooler for us to enjoy on the way to Iowa! N and I made a post-card run Sunday night, but came back with no post-cards, but had fun driving around together anyway! I love Aunt Nancy!
On Monday morning, we packed up from Nany's and headed to Knoxville, Iowa! Yippee!!!! We arrived at the home of our friends M&J M, their three kids, and their pets (my kids were thrilled! Animals!). We had a fun five days in Knoxville. Highlights were: daily visits with BW's grandparents, a day in Pella with our kids and M&J's two younger kids, visits with other friends that BW grew up with, and taking a ride with J and her daughter, K, and Chicken Nugget and me - in their VW BUG!!!!!! It is fabulous and yellow and we got ice cream at Sonic!!!! Also while in Knoxville, we took a jaunt over to Winterset to visit dear friends J&S S, with whom I stayed during my summer mission work in Winterset, summer of 2002. We also met up with Jenifer B and her parents. It was great to see them all, and praise be to God, Jenifer has experienced healing! After tests at Mayo, there is no indication of any illness whatsoever, so Jenifer is undergoing intense physical therapy and can expect a long, healthy, and happy life!
We left Knoxville on Friday and headed to LeMars, Iowa, ice-cream capitol of the world! Blue Bunny ice cream is made in LeMars. Also, we have wonderful friends that live there! M&J J, to be exact, as well as their two kids, J&M! We had fun visiting with the family, going to the water park, going to the regular park, and attending their church with them on Sunday morning (M is pastor of the Methodist church in LeMars).
We left LeMars on Sunday afternoon and headed to Britt, Iowa, to the home of our friends M&K S, and their kids, T&S. We had a marvelous dinner of stuffed canaloni (thank you, sweet K!) and then had double-chocolate brownies for dessert! YUM! The kids had a great time playing in the downstairs basement playroom (I miss basements, ya'll!) as well as outside riding backs. We grown-ups enjoyed talking and eating some great Iowa food (like the REAL DEAL sweet corn!!!). K and I had much fun on our Wal-Mart run on Monday!
On Tuesday, we left the S's house and headed to Chicago! But on the way we stopped and had lunch with W&C W and their four cuties - C, A, L, and brand-new baby J! We hadn't yet met L and J, so that was fun. It was also fun to be on a real farm with pigs and cows and a huge garden and a creek and everything! We didn't get to stay long, but still it was great to see the W family!
Chicago was a great time! We had fun swimming in the hotel pool (Chicken Nugget's favorite activity for the whole vacation!), going to Shedd Aquarium, trying to navigate the public transportation system (not easy, or else we are just idiots!), going to the Art Institute (my very favorite!), seeing a friend of BW's from college who works at the Art Institute and got is in free (thanks, A!), eating at California Pizza Kitchen at Water Tower Place, and seeing friends who have a great ministry in Chicago - K&B D, and their eight children! They have a great old house with a huge yard, and the kids played outside for hours.
From Chicago, we journed to Algoma, Wisconsin, with a stop in Sheboygan to see another college friend of BW's. In Algoma, we stayed in an amazing little motel that was right on the beach of Lake Michigan. It was beautiful and the weather was cool. The kids and I walked the beach that Saturday morning - with our jackets on! We spent the day Saturday with friends that Scott knows from college - R&T S, and their three little ones, E, A, and J. There was also another couple, visiting from Iowa with their three kids, also friends of Scott's from college. R&T have planted a church in Algoma, and it's been amazing to see the work that God has done through them. The other couple from Iowa are planting a church, and it was fun to hear the conversations between them and R&T. It was also fun going to the beach so that the kids could play in the lake, and driving around Algoma, which is a quaint and lovely fishing town.
We left Algoma on Sunday and headed down to Nauvoo, Illinois. It was from Nauvoo that the members of the Mormon Church fled to cross the country to Utah, back in the late 1800's. I wish I were more up on my history - anyone wishing to add more information, please do so. On Monday, we walked and drove around the town, saw where Joseph Smith had lived, where he and his brother and wife are buried, saw the beautiful temple (rebuilt to look like the original temple, which had been destroyed), and many other historic sites there. Everyone in the town was wonderful and friendly to us, and besides the historical significance of the town, it is just such a lovely area. It is right on the banks of the Mississippi river, and as we drove down a few roads, we saw creeks and small cliffs and caves and camping areas. We definitely want to go back when we can spend more time.
We left Nauvoo on Monday afternoon and drove all the way down to Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, to my alma mater, Williams Baptist College. We snagged a guest room there for the night for $8.00! Can you believe it???? We enjoyed visiting with many of my old friends there, including the President of the school and the VP for Student affairs, as well as the Dean. It was fun to see them all again, and many others. There have been many changes at WBC, including a new administration building (it is beautiful), a new bookstore and campus post office, and the student center has been remodled. It was impressive.
We left WBC on Tuesday afternoon, after touring and visiting, and drove back down to my folks' house in Benton, AR, for the night. We got to see the proofs of our family pics, visit with CBB (yay! I love you CBB), clean out our car and repack it, and hit the hay for the night. We were beat. We made it home to Texas the next day and really are still recouperating!
Much love to all of you. If we didn't see you on this trip, well, we'll make it on the next one!
We left on July 20 and first stopped off to see dear friends of mine from seminary, Charley and Marianne, and their adorable son, Joshua! Joshua was adopted from China, and it was such a joy to keep up with their "Journey to Joshua," and then it was absolutely wonderful to meet him in person! Seeing Charley and Marianne again felt just like old times. We had lots of fun back in the day, didn't we ya'll??? And it was just the same. To top it off, we had Mexican food - yay!
We got to my parents' house later that day and then had family pictures made on the 21st. That was fun! My BFF Elizabeth's hubby, Johnny, takes pictures. We all color-coordinated our outfits and went out in the back yard and had a blast of a photo shoot. Later that night, My brother, his girlfriend, and I went to the River Market in Little Rock and met up with some other friends from Matt's and my growing-up years. It was fun being back and seeing some home-folks.
We went to church the next morning, and again it was good seeing old friends; after lunch (thanks, Mom and Dad!), we headed up to the Ozarks to visit my Aunt Nancy. It was so nice and relaxing. The kids had fun playing out in the back yard, catching fireflies, and crawling through the doggie door (sorry, Aunt Nancy!). BW and I had fun visiting with N, kicking back for awhile, and enjoying all the yummy stuff N made to eat! Especially the potato salad, some of which magically made it into our cooler for us to enjoy on the way to Iowa! N and I made a post-card run Sunday night, but came back with no post-cards, but had fun driving around together anyway! I love Aunt Nancy!
On Monday morning, we packed up from Nany's and headed to Knoxville, Iowa! Yippee!!!! We arrived at the home of our friends M&J M, their three kids, and their pets (my kids were thrilled! Animals!). We had a fun five days in Knoxville. Highlights were: daily visits with BW's grandparents, a day in Pella with our kids and M&J's two younger kids, visits with other friends that BW grew up with, and taking a ride with J and her daughter, K, and Chicken Nugget and me - in their VW BUG!!!!!! It is fabulous and yellow and we got ice cream at Sonic!!!! Also while in Knoxville, we took a jaunt over to Winterset to visit dear friends J&S S, with whom I stayed during my summer mission work in Winterset, summer of 2002. We also met up with Jenifer B and her parents. It was great to see them all, and praise be to God, Jenifer has experienced healing! After tests at Mayo, there is no indication of any illness whatsoever, so Jenifer is undergoing intense physical therapy and can expect a long, healthy, and happy life!
We left Knoxville on Friday and headed to LeMars, Iowa, ice-cream capitol of the world! Blue Bunny ice cream is made in LeMars. Also, we have wonderful friends that live there! M&J J, to be exact, as well as their two kids, J&M! We had fun visiting with the family, going to the water park, going to the regular park, and attending their church with them on Sunday morning (M is pastor of the Methodist church in LeMars).
We left LeMars on Sunday afternoon and headed to Britt, Iowa, to the home of our friends M&K S, and their kids, T&S. We had a marvelous dinner of stuffed canaloni (thank you, sweet K!) and then had double-chocolate brownies for dessert! YUM! The kids had a great time playing in the downstairs basement playroom (I miss basements, ya'll!) as well as outside riding backs. We grown-ups enjoyed talking and eating some great Iowa food (like the REAL DEAL sweet corn!!!). K and I had much fun on our Wal-Mart run on Monday!
On Tuesday, we left the S's house and headed to Chicago! But on the way we stopped and had lunch with W&C W and their four cuties - C, A, L, and brand-new baby J! We hadn't yet met L and J, so that was fun. It was also fun to be on a real farm with pigs and cows and a huge garden and a creek and everything! We didn't get to stay long, but still it was great to see the W family!
Chicago was a great time! We had fun swimming in the hotel pool (Chicken Nugget's favorite activity for the whole vacation!), going to Shedd Aquarium, trying to navigate the public transportation system (not easy, or else we are just idiots!), going to the Art Institute (my very favorite!), seeing a friend of BW's from college who works at the Art Institute and got is in free (thanks, A!), eating at California Pizza Kitchen at Water Tower Place, and seeing friends who have a great ministry in Chicago - K&B D, and their eight children! They have a great old house with a huge yard, and the kids played outside for hours.
From Chicago, we journed to Algoma, Wisconsin, with a stop in Sheboygan to see another college friend of BW's. In Algoma, we stayed in an amazing little motel that was right on the beach of Lake Michigan. It was beautiful and the weather was cool. The kids and I walked the beach that Saturday morning - with our jackets on! We spent the day Saturday with friends that Scott knows from college - R&T S, and their three little ones, E, A, and J. There was also another couple, visiting from Iowa with their three kids, also friends of Scott's from college. R&T have planted a church in Algoma, and it's been amazing to see the work that God has done through them. The other couple from Iowa are planting a church, and it was fun to hear the conversations between them and R&T. It was also fun going to the beach so that the kids could play in the lake, and driving around Algoma, which is a quaint and lovely fishing town.
We left Algoma on Sunday and headed down to Nauvoo, Illinois. It was from Nauvoo that the members of the Mormon Church fled to cross the country to Utah, back in the late 1800's. I wish I were more up on my history - anyone wishing to add more information, please do so. On Monday, we walked and drove around the town, saw where Joseph Smith had lived, where he and his brother and wife are buried, saw the beautiful temple (rebuilt to look like the original temple, which had been destroyed), and many other historic sites there. Everyone in the town was wonderful and friendly to us, and besides the historical significance of the town, it is just such a lovely area. It is right on the banks of the Mississippi river, and as we drove down a few roads, we saw creeks and small cliffs and caves and camping areas. We definitely want to go back when we can spend more time.
We left Nauvoo on Monday afternoon and drove all the way down to Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, to my alma mater, Williams Baptist College. We snagged a guest room there for the night for $8.00! Can you believe it???? We enjoyed visiting with many of my old friends there, including the President of the school and the VP for Student affairs, as well as the Dean. It was fun to see them all again, and many others. There have been many changes at WBC, including a new administration building (it is beautiful), a new bookstore and campus post office, and the student center has been remodled. It was impressive.
We left WBC on Tuesday afternoon, after touring and visiting, and drove back down to my folks' house in Benton, AR, for the night. We got to see the proofs of our family pics, visit with CBB (yay! I love you CBB), clean out our car and repack it, and hit the hay for the night. We were beat. We made it home to Texas the next day and really are still recouperating!
Much love to all of you. If we didn't see you on this trip, well, we'll make it on the next one!
Thursday, August 09, 2007
We're back!
Vacation was fun. We saw many people in many places and covered six states in the course of our journey. So . . . vacation was fun, but we are tired. We got home last night and we've been resting ever since. Pictures to come. Love to all of you.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Vacation Schedule
It's going to be an exciting and very LONG road trip! We can't wait. We just bought a portable DVD player for the car. We had borrowed one previously, and it was wonderful. If you have children of tv-watching age and are doing a long car trip anytime soon, I highly reccomend one of these gadgets!
Anyway, here goes:
Friday, the 20th - leave our home, visit Charley and Marianne and Joshua in Texarkana (Charley and Marianne, if you are reading this, call us! We can't WAIT!!!); arrive in Benton later that evening.
Saturday, the 21st - time with family and friends in Benton; family picture out in the yard.
Sunday, the 22nd - leave for Bella Vista, AR, for a visit with Aunt Nancy!
Monday, the 23rd - leave Bella Vista for Knoxville, Iowa! Grandma and Grandpa! Yay!
Tuesday, the 24th - a day in Knoxville. I hope we'll go to that incredible Chinese buffet. Truly, that place rivals anything in San Francisco's Bay Area. I know. In Iowa. Who would have thought?
Wednesday, the 25th - a day in the place where it all went down - Pella! That's where I first met Scott at youth camp, July 2002. That's also where we got married, June 2003. It is a beautiful town. I can't wait to go back.
Thursday, the 26th - a day in Winterset, Iowa, another wonderful town. We'll catch up with old friends and see some covered bridges!
Friday, the 27th and Saturday the 28th - We'll end our stay in Knoxville and our daytrips to the surround areas. We'll head for LeMars, Iowa, to see dear friends the Janes's and their adorable kids.
Sunday, the 29th - Church with the Janes's (Mr. Janes is a pastor); leave LeMars after church and catch up with our peeps on the Stevens' ranch in Britt, Iowa. Mr. Stevens and Buffalo Wings will prepare plenty of brats for everyone. Yuck for me, yummy for them. And I get to see my sweet KS!!!! I love her and I miss her and we need some good huggin'. Oh, and we get to play with their adorable kids! (This trip is full of time with all kinds of adorable kids!)
Monday, the 30th - a day in Britt with the Stevens.
Tuesday, the 31st - Leave Britt; arrive in Chicago!
Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 1st and 2nd - play in Chicago. This will include the aquarium, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Children's Museum, the Michigan Mile, the Sears Tower, and other things that strike our fancy. It will also include time spent with an old family friend, Keith, and his wife and seven children!
Friday, Aug. 3rd - Leave Chicago and travel to Algoma, Wisconsin, to see more dear friends, the Shearers. They have three (adorable, of course) children!
Saturday, Aug. 4th - time with the Shearers in Algoma. Hopefully will see some of Scott's other college friends while we are there.
Sunday, Aug. 5th - church with the Shearers (Mr. Shearer is pastor of a church that he and Mrs. Shearer helped to plant! Very exciting!), then on to Nauvoo, Illinios.
Monday, Aug. 6th - time spent seeing the sights in Nauvoo that morning, then we will leave for my alma mater, Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge, AR.
Tuesday, Aug. 7th - after staying in one of the fine guest rooms on the WBC campus, we will wake early (not really) and have an exquisite breadfast in the dining hall, after which we will putter around the campus for a few hours (Buffalo Wings has never seen my old college, and I'm excited to see all the changes that have been made since I left - like the STARBUCK'S!!!!!), and then we'll head back down to Benton.
Wednesday, Aug. 8th - leave Benton; arrive back home. Vacation over. :o(
I CANNOT WAIT!!!!!!
And I can't wait to bring back the report and pictures to share with all of you!
Much love to you all -
Anyway, here goes:
Friday, the 20th - leave our home, visit Charley and Marianne and Joshua in Texarkana (Charley and Marianne, if you are reading this, call us! We can't WAIT!!!); arrive in Benton later that evening.
Saturday, the 21st - time with family and friends in Benton; family picture out in the yard.
Sunday, the 22nd - leave for Bella Vista, AR, for a visit with Aunt Nancy!
Monday, the 23rd - leave Bella Vista for Knoxville, Iowa! Grandma and Grandpa! Yay!
Tuesday, the 24th - a day in Knoxville. I hope we'll go to that incredible Chinese buffet. Truly, that place rivals anything in San Francisco's Bay Area. I know. In Iowa. Who would have thought?
Wednesday, the 25th - a day in the place where it all went down - Pella! That's where I first met Scott at youth camp, July 2002. That's also where we got married, June 2003. It is a beautiful town. I can't wait to go back.
Thursday, the 26th - a day in Winterset, Iowa, another wonderful town. We'll catch up with old friends and see some covered bridges!
Friday, the 27th and Saturday the 28th - We'll end our stay in Knoxville and our daytrips to the surround areas. We'll head for LeMars, Iowa, to see dear friends the Janes's and their adorable kids.
Sunday, the 29th - Church with the Janes's (Mr. Janes is a pastor); leave LeMars after church and catch up with our peeps on the Stevens' ranch in Britt, Iowa. Mr. Stevens and Buffalo Wings will prepare plenty of brats for everyone. Yuck for me, yummy for them. And I get to see my sweet KS!!!! I love her and I miss her and we need some good huggin'. Oh, and we get to play with their adorable kids! (This trip is full of time with all kinds of adorable kids!)
Monday, the 30th - a day in Britt with the Stevens.
Tuesday, the 31st - Leave Britt; arrive in Chicago!
Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 1st and 2nd - play in Chicago. This will include the aquarium, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Children's Museum, the Michigan Mile, the Sears Tower, and other things that strike our fancy. It will also include time spent with an old family friend, Keith, and his wife and seven children!
Friday, Aug. 3rd - Leave Chicago and travel to Algoma, Wisconsin, to see more dear friends, the Shearers. They have three (adorable, of course) children!
Saturday, Aug. 4th - time with the Shearers in Algoma. Hopefully will see some of Scott's other college friends while we are there.
Sunday, Aug. 5th - church with the Shearers (Mr. Shearer is pastor of a church that he and Mrs. Shearer helped to plant! Very exciting!), then on to Nauvoo, Illinios.
Monday, Aug. 6th - time spent seeing the sights in Nauvoo that morning, then we will leave for my alma mater, Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge, AR.
Tuesday, Aug. 7th - after staying in one of the fine guest rooms on the WBC campus, we will wake early (not really) and have an exquisite breadfast in the dining hall, after which we will putter around the campus for a few hours (Buffalo Wings has never seen my old college, and I'm excited to see all the changes that have been made since I left - like the STARBUCK'S!!!!!), and then we'll head back down to Benton.
Wednesday, Aug. 8th - leave Benton; arrive back home. Vacation over. :o(
I CANNOT WAIT!!!!!!
And I can't wait to bring back the report and pictures to share with all of you!
Much love to you all -
Monday, May 14, 2007
Just a little update from the Tasty Names Family
Things are going well in the Tasty Names household. In fact, life is good! I included the above picture because I love the Life is Good series of clothing, but also because it reminds me of my life in Marin County. It was during my time there that I started running. Since I left CA, I haven't been running that much. It was a little hard to run on the snow in Iowa, and it's been a challenge to learn the right times of day to get out and run here in Texas so as not to suffer from a heat stroke. In fact, the first time I went for a run down here was about a week or so after we moved in, and I almost did have a heat stroke! I got home and collapsed on the lawn. Chicken Nugget was outside playing and as things started to get fuzzy and far away for me, I told her she needed to go get Dad right away, and make sure he came out with a glass of water. Thankfully, everything was fine.We've been here long enough to learn the climate, and the relatively cool times of day (relatively). For the past couple of days, I have been going to a lovely, shady park here in town. It has a great walking track and I have been utilizing it! Since it's been such a long while since I've done any kind of good running, I decided just to test the waters. I really surprised myself! After several times around the track, doing some brisk walking and pumping my hand weights, I decided to use my last few times around to see how I'd do running, and I did great! I'm not up to a mile again yet, but I don't think it will take that long. Hopefully soon, I'll be back up to running four miles at a time like I did in CA.
I have to thank Leslie Sansone again for getting me back in some kind of shape so that I had the endurance to try the running thing again.
Just last week, I turned in my application for Region 4! It has taken me several months to take the plunge, because we had some decisions to make about where our family would be in the coming year. As it stands, everything will be the same for now, so we decided it would be best for me to proceed with become a teacher liscensed to teach in the state of Texas. I am nervous, excited, and apprehensive about the whole thing, but am also ready to dive right in and become a teacher!
This summer we'll be taking quite a trip! Buffalo Wings is teaching summer school, so after his session (end of July-early August), we'll have a two to two-and-a-half week vacation! We can NOT wait! Our first stop will be in Texarkana to see Charley and Marianne, and I cannot find enough joyful words to express how I feel about seeing them again! We were at GGBTS together, and they (like so many others) took Chicken Nugget and me in and loved us and what's more - Charley is from Arkansas AND has the same birthday as me! Marianne seems like she is from AR because she does a great AR accent and she is CRAZY!!!! I just cannot wait to see them and their sweet boy Joshua!
The above picture is from Bella Vista, AR. We will see beautiful scenery like this as we travel into the Ozarks to visit my Aunt Nancy. I cannot wait to see that dear lady! She's never seen Banana, and the last time we all saw her, Noodle was about eight or nine weeks old. We are definitely due a visit! And Aunt Nancy is a sweet and gracious host, always happy to have company and treating any visitor like royalty. She's got a great house with a fabulous deck that looks out into her wooded yard. I'm looking forward to some relaxing evenings of good coversation and a glass of good wine out on her deck, as we watch dusk turn to dark over the beautiful mountain trees.
Ah, Iowa!!! Drink in that skyline, folks. Just drink it in. We'll be there before you know it. Oh, you didn't recognize it? Yeah, I almost didn't, either. It's Des Moines! Stops in Iowa will likely include Winterset to see some dear old friends and some covered bridges, Knoxville to see Grandma and Grandpa and more friends, Pella for a walk down memory lane (that's where we got married, on the campus of Central College) and some Dutch letters and some tiptoeing through some tulips, and possibly LeMars and Britt or someplace in the middle to see some more friends. 
And then - and then - on to Chicago!!!! We'll have some pizza, hot dogs, see a Cubs game, go to the aquarium, the Sears tower, and who knows what all! It was my suggestion to go on up to Chicago, since we'll be so close, and BW thought that was a great idea. He adores the city, and he is a die-hard Cubs fan. I'd never known anyone who truly lives and dies with a team, but BW really does just that with the Cubs. So we're all very excited about what our summer adventure has to offer us!
Ah, Iowa!!! Drink in that skyline, folks. Just drink it in. We'll be there before you know it. Oh, you didn't recognize it? Yeah, I almost didn't, either. It's Des Moines! Stops in Iowa will likely include Winterset to see some dear old friends and some covered bridges, Knoxville to see Grandma and Grandpa and more friends, Pella for a walk down memory lane (that's where we got married, on the campus of Central College) and some Dutch letters and some tiptoeing through some tulips, and possibly LeMars and Britt or someplace in the middle to see some more friends. And then - and then - on to Chicago!!!! We'll have some pizza, hot dogs, see a Cubs game, go to the aquarium, the Sears tower, and who knows what all! It was my suggestion to go on up to Chicago, since we'll be so close, and BW thought that was a great idea. He adores the city, and he is a die-hard Cubs fan. I'd never known anyone who truly lives and dies with a team, but BW really does just that with the Cubs. So we're all very excited about what our summer adventure has to offer us!In the meantime, we'll be wrapping up school, BW will start summer school, BW and I will celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary on June 14, I'll continue with CWJC and begin with a new ministry team at church, the New Vision Ministry Team. We look forward to seeing some other great friends, Jonathan and Tamara, and going to AnitaMarita's wedding shower! The Woodard family will be coming to Houston to visit us, and we look forward to a fun week of Vacation Bible School during the last week of June - I get to teach the missions class again! I can't wait to give more and more updates as the summer unfolds!
Much love to all of you, and I cannot WAIT to hear about all your summer plans!
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