Sad Tuesday

Monday I finally got a hold of the new retreat center we wanted to hold the Family Reunion at and got the OK to go and visit on Wednesday.  On my calendar, it looks like I had a lot of things to do and didn't get them done... So I'm not sure what I did.  Rebecca had the herculean task of gathering up all her family items and getting them packed away.  She was extremely successful. I think only one thing got left behind.

Rebecca packed the car and then went to a chiro appointment.  Tom and I planned on leaving shortly after she did.  She had a goal to leave by noon.... but we thought, She's not going to make that.  So we lollygagged and did some other stuff.  By golly, she came home from the Chiropractor, loaded up the backpacks and kids... and took off!  Just about at noon!

It was sad to see them go and know it will be a year before we see them again.  But we had SUCH fun while they were here.  We did some sheet and towel washing Tuesday morning.  But shortly after Rebecca left, we took off to visit Jonathan and Kristy.

It was delightful that they were in the path of our trip to check out the new retreat center.  So we had a lovely evening with them. The next morning we left about 8 AM and drove to Perry, Kansas.  The caretaker of the Chihowa Retreat Center was just delightful!  She was so willing to show us around and explain things.  They didn't have any campers there, so we got to see everything that we wanted.  It looks to be a great place for family gatherings.  It was nice that they had the equipment for the volleyball, basketball, and baseball courts and fishing lines and canoes and paddle boats for the lake.

Afterwords, we drove into Lawrence, KS and stopped at the visitor's center.  We had a delightful lunch at a bakery and headed back to Jonathan and Kristy's. We got back in time for dinner and some visiting.  Tom helped Jonathan fix the garage door and cleaned out the two pounds of hair in the upstairs bathroom. And taught Isabelle how to do it in the future.

Kristy invited us to go to White Water with them on Thursday. We'd brought swimsuits, but not other things like over-shirts or water shoes.  But they accommodated us with the needed equipment and off we went.  It was a fun time.  I mostly hung out with Zachary in the little kids area and wave pool.  But I especially liked the family tube ride.

We left about noon and stopped at Aldi's on the way home for some groceries.  I just had time to unpack, shower and turn around for a 5pm dinner engagement. I'd invited my neighbor to go with me to a presentation about retirement.  Based on the flyer, I assumed it was a kind of insurance product, and it was.  It could be useful, but I think I have my retirement planning kind of in place. The presentation was at Gaston's Restaurant right on the White River so it was a pretty place to eat.

I got back home in time to help Tom with some of the bed making.  He did a great job of organizing the toy closet back to it's original condition and vacuuming and getting all the bedding washed and organized and put neatly away.  He is AWESOME!

Friday my goal was to dive into all the projects I'd delayed for three day.  I don't know that it happened.  I mostly caught up with emails, answered LinkedIn requests, and finished a website.  I did spend a few hours revising a teacher workbook for Seed Digging. Every time I read about it, it sounds so successful!  It's a way to get at the root of problems that cause emotional distress.

Saturday we weeded the garden and picked veggies. I was speaking Sunday so my first priority was to complete my talk.  We had invited people over for lunch Sunday as well.  They live out of town and their daughter was getting her Patriarchal Blessing here in Mountain Home.  So my second priority was to make a chicken salad for Sunday. That entailed going to Walmart to shop and get a rotisserie chicken to use. A friend introduced me to that short-cut and I'm not sure its faster, but it's tastier.

Friday evening, Tom went to a rehearsal dinner for a wedding and Saturday we drove over for the wedding itself. It was held on the property behind our house.  Well, a part of the 500 acres the bride's father owns.  It was a lovely wedding.  It was sprinkling/raining off and on up until the actual ceremony-- which was outdoors on a hill.  The rain let up in time for the wedding.  It was perfect, no sun in the eyes, cooler, and a radiant bride and groom.

Today/Sunday, I tried to get my missionary letter done before church.  I think my talk went well.  It was based on President Uchdorf's talk about the Savior finding the lost sheep and carrying it on his shoulders.  He spoke about how valuable we are to the Lord and how much he loves us.  He knows our weaknesses, sins, infirmities-- and still he felt we are valuable enough to atone for us.  He knows the sheep who are lost and he loves them enough to seek them out and bring them back.

The family who came to lunch have 7 children ages almost 16 to under two. They were very well behaved.  He is a teacher in Mansfield. We had a nice visit before they left for the patriarchal blessing.  They left 6 children behind.  Tom was home by then and did a great job entertaining them with the zip line-- until it started raining-- and then with mad checkers games.