Catching up

So where have we been the last couple months? All over the place. Lots of interesting stuff happening… here’s the highlights.

First, I spent a couple weeks in Indiana visiting my folks. It was high party time in the Midwest- coyote hunting and ice fishing and dry goods shopping, oh, my! Seriously, I had a great time. I spent time with my dad fishing and hunting- well, I spent time bundled up shivering in the truck and ice shanty. A tiny ice shanty.

Just in case you don't know, my dad and I are pretty close to the same height. So... yeah, we were cozy.

Apparently I have become accustomed to the temperate Oregon winters.

(Note my Incredible Hulk gloves and- yes- my computer sitting next to me. I may not have completely grasped the entire concept of the great outdoors...)

In between hunting and fishing we thawed out by doing some shopping and antiquing and breaking in mom and dad’s new room. We are currently taking suggestions for names for this new room… it’s been in use for almost six months now and it’s still referred to as “the new room.” And there was lots of catching up with family and friends, of course, including the Rendinas who I haven’t seen for quite a while!

At the end of my time up north I drove down to southern Indiana to spend some long-overdue time with my buddy Kara and her family. It’s been about four years since we’ve seen each other and we had a rip-roaring time. Literally. I would go on and on about how fabulous those few days in Winslow were, but the written word would pale in comparison to the actual experience. Kara, Matt, Logan, and Noah, we will be spending much more time together in the future. Let’s leave it at that, because I’m sniveling with barely-suppressed joy at the memories. (This is one of the few times in my life that I’m not being sarcastic.)

(Oh, and everybody, don’t go see Avatar. It would be a shame if you didn’t enjoy yourselves as much as Kara and I did, and it’s well-nigh impossible that you ever could.)

Next, Andy met me at the airport in Indy and we drove to Bloomington to surprise his dad for his 60^th birthday. And surprise I believe we did! First I greeted Bill at the door as a balloon “delivery girl.” Once the shock of seeing me wore of (and we picked Bill up off the floor) Andy showed up “on the phone” and at the door. Once the shock of seeing him wore off (and we picked Bill back up off the floor) we commenced to having a lovely weekend. We broke in Bill’s new computer, Skyped with Lisa and Michael in New Zealand, had a mini-war with the squirrels, and of course ate lots of good food and had a great time. It was a great birthday for us- I hope Bill enjoyed it too!

We were very grateful to our friends Jason and Sara for waiting until we got back from Indiana to bless us with their new arrival, baby Levi! Of course there was a little bit of baby fever around our house for a few days as we were so excited to see their family expand. (Their family, not ours. Nobody get any funny ideas.) Andy had to distract me with a new toy, so he bought me an iPhone. It’s almost as though he thinks that gifts and trinkets will distract me from real life. I have no idea why he would think that. (It’s only been two months since my last blog post, I am OBVIOUSLY focused and in tune with the real world and the important stuff. And not spending every night installing new games on my phone. And virtual farming. On my phone. Where was I?)

Oh, yes, real life. Well, that seems to be the highlights. Of course we were obsessed with the Olympics with the rest of the country, and for the last week we’ve been fighting off a bug that Andy managed to get full force and I’m still trying to keep from grabbing hold. And that’s all we want to say about THAT! And of course, Caleb is enjoying himself immensely. It’s a rough dog’s life, eh?