Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Elder Josh

It's a little bit after the fact, but Josh came home about two weeks ago. It was great to see him. He was the same old chill, quirky (weird) guy, but with a great Portuguese accent. It was the first time all four of us siblings have been together since my wedding. Though Ben would step in here and say that it's the five of us, and he wasn't there, so we weren't "all" together. Either way, I'm proud of Josh, and I'm happy to have him home.







Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Missouri and Nauvoo

The most recent part of our summer has not gone according to plan. The day after we returned from Traverse City, my brother Geoff asked if he could come visit us before he moved from St. Louis, where he's been working this summer, back to Provo.

He stayed with us for a few days and then I decided to drive back with him to Missouri to spend some time at my parents' house. We've known for some time that my next youngest brother, Josh, has been having knee problems. He is on a mission in Brazil and warned us that he could get sent home early for surgery (he was originally scheduled to finish his mission at the end of October). When his return became more imminent, I decided to come down here so I could be here when he returned. We expected him to come back last week, but he is set to fly in tomorrow. This means a lot of time away from Ben.

Luckily, we had planned a trip to Nauvoo with my parents, so I was able to see Ben briefly this weekend. I love visiting the place where we were married. It was the best decision I ever made, to be married to such a wonderful man in such a wonderful place.





Cherries and whatnot

I'm a bit behind. We've been very busy. I have a lot to catch up on, so I'll start with July.

For the Fourth of July, we went to Greenfield Village for fireworks and a concert. 


We also did sparklers in our yard, which Henry loved. He called them "dancing with Mom and Dad."


For my birthday weekend, we took a trip to Traverse City.


We climbed the famous Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. Henry ran up and rolled down then climbed up then slid back down over and over, all while giggling.


We also visited North Bar Beach, a wonderful, shallow stretch of beach connecting Lake Michigan and a smaller, warmer lake. 


Not that water temperature mattered much. Henry preferred to stand on the sand and throw things in the lake.


We stayed with a couple who volunteered to watch Henry one night so Ben and I could go out. We chose an Italian restaurant nominated for a James Beard award and famous for its farm-to-table cooking. In other words, it was delicious.


We also went to an ice cream shop set right on the farm where they keep their dairy cows. Henry enjoyed licking his ice cream while watching the "moos"


Traverse City is quite famous for their cherries. While we were there, we had them in burgers, bruschetta, and a few other things I never would have thought to put cherries on. We also went cherry picking. Soooo tasty. And I'm always just kind of apathetic toward cherries.


Across the street from the cherry orchard was a raspberry farm. Henry ate faster than we could pick. This trip has reaffirmed my desire to own an orchard. Who knew I was such a country girl?