End of summer

Yes, this is one of those times when I attempt to cram several weeks of significant experience all into a single post...

The day after this, I put my kids in the car and drove 375 miles to a beautiful little town on the Colorado Western Slope to visit my great friend Gina. Gina and I both moved to Ohio the very same week, and we decided immediately to be friends. (What luck! To move someplace new and meet a lifelong friend right away!) A month after we left Ohio, they moved to Colorado. What a great little reunion we had. It was fun to see their house and community--we even tagged along to Joseph's back-to-school night at the local elementary school. David was in heaven playing with his friend Caleb: performing in a rock band, building couch cushion forts, setting up airports and war zones, and wearing matching clothes.

One morning we visited beautiful Rifle Falls State Park, where the kids (including little Mary and Isaac) were all troopers, scrambling up and down rocks and checking out caves. It was a marvelous morning.

These two--Isaac and Mary--have something of a special relationship. Generally, Isaac enjoys (gently) tormenting Mary and Mary enjoys (dramatically) tattling on him. Here they are happily making faces and silly noises at each other:
All the boys shucking corn for dinner:

David and Mary ended up sharing a bed at Gina's house...
...and they've never gone back. (Here at my parents' house they are sharing a bed--but more on that another time.)

Since Nephi, Gina's husband, was off hiking his nth 14er, it was just us girls after the kids were in bed. It felt, well, luxurious, to have so much time to talk and talk and get caught up. I am so deeply grateful for Gina's friendship. (I hope she knows I firmly intend to hang onto her friendship forever!) We had such a wonderful visit with their family. It was leisurely and fun and uplifting and comfortable, and it definitely renewed my spirits. Leaving wasn't easy. How I look forward to another visit, whenever that may be!

But onward toward Texas we trudged (if you call speeding through the Eisenhower tunnel equipped with fruit snacks and DVD player "trudging").

A picture of Vail Pass, where we stopped for a potty break and a breath of thin mountain air (though the most breath-taking part of the drive was definitely floating on I-70 through Glenwood Canyon):

A few hours later we arrived at the meeting point in Denver for our next reunion, this one with Deanna and kids. David remembered the big kids from this and this--and Mary did too!--and they were both eager to see the big kids again. We met at a park with a train--definitely a big hit (but no pictures)--and a petting zoo--also a big hit, but instead of sharing pictures of farm animals, I'm posting a picture of this cute little girl...
There was a fun playground (that we stopped at on our way back to the cars), but the best part was a creek for wading. Deanna and I sat in the shade on the grassy banks while we watched our children work on various projects and gradually shed various articles of clothing...


We also talked. A lot. I let out the tears that had been drowning my soul inside. We sat on the grass and I cried and Deanna held me close. Knowing you are loved is a good thing. I know I am loved. Thank you, Deanna.

Eventually we moved our party to a hotel room, where our children continued to play and play. Deanna has amazing children (no doubt because their mom is amazing) with big hearts who reached out my children and included them in everything. For years (decades!), I've looked forward to the day when my kids and Deanna's would be great friends...and, despite their age differences, great friends they are!

(By the way, you can read more about our visit here. And a little bit here too.)That evening we bid farewell. It was bittersweet--hard to say good-bye, but so happy to have shared such a wonderful day together. Deanna and the kids headed back to Fort Collins, and I prepared myself for two more days of driving.

Fortunately, my lil' brother Daniel met me in Denver to help with the rest of the drive. He definitely wins some kind of Super Brother/Super Uncle Award. I never would have survived without his help pumping gas, cleaning the windshield, herding kids across fast food joint parking lots, steering luggage carts into elevators, retrieving breakfast from the buffet, charming Mary with meows, keeping me company with good conversation, passing out snacks and toys, navigating, entertaining David in the swimming pool, and, of course, trying to save a petrified Mary from a swarm of flies that took residence in our car. I am so grateful for Daniel, and I am thankful for the hours (and hours!) that I got to spend with my baby brother. (And oh how I love dispensing advice--and he was a captive audience!) What an awesome guy, that brother of mine.

Before taking residence here in Flower Mound, we stopped at Greg's parents' house for almost a week. It was a good way to transition from Utah to Texas--I needed the time to do nothing (other than try to mentally and emotionally prepare myself to start a new life, once again).

We spent most afternoons in the pool. One afternoon also included popsicles:

Another popular treat was a morning trip to the local donut shop for super fresh, melt-in-your-mouth donuts.

There was also plenty of hanging out with the other Uncle Daniel, who was home from college for a couple of weeks. (We even dragged Daniel along to the bowling alley, where little Mary trumped his 94 with a score of 117. Seriously!)

Among other things (like apple crisp and cool new toys), Grammy treated the kids to rides on the carousel at Stonebriar.

We couldn't hide at Grammy's house forever. Life in Flower Mound was waiting--including a load of boxes the moving truck dropped off here last May. (Ugh! Can I say that I'm tired of moving?)

So here we are. Summer has ended. The boxes are unpacked. School has started. A Y membership secured. Friends being made. Routines established. We're settling in for the year.