Goodbye, June

Goodbye, June.

You were a good month, because we spent 95% of it in Texas, enjoying time with family and basking in the change of scenery.

Tonight everyone went to bed a little cranky because they were overtired (probably from going to bed too late too many nights in a row -- oops). Also because we're really, really, REALLY ready for Chet to be home.

July 1st starts a new month, as well as the second half of 2020 (a year/the beginning of a decade most of us will NEVER forget).

This next month we expect to welcome Chet home, we will celebrate 14 years of marriage, and we will all continue to press on.

(I have no idea I'm in such a philosophical mood tonight.)

Welcome, July.

Monday

Today I told the kids' piano teacher, "I'm not married to Monday" (meaning it's fine if we need to switch our Monday lessons to another day), and she said, "That should be the name of a band!"

So if I start a band called "Married to Monday" or "Not Married to Monday," you know the origin story.

I'm still not completely unpacked. I need to put the kids' clothes from their suitcases on hangers, and ALL of the items from my suitcase are on the loveseat in our bedroom. BUT I stowed all the suitcases away in the garage, and did a myriad of other things, including piano lessons and math with the children (and I read to them! and I fed them many meals!), so Monday is a win overall.

I refuse to complain about the weather, so I'll just say you have to be choosy about the times to go outside. We went on an impromptu bike ride yesterday evening (I jogged, they biked), and they had fun climbing on what they call "Rock Hill."

We left when Ruthie slid down a little too impressively.

Goodnight! Happy Monday!

Sunday Night

We had a nice Sunday.

(Although I'm still not 100% unpacked, and I kept trying to do every chore that needed done simultaneously, which didn't exactly work well.)

Ford, Ruthie, and I went to a baby shower, and thoroughly enjoyed visiting with friends.

Life with Monster is also working out nicely. He's made himself right at home (on Lorelei's desk):

WE MADE IT

We made it home yesterday!

Everyone did GREAT in the car. Other than Ford needing to take a bathroom break less than an hour into our (7-hour) trip, and some traffic in Baton Rouge (ALWAYS in the same place) and again near Hammond, LA, the drive was uneventful.

I have to say, Monster is an excellent travel cat.

Yesterday we unloaded the car and ate dinner.

Today we continued unpacking and getting settled (there are toilets dirty from lack of use and more spiderwebs than I expected after being out of town for a month!). The kids also played with their friends.

We miss Texas and our extended family, and we miss Chet. We can't wait to have him home, but I should probably clean the toilets and get rid of the spiderwebs first...

Back in Lufkin (and a successful road trip with a cat)

The trip from New Braunfels to Lufkin went surprisingly well!

The only real drama was in the half-hour before we left New Braunfels when we couldn't find Monster to put him in the carrier and leave town with him.

We finally found him in the very back part of the property, brought him in the house, and let him sniff around a few minutes. Then we put his new harness on him, placed him in the pet carrier, took him to the car, and drove off. The car experience was completely cold turkey for Monster (as far as we know). We thought about taking him for a few test rides before our road trip, but time got away from us.

Monster meowed most of the trip, but not in a frantic way. We stopped for gas about two hours into the trip, and Sydney got out of her seat to pet him. He started purring right away and hadn't thrown up or gone to the bathroom in the carrier, so I finally started to relax about the trip in general.

My dad met us in a town about an hour and a half from his house so we could have a bathroom break and eat a quick lunch. We arrived at the vet, watched them put Monster in his assigned cubicle in the cat room, and left. (We decided to board him at the vet for the two nights we're spending in Lufkin because my dad has his own kitty, and we didn't want to have to facilitate a temporary relationship between the two cats. My dad's cat is also much older, and we try to not disrupt her routine if possible.)

The longer leg of our trip is tomorrow (Friday), but I'm feeling more confident that we'll actually make it home in one piece (ha!). I'm hoping for no traffic as we travel through some of the busier towns in Louisiana, and that we won't have to deal with any cat bathroom accidents in the carrier (although we ARE prepared if that happens).

We've also thoroughly discussed our set-up-the-cat-area-as-quickly-as-possible game plan as soon as we arrive home, and how it's VERY important to keep Monster contained while we unload the car from our trip so that he doesn't dart outside and disappear forever into the woods.

Whew. I never expected a new indoor cat would be in the picture this summer, in conjunction with our trip from Texas to Mississippi and right before Chet returns from deployment. But the children are delighted. Stay tuned.

Starting the journey home...

Tomorrow we're leaving New Braunfels and headed back to Lufkin for two nights!

 

With a cat in tow:

His name is Monster, and he's sweet and laid back and LOVES the kids.

 

Let's just hope he doesn't lose his mind on the long car ride...

Happy Father's Day!

I have what feels like a boatload of wonderful fathers in my life, and I'm so thankful for every single one.

 

We missed spending Father's Day with Chet, but made him feel as special as possible an ocean away:

 

 

 

 

Fresh Produce

 

Didi and Papa Dave have quite the garden this summer, including all-you-can eat tomatoes, jalapeno peppers (Sydney ate one the other day), and carrots:

Neither Lorelei or Ruthie actually ate the carrots they picked, but Sydney and Ford did.

 

The carrots balance out the midday Oreos and nightly ice cream cones, a staple while visiting grandparents.

 

It's been a fun summer in Texas. (Even though today is technically the first day of summer, despite sweltering temperatures since mid-May.)

More Pictures from Lufkin

I had a lovely trip to Granbury/Weatherford for my cousin's wedding, but more on that later.

Here are some more pictures from our visit with my dad in Lufkin (he is good about taking pictures and passing them along to me).

Brownies Sydney, Lorelei, and Ford baked with Papa John. It was Lorelei's idea to add bits from a chocolate bar to the top:

Masked up during a bathroom break in Louisiana (clearly I didn't put these in chronological order):

A picture of all of the coin hunters:

Ruthie and I played Ford in checkers. We almost won by A LOT, but then he made a comeback and only lost by one checker:

Sydney drawing:

Happy Tuesday!

Texas

HOW HAVE ELEVEN DAYS PASSED.

The kids and I are thoroughly enjoying Texas. Many hours are spent in the pool, and I am enjoying seeing the cacti and succulents that grow straight out of the ground in this area of the state while on my morning runs:

Tomorrow I am headed north (Texas) (sans children!) for my cousin's wedding! 

Happy Thursday!