August can't come fast enough!

I've been AWOL. Yes, Absent WithOut Leave. I didn't tell you all that I was leaving my blog on hold while I went about taking care of other unexpected things. But, life happens sometimes without our prior approval. I'll fill you in on the short line...

Pops' cousin was in a terrible ATV accident on the Fourth of July. He lived for a few days on life support while family and friends had the opportunity to stop by and say their goodbyes and give him a squeeze or leave the family a kind thought or note. Living some 2000+ miles away, we were unable to get there to share in this time. However, when Pops' cousin died and the funeral arrangements were set, we were able to put into action a fast and speedy plan. My mom arrived in Oregon to take care of our treekids so that Pops and I could attend the funeral and share our love and support with Pops' aunt, uncle, cousins and other extended family members.

After arriving home, I had the strange situation of having my mom around without any prior proper planning! We enjoyed visiting and catching up... even though we had just seen each other only a couple of weeks prior! We took advantage of our time doing crafty fun, baking and laughing and remembering to enjoy each other as life is fragile and short.

So, that is where I've been and now the where I'm going... We are returning my mom to the airport in the morning - EARLY, and then we will be on our way to Seattle. DO WE EVER STAY HOME? It seems that we don't. Anyway, we'll be seeing plenty of people while visiting for only a couple days. We'll be headed home on Thursday, but will be making a stop in the biiiiigggggg city to pick up Pops' grandparents from the airport! They have been planning to visit for some time now, and here we are... the end of July, already!! They'll be with us until early next week.

According to the calendar, the week after our company leaves August arrives. I have checked several times just to be sure. But, I think that August is looking fairly calm. Nothing scheduled. Nothing planned. Calm. Relaxing. Quiet. Won't that just be great? Maybe we will finally be able to start our new school year! OH, my... so much for that calm, relax and quiet bit!