Summer travels...

Wow!  It has definitely been a summer of breathing again but also a summer of many miles on the pavement.  Our busyness is much less than it used to be and I'm savoring every moment of it.  That said, I've been traveling somewhere almost every weekend since we finished up the wheat harvest.  It started with a good part of a week at Grand Lake, NE of Tulsa, for our Krull family reunion.  Aunts, uncles, and cousins come from all over the country to spend a week on the water, and Grand Lake is one of the premiere spots.  I love it so much, but I'm afraid we're moving on to different horizons for next time.  Then the Fourth of July brought my Ridenour family to Des Moines, Iowa, for my grandmother's 80th birthday party.  Everything was lovely and the time there was meaningful.  It was the Fifth of July, however, that wasn't my favorite... my husband left in the car with my parents and headed home (south) while the girls and I pushed on north to see yet, more friends and family.  When you've already put 600 miles behind you, and you have no other engagements, what's another 400 miles over the course of 3 days?  That said, coming home was a very long haul for one driver in one day.  I made though and it was actually a good trip... considering it was 16 hours.  I did sleep on a park bench in Auburn, Nebraska, for about 20 minutes.  Lol.  Since then, the girls have actually logged more miles than I have... Regan went with the youth group to Divide, Colorado, for a week camp.  During that time, Rozzie and Rayne went to Enid to help their Aunt Renae clean the FGF weight room they own and run there in Enid.  Nae said they were excellent help- she even rewarded them with a trip to Claire's at the mall and $20 each.  Last weekend my husband's family spent a Sunday morning (starting at 7:30 AM) taking family pictures in the pasture at my in-laws.  The morning was perfect.  All of us decided to fore go church and after the photographer left, we spent meaningful time there in the pasture together sitting on the haywagon sharing some of the things on our hearts and our recent studies in the Word.  Later that day, my three children deserted us once again and went home with their Aunt Kristi to Dodge City.  Too bad for them, too.... we had unexpected overnight guests whom they would have loved to see!  Too bad life is like that... having to choose sometimes.  However, they thoroughly enjoyed Dodge. I ended up meeting Kristi half way and picking the girls up just after we learned that Rodney's uncle Jim died.  So here I am now, running down the road heading to a small community just north of Columbus, Ohio, where Uncle Jim lived.  Needless to say, none of us are thrilled about the hours that our butts are logging in the car, but it's what you do, right?   We won't regret it.  That's what families do... they lift one another up, carry us when we feel we can't go on,  and they don't count the cost.  So, my butt is in the seat and I wouldn't miss it for the world.  Did I mention that we're going to Cedar Point?  Since we're ALMOST there anyway... :)  If you're not familiar with Cedar Point, google it.  My girlfriend who was just there last month called it "Six Flags on steroids." LOL.