Every summer a theme seems to emerge from how we've spent the days. And when you think back you say things like "Oh that was the summer we read all the books" or " that was the summer of painting and yard work" "or that was the summer of all the beach days." When I think about the summer we just had I would describe it as the summer of visiting and reconnecting with friends and family. I visited face-to-face with people I haven't seen for years and years. I also visited with my peeps that I see everyday. Some of these visits were planned and some weren't. That's the beauty of summer. Oh ya, this was also the summer of Palm Bay's!
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A girls trip to Vegas was the kick off to a string of 40th birthdays that are going to be happening over the next year. Eight women in sin city livn' it up...how crazy is that? This trip is something that has been talked about for YEARS and it's hard to believe it actually happened. Eight husbands and eighteen children were left behind and we all know that the planning and coordinating of all that is sometimes enough to just say forget it. But we didn't. There was some intense group therapy sessions and some good for our soul moments. I would bet that as a whole, the mental health and well being of this group of ladies improved substantially... all for the low, low cost of a trip to Vegas. Who needs professional counselling when you've got eight friends, drinks by the pool, shopping, limo service, dancing and the ability to sleep in as late as you want? That's fabulous Las Vegas, baby!
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After three days in Las Vegas, I couldn't wait to see my family again. Jon and the girls met me in the city and we had some family fun. This included hotel water slides, new Build-a-Bear outfits, new school shoes and clothes for both the girls (yikes!), and a day at the Saskatchewan Science Centre. Oh, and we visited with our friends at their new homes. I like to visit people in their homes and towns. Then I can picture in my mind what they are doing when I talk to them or read their Facebook status.
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More reconnecting and camping at a campground that we've never been to before was next on the list. The girls got to meet their cousins for the first time and we figured that it had been 15 years since the last time I had seen their mom's! I didn't take a picture of us though. I guess we were so busy watching the kids have the time of their lives catching frogs and these ginormous grasshopper/butterfly bugs that we had never seen before. They must be prairie bugs because we've never seen them around our northern town. I don't think we'll be letting 15 years go by again before our next visit. I don't think the kids would allow it!
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The country roads took us to our final stop. Our home away from home. The farmyard of my BFF. I've seen my friend three times this summer! That is virtually unheard of but I'm so glad that's the way things rolled out. I love visiting their home. I love shopping in their small town co-op for the days meal, I love looking at her garden in all it's glory ready for a harvest, I love looking at the wide open spaces and glowing yellow canola fields, I love that the kids just pick up where they left off, I love visiting their cabin with all its good memories, and above all, I love my BFF.
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So that's where August went. Now were home, missing our friends and family but so grateful for the time we got to spend together. Little sister had a big birthday this week and we're preparing for back to sch***! Can't bring myself to say it, yet!
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