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Lunch in Athens, Greece. Did someone say Gyros?
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It seems that my 18 year old blog only updates at the end of summer. That's weird. Maybe it has something to do with the lack of bandwidth in my brain during the rest of the year. One of these days, I'll write about it. Until then it's summertime memories and sunny days. Until the start of the next school year.
Summer started off with a trip to Minnesota with Zanna for my Grandma Hanson's funeral. Yes, funerals are often a sad occasion and all of us will miss her presence in our lives. I'm extremely grateful for the grandparents I've had. She was an amazing woman who kept everyone in the family connected and up to date on what the others were doing even if some of us never saw each other except for funerals. She was a grandma who had numerous grandkids and great grandkids but would still remember to call me on my birthday.
The great part of the trip though was seeing aunts, uncles and cousins (some with spouses and kids now). I also got to see my little brother who I hadn't seen for four years. That's embarrassing. Both families live in the US now after years in Canada and Germany. This turned out to be the summer of Rachel and Reid. Oh, he may deny it but it was a highlight for him to be sure. Just look at his face.
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Nothing has changed
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But really now ...
I had to take Zanna. Since she's been going to school in Minnesota, she has connected with the Hanson side of the family for better or for worse. Oh come on. You all have families and you know what I mean...... Anyway, she's invested in this family. There was no way she wasn't going.
And fun observation: We rode Spirit airlines on the way back to Dallas and noticed that everyone was basically wearing pajamas or lounge wear. I guess we've stopped trying. This was also the summer of our Summer Sisters Scripture Study. I can't help myself. I'm drawn to alliteration. I hate not having a regular women's Bible study at church so I thought it would be fun to do one over the summer. We met five times at various coffee shops every couple weeks or so and studied "When Jesus Visits". We had such a great time! It was truly a highlight!
Zanna had her wisdom teeth taken out so that was fun! We purchased dental insurance for the year just for this momentous occasion. Now we're all frantically trying to get our dental cleanings, etc in for the year.
Continuing the summer of Rachel and Reid, I drove to Plano for a soccer competition my niece was in. It was fun to cheer her on and watch her do her goalie thing. I really don't care about soccer but I was excited to be there for family! Once they were finished, the family drove out to see us for a night in East Texas. The dog was a hit!
Near the end of June, we drove to Fort Benning in Georgia for Will's graduation from Ranger School!!! To say we're proud of his accomplishment is an understatement. It was an amazing experience to attend the ceremony. They put on quite a show for attendees in an effort to show off some of the maneuvers that Rangers must be able to do. I really don't want to think of my baby scaling walls while holding on to a large gun. Or jumping from a plane into the water, hanging by a rope while the plane is flying... things like that. But whatever.
Then it was time for the BIG trip for the summer - our 50th birthday gift to ourselves - a trip to Turkey and Greece for a Footsteps of Paul and John tour! Don't worry, I won't post all our pictures here or a daily recap like I did on Facebook. The history and Biblical sites were incredible, the architecture was beautiful, the weather was stifling, and the food was Greek so how could it be anything but divine?
Later in July, we had planned to go to a new pastor installation in Killeen, TX. We RSVP'd and everything. Only we never made it beyond Waco.
I admit I am a Magnolia fan! 25 years ago I was a Martha Stewart fan so clearly there's a pattern. We stayed at a local Airbnb tiny home and had dinner at Hotel 1928. My husband humors me.
Will came home to visit for a few days! He's still working in El Paso with the TX National Guard. Even though he works in the same state we live in it's 10 hours away!
And our last trip for the summer was to South Carolina to visit Mom and Dad. Brenda and kids came to visit for a few days which was so fun! We swam, bowled, played cards, shopped. It was nice and relaxing!
I also had several Women's Ministry projects going on. I taught my first Zoom Bible study on hospitality and also hosted my 9th webinar!
Summer was busy but there was plenty of downtime too. There were plenty of walks in the neighborhood, floating in the neighborhood pool, books read, slow mornings, and bonding time with Zanna home.
This week starts a new school year! You'll find me back in an elementary school computer room trying to convince K-4th graders that staying on home row is better than chicken picking with your index fingers. Most are not convinced.
We've had our summer fun! Now it's back to business:)
