I'm sad that I missed posting photos for my July "day in the life" project. I guess I felt cheated 'cause I was excited to have actually taken the photos on the 4th of the month (as stated in the very loose rules of the game.) With it being July 4th there was lots of busyness to capture, and I did a great job on my camera phone. Cousins and grandparents and old friends were all among the photos. And then I lost my phone a couple of days later. It was never recovered. So in mourning the loss of my iphone and the photos it contained (no, I didn't know anything about icloud prior to this incident) I decided I would show the universe what I thought of this injustice. Did I choose to photograph a different day? Nope. Did I write about my day when it was fresh in my memory? Nope.
The good news is that I'm mostly over it. I've eaten a few pieces of humble pie, and now I wish I'd done something. (Afterall, wasn't "Do Something" the title of my last TCM article? C'mon, Clair.)
You can't beat a Windsor, MO 4th of July celebration at Farrington Park, so that's where we spent our Independence Day morning. We met up with my brother Andy + family and my bff Janet and her crew. The children participated in a few of the races but seemed to be mostly drawn the merry-go-round that was being wildly pushed by some overgrown, strange and enthusiastic kid... Dave. :) While at the park Grandma sprang for the biggest snowcones you've ever seen, one for each grandchild. Unfortunately, the grandchildren's parents were not included on the deal.
The day was truly a beautiful weather day. It wasn't too hot and there was a slight breeze which was very uncharacteristic of the 4th of July in MO which is either steam hot or raining + steaming hot.
During the few days we spent in Missouri, we enjoyed a night at Andy and Sara's place where we learned how to play the candy bar game, found out what a real family swimming center looks like, gained a new appreciation of the our dogs Dozer's manners (sorry, Winston, you are adorable, but...), and the kids discovered that chocolate chip is not the only tasty flavor of muffin.
In preparation for our upcoming move, Dave and I explored some housing possibilities. We concluded that we are going to keep Windsor in mind as a back up plan, but Clinton really seemed to suit us best. We learned that the military housing duplexes we are accustomed too are large and spacious in comparison to many others. We are hoping that one of the 3 bedroom houses in nice neighborhoods (or something similar) will be available when we are ready to rent. It would be great to say "this is where we are going to settle" but the timing of Dave's military retirement is likely going to leave us with several months of "transition" where we truly get everything all figured out... ie. Dave gets a job.
We attended church in Clinton with thinking clouds over our heads that read "Can we see our family in this ward?" and we think we can. :)
We also had two great reunions with friends.
Faith got to see her BFF Hylee (who had moved away from us a couple of months prior.) Knowing that these two would see each other again because both of our families where heading to Missouri was a great comfort when the day of temporary goodbyes came and went. We met Hylee's family at Cinzeti's, a super-awesome, extremely delicious Italian restaurant in KC.
Then I got to hang with my BFF Janet. She and Jason entertained us at their beautiful farm house. (Faith wore her cowboy boots.) I love how here children and my children blend right in with each other and have a ball. Especially Liv and Charli have made fast friends. Dave did put in a little work for our supper, breaking down branches that went in the firepit that later toasted our marshmallows. He also got a lesson in "how to try to trick a mama hen into caring for chicks that aren't her own." Though we did not see lone buffalo head on this visit (thankfully,) we did see an extremely long snakeskin that had been preserved. Fascinating. :)
All in all, the trip to Missouri was fantastic. The only downer of the whole thing was when we departed for home and realized that I did not have my phone. There is another story here, but I don't want to put a damper on all the great stuff, so I'm going to just let it go unwritten.
I do have a few pictures (ones that I had posted to Instagram before the great loss) of this time, so here they are...
Back when I was a twenty-something college student, I usually found myself away from my family for the Thanksgiving holiday. Luckily, a dear family whom I knew from childhood lived nearby and were kind enough to let me join their table a few years in a row. Their daughter Kim and I are just four days apart. Aside from my memories of having fun with Kim (going to Dracula the movie, eating cherry cordials, talking about boys, and buying McDonald's cheeseburgers to tide us over until the main meal), I remember this wonderfully fresh cranberry dish that Sister Despain would make. After tasting her Cranberry Pecan Relish, I knew I'd never again enjoy the shaped-like-its-can cranberry sauce with which I was familiar.
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My family has no qualms about eating ice cream all. year. long. Rain, wind, snow, and sun... anytime is a good time for ice cream. But there's something about racing to eat an ice cream cone before it melts in the summer heat. And that's why I'm thrilled to share with you a delightful recipe book full of ice cream treats. 