June 11

We have been gone for 2 weeks now. It has been really, really good. I have enjoyed almost every minute of it. This morning I woke up at Kim’s house to music that sounded kind of Latin. I was a bit surprised that Kim liked Latin music but then figured it was the tv and laid there listening for a minute thinking how nice it as that I didn’t need to get up. We had nothing we needed to do till about noon so I just laid closed my eyes and relaxed. It felt really good. I finally decided I couldn’t lie in bed anymore so I got up. Kim was just leaving to go to a swim meet so it was just me, the kids and Emma. Emma was downstairs playing the wii and all my kids were asleep. After Dallin go up to play wii with Emma I went in to shower. It was wonderful to have a few minutes by myself. We left Kim’s house a little before 1:00 and went into Fredrick where we met up with Rick, Taylor, Liz and Jim. We then went on a tour of Monrovia/Green Valley. It was a lot of fun to hear Rick and Kim reminisce. The memories and the stories started to flow as we visited their old schools, house and neighborhood. It was a lot of fun to see and hear about Rick’s childhood and mostly to see how happy it made Rick. There is just something about going back, I don’t think it makes a whole lot of difference how long it has been. Home is still home and home is always a good place to be.

We all went to Golden Corral and had dinner after that, the kids love buffets so they were excited and had a great time eating, playing with their cousins and generally raising a ruckus in the restaurant. We got some time to enjoy visiting with Kim, liz and Jim. The problem always is with that kind of a situation is I enjoy sitting there chatting so much I don’t want to leave, but the longer I sit there the more I eat. And that is not such a good thing.

We drove on to Waynesboro tonight. What a beautiful area of the country. I really love it. We stopped at a little state park in Maryland on the way to dump the sewer. It was absolutely serene to see the evening light filter through all the trees, the bright green of the grass as the light hit it and the wildflowers and blossoming trees amongst the ever greens. Then we drove though the rolling hills with farmland, dairy cattle and cherry orchards. It really was beautiful. I kept thinking if it was only not so hot, I think I would love to live here.

The kids were so excited to see Grandma and Grandpa’s house. The minute we pulled up in the drive they jumped out and spread chaos with every step. They caught lightening bugs, watched a movie, ate ice cream and laughed at all the old pictures of daddy when he was a little boy. I am so glad we had the chance to visit Rick’s hometown. It was great to hear him relive his childhood a bit, I think the kids enjoyed it and feel closer to him because of it. I know I do.