Blog Catch Up Part 1

Whew! Has been a long time since I have
sat down to actually update my blog. We have had a busy month of June. Our biggest excitement was our trip to Virginia to see Eric's friends and family. We flew into National (so small it felt like Hibbing's airport) and headed to Winchester to see Eric's friends. Had a lovely time with Robert, Tom and Janelle. Winchester has changed greatly since we were last there. There has been a huge downtown revitalization. The next day, we went to city hall so Eric could see his former co-workers. We had a nice visit and Tim then walked us around the downtown and caught Eric up on all the changes. Eric even contemplated, mmm, for about 5 seconds, the thought of moving back. I just smiled and let him talk and he finally had to look at me and laugh. He's a Minnesota boy now.

It felt funny to be back in Virginia after all these years, but somehow, it still seemed familiar. Libby demanded on the drive to Staunton that we get to Babboo and Dayday's NOW! She was anxious to see them and all her cousins. We were swarmed when we pulled into the driveway! :) The cousins were very excited to meet Libby for the first time. She was a little overwhelmed, but quickly warmed. A friend of the family has a pool and we were able to bring the kids there several times and they all had a blast, but mostly Eric... The next few days were heaven for her as everyone wanted to be near her. There were even tears over who would be able to hold her hand. At one point, I caught the kids bowing down to her. I quickly nipped that in the bud! Libby loves "big" kids and was so thrilled to be included. They all did such a great job with her. We had a lovely visit and ended the week with a lunch with Doug's, Eric's dad, side of the family. I was told the lunch would be held at a church "in the county". Of course, that means nothing to me, but you do have to smile at colloquialisms. I fell in love with Eliza's buttermilk pies, and she promised to send the recipe. Mary Howard, who is around 90, is one of the most lovely women I have ever met. I am very happy we stayed so that we could reconnect with these important members of the family, who are now getting along in years.

This all for today, but will finish the rest of the trip in my next post.