Family and Friends

Well, we made it through our first week back to school. Wednesday was AMAZING, as I think the kids were just too exhausted to get too wild and crazy. Thursday and Friday had different stories, though. And so, I was ready for the weekend when the bell rang at 3:00!

It’s not often that we find ourselves within a four hour drive of Bill and Barb, so we wanted to take advantage of that this weekend and headed down to the farm in Alden after school Friday. We got in around 9:00 that night and had a chance to visit quickly with Ann and the kids before they headed home. We spent another couple of hours visiting with Bill’s grandparents and parents, but I had to head upstairs when the “Ask a Ninja” podcast came out. (I chose to read one of my short stories from the book I haven’t picked up in a month… soon, though, my eyes refused to stay open.)

We got out for a 4-wheeler ride early Saturday afternoon. It was fun to see some of the different spots on the Bryson’s property. It also made me miss having a 4-wheeler and riding back through the mountains. (That was one of my FAVORITE things to do… when the machine ran that is.) Anyway, we did some more visiting and then Bill Sr. and Arlene headed off to a party. Bill Jr. and Barb had to make their way to Rochester, and Bill and I were heading back north so in order to have today available for house cleaning, grocery shopping, and other stuff I’d rather not do! (As you may notice – there were an awful lot of Bills in one house. It can get a little confusing!)

Since we left a little earlier than we had planned on, I gave Ape a call to see what she and Jesse were up to. They had plans to meet up with our friend Nikki, April’s college roommate. Since we were heading in the same direction, we crashed their party and headed out for dinner together. It was so nice to get in that unexpected visit. So, while I find myself missing parts of our Alaska life, I’m thrilled to be able to get these impromptu meetings with old friends and our family!