From the Land of Sunshine

SOMETHING THAT HASN'T HAPPENED IN A LONG TIME:

Over six years ago, our family all came together for Nate and Tiffany's wedding. I was 18 years old. Life has been an endless flurry of comings and goings since then, and it wasn't until this last month that several of us all came together again. Well, 5 out of the 8 kids were there, but we'll take what we can get...:) Mom and Dad, Nate and Tiffany and their two girls, Nick and Jessica, Matt, Michelle and Me - party time! We missed Natalie and John and the twins, but were thankful to have a week of as much familyness and craziness as we could. It was a classic week of early morning wakeup music, sunrise breakfast, boating, swimming, playing croquet and basketball, birthdays, trip to Leavenworth for summer theater and a good whip cream fight thrown on top. I love my family and there's nothing more to say about it, except I wish we didn't all live a zillion miles away from each other. As of right now we span from Connecticut to Georgia to Utah to Washington to California to Honduras to Chile. Good luck with that mom...:)

SOMETHING AT LONG LAST!:

On May 26, 2010 I sent three boxes from Hong Kong, China on a slow boat to my home in Washington. These boxes were filled with precious things like journals, books, gifts and pictures that I couldn't bring with me on my trip to mainland China. On August 7, two of those boxes arrived and the third came on August 12. All things are safe and sound. whew! All I have to say is those slow boats are sketchy and I really want to know where my stuff traveled to before it got to America...

SOMETHING OF A LONG DRIVE:

So I bought a car. Then I drove it 1,000 miles. Thank goodness my good friend Cary let me crash at her place in Portland before heading the rest of the way to Palo Alto, CA. My legs and bum were numb by the time I arrived. Thank goodness a second time for the Hancock's warm welcome and a yummy meal at my new home. It was worth the drive and numbness.