So Bad At This

So, as I was reading other people's blogs tonight, I realized that I haven't written on here in a really long time. I'm thinking it's time for me to suck it up and admit that I'm really bad at this writing thing. I originally started this to let people that didn't want to get on Facebook know what was going on in our lives. I'm pretty sure, they probably think we fell off the face of the earth. That's about how well this blogging thing is going. So, here I go again, trying to turn over a new leaf...once again, trying to let you know what's been going on.

School is about ready to start. It has been a LONG summer and I'm ready for the kids to be back in school and extracurricular activities. We spent the summer traveling, some unexpected and some expected. As you know Ryan left in January for Afghanistan, so the kids and I got to do all the traveling by ourselves.

When school ended in June, we headed back to South Dakota to say an unexpected goodbye to a family member we never even got the chance to meet. Kylie Raelyn Aas was in our thoughts and prayers throughout the entire year and her family continues to be after her passing. On a positive note, we were able to spend a little time with Grandpa and Grandma Chilson and Aunt Nikki and quite a bit of time with Grandma Debbie. The kids hung out at a couple water parks, visited with Great Grandma Fergason and saw the St. Louis Arch on the way back home. While it was a spur of the moment thing, and a crazy amount of driving, we wouldn't have changed anything about how we spent our June 2012.

July was spent traveling as well. We went up to Virginia Beach and stayed with our friend Devon for a night in order to say hello and then headed up for our 10 day vacation over the fourth of July in Washington D.C. and Baltimore, MD. We were able to spend our vacation with friends and see some of the sights the big city had to offer. Dominick then went on a 6 day vacation of his own in D.C. to the Junior National Youth Leaders Conference where he met lots of friends (especially girls) and got to experience the big city without parents. He had a blast. During this time, Hayden, Cora and I took Jenn and her girls back home to South Carolina, went up to visit my cousin Rebekah and her family in Conway, SC and then back up to Portsmouth, VA for a couple days to see a friend before picking Dominick back up. While most people would think our trip would be ending, we surprised everyone and went up to Connecticut to visit a long time friend of the family who finally had a baby, Lisa!! We spent a week with her and baby Lacey catching up, reminiscing over the past, and planning our next visit together. It was a wonderful time! Then, we finally headed back south to Severn, MD where we stayed with another friend for a couple nights to catch up after not having seen them for 2 years as well. This was the month for seeing all our long time good friends. The only thing that could have made it better was having Ryan here with us. On the way back from Severn, MD we stayed another night with our friend back in Portsmouth, VA and then headed back to NC.

August was spent unpacking, cleaning, getting back into the routine of gymnastics, piano lessons, and church. But, this month has not been without it's trials as well. I've had a rough week this past week with watching a good friend have to bury his 16 year old son. It really puts family into perspective and makes me cherish the time I have with my kids even more. However, that doesn't mean that I don't need time away sometimes to miss them and make that love grow deeper. So, the proper way to end the month is for school to get back in session. Unfortunately, my college classes already started on the 19th. Now, it's the kids' turn to have this wonderful opportunity of learning as well. (I'm sure the kids are SUPER excited!) Now it's time to see what this fall will bring us. I know one exciting gift will be a visit from Ryan in October! That will be wonderful!