We're settling into September, finding the rhythm that the school year brings. I'm not sure there's a better place to be this time of year than New England. I'm constantly amazed.
September 9
It was a lovely early morning on "our" trail. Ginger loves to slosh in the water right before getting in the car.
After the proposal over the weekend, Avery and I took a lunch break to begin all the wedding talk. So exciting to think about all the possibilities. She's happy to have me involved and that makes me happy.
September 10
When done right, youth sports is first about building character and some of the best and hardest lessons are learned from the bench.
September 11
Nana and I had a lovely afternoon in the sun, enjoying the last hydrangea bloom of the season. She was happy to look at photos from the proposal and she told me some of her stories from years gone by.
September 12
What a treat to see this pretty face at 6 AM! Her entire class took a bus trip to New York City to attend a conference for the day. Leaving campus meant she could have her phone, so we chatted despite the background noise of a loaded bus.
Amanda, Shaun and I were swapping sunrise photos.
Right around the time Amanda sent this photo of her with her roommates, this photo below popped up from the same day many years ago. It is exactly as they say...one day they are riding their pink and purple bike with freshly shaved hair and the next they are out in NYC with college roommates. It happens in a blink!
September 13
Avery loves, loves her babies and jumps at the chance to help when possible.
Earlier in the day, Shaun invited me to go to a Phil Wickham concert with him at the Big E Fair. Everything about it was so out of character for us, but we did it anyway and had the best time. We arrived an hour or so early to experience the fair (and remember why its really not our scene). It was a great concert and we had so much fun!
Headed back to the car but feeling obligated to get funnel cake before we left, I expressed my surprise that I had not seen any familiar faces the entire evening. Shortly after, we bumped into Nathan and Laryssa!
September 14
We got home around midnight and my alarm went off early to catch a 6 AM flight. Amy organized a trip to Sioux Falls, SD where our good friends are living and ministering. We had not seen the most recent production, Parables & Proverbs so we went to see the show and catch up with Brent and Tami.
What a beautiful theater and amazing cast! Being in the technical booth and back stage felt like being home. We are forever grateful for the many years, together as a family, we did ministry alongside Grosvenors. They have remained faithful on and off the stage and are such good stewards of the ministry and the people it brings them in contact with.
Back home, Shaun was giving Jack a little practice in softball since he just joined a men's league. He's very athletic but needed help translating baseball to slow-pitch softball. Avery and Aiden were there to assist. It brought Shaun and I back to that time in our lives.
September 15
After my workout, I stepped outside to take in the wonder of a new day with open sky.
We went to their church then stopped for brunch, enjoying the scenes of a pretty downtown. Brent invited us backstage pre-show, so we got to the theater early and got to meet some of the cast and hear their stories. The cast is hugely talented and represent 11 different churches.
September 16
(Its so nice when a hotel provides sufficient and working equipment.) The day started slow, with plans to meet Brent for lunch.
Its a tough life when you spend your day lingering at one cafe and then another.
We stopped to see "the" falls, as in Sioux Falls. It seemed really low to us and my plane buddy on the ride home said it looked more like a lake earlier in the season.
By the time we were done with our sightseeing trip, Tami was off of work so we went to their house for dinner and more catching up. Then they took us over to their rehearsal space. Its large enough for the stage dimensions to be laid out on the floor and for storage in an upper loft area. We are so happy for them to be settled in their community and in a thriving, secular theater district.
Such a great trip!
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