So I'm sitting here in silence, listening to absolutely nothing but the click of the keys on the keyboard, and thinking that I really should be making the children lunch. Somehow, I don't have the energy to move from my chair. I'm absolutely certain though, that the telephone will ring and I'll be forced to move. So... I gather my energy.

This last month has been an interesting one.

We attended a fabulous family reunion where we did all sorts of fun things, and I didn't take a single picture with my camera. Took some of my Sister with HER camera, but didn't take a single one with mine. Perhaps having new batteries would have made a difference... I don't even think the camera made it out of the car. Yes, that's sad. However, I wait patiently for a disc with all the photos of the reunion on it. And then I will share the pictures.

Until then, you'll have to be satisfied with your wonderful imaginations.

We left Salem on Monday, August 10 after a short day at work; stopped at the credit union to take care of a little business, and then headed to Utah. It was a LONG drive. We pulled into my brother Justin's driveway well ahead of when they were expecting us, but no one seemed to mind too much! If they did, no one said anything... Thankfully, Mom and Dad were still there and hadn't left for the day to do other things. Otherwise, we would have found ourselves sleeping on the lawn instead of on the couches. That was 7:15 in the Morning of Tuesday. After sleeping A LOT, we drove a little farther north to visit with some old friends, the Sampsons. It was wonderful to visit with them, and I came home with a new pattern for some skirts that I am really excited to make.

Wednesday is when things really started to happen for us. While the Pierce Family Reunion hadn't started yet, we had a little of a miniature Stahr Family Reunion - minus most of the Stahr family. Our visit with Doug and Emily and Benjamin and Aunt Louise was one of the highlights of the trip. Emily stunned us with her incredibly accurate, "Linda, are you Pregnant?" question.

And that's the first of the announcements made this week.

Thursday, the fun started with the Pierce's. CAMPING! It's been a long time since I've been camping, it was a first for both Margaret and LeGrand, but it was good. I even got my feet wet in the frigid water of the stream. And yes, it was frigid. It was cold enough to have my feet go numb within about two minutes... But, I'm trying new things, and thought it might be kind of fun. Considering that we used the creek to keep the butter cold that night, I'm not entirely sure HOW fun it was, but I'm glad I did it.

Marshmallow guns aside (I'm going to have to get some of my OWN ammunition and stage an attack, I can tell...), it was good to be camping with family.

It was even better to go swimming on Friday and get all the dirt off. I even did the water slide! (Couldn't have LeGrand showing me up there...) and I loved it. This is saying a lot for a person who doesn't like water slides at all... Andrew and I enjoyed the game, Qwelf, (Wocka, Wocka, Wocka...), and just enjoyed spending time with family.

Saturday was more fun with a baby shower, necklace making, and more time with family. We were sad to have to leave a lot earlier than others...

Sunday morning found us pulling into the driveway at 9 in the AM to find that all of the animals we had when we left were still there... thankfully! And a short time later (10:30), we headed to the coast to see Andrew's sister and her Beau (whom we like greatly, by the way...) and the rest of the Stahr Family that was there. We did, however, miss seeing Rebecca and Matt and their family this last week and send them our love and best wishes in their new location... (Another new adventure, 'eh?). We spent the night at the coast (it was the most comfortable hide-a-bed I've ever slept on), and enjoyed the break from life...

And then... we came home. While it's good to be home, it's also taken me a week to really recover from the vacation. I'm still not there yet.

I was going to do laundry last night, until I found a dead mouse on the floor. Kittens, DO YOUR WORK!!! So now, it's laundry today. And since I've taken way too much of a break... I'll report back later!

Oh, and here's the picture I've been promising Andrew I'd put up.

(it's NOT loaded... don't anyone freak out.)