Family Time!

Currently, Chris is in Qatar for a six-month deployment.  In mid-June he came for a week-long visit before heading overseas.  

Thursday, June 16

After an early morning run I headed north on I-81 to collect Chris from DCA.  I needed to find a geocache in Harrisonburg, so I took a pit stop there to do the Adventure Lab and grab a couple of caches.  I was only a teensy bit late picking him up.  I blame it on Google Maps getting me lost on the way to the airport.  Yeah, that's it.

(The Rockingham County Courthouse, located in the City of Harrisonburg.  Virginia is so weird.)

Friday, June 17

I wish I had taken photos of the Airbnb we rented in Manassas for the weekend.  Thursday night it was just Chris and me, and the place was way too big for us!  Three staircases, one of which led from the downstairs kitchen to an upstairs bathroom.  Two big sitting areas downstairs, plus a big room that could serve as an office. A good-sized bedroom with a full bath on the main floor.  Upstairs, another sitting room with shelves full of old books, plus several bedrooms and three full baths.  It was like the tents in the Harry Potter movies--it looks small and modest from the outside, but the inside is big and fancy.  

(Our friend Reilly got to join us for the weekend!)

Friday I had time to go for a run and attend a fitness class at Orange Theory just up the road in Bristow. After Matt and Nick drove up from Christiansburg and their friend Reilly came down from Fredericksburg, we walked to a sports bar in downtown Manassas for a late lunch. Then it was off to Wolf Trap to see Sheryl Crow and Jason Isbell in concert.  Chris is a big Jason Isbell fan, and Ray and I had seen Sheryl about ten years ago when she came to the now-closed Celebrate Virginia Live outdoor concert venue in Fredericksburg.  I figured this would be a fun event to enjoy with the boys! I had never listened to Jason Isbell, and frankly would have never heard of him if it hadn't been for Chris.  I really enjoyed his music, and I'm now a fan!  

But my favorite part of the show?  This. It was fun watching the boys singing along! (By the way, can you believe she is 60 years old?)

Tangent time!  When the Cars movie came out we were vacationing in Colorado.  We drove our rental van through Colorado National Monument on the Rim Rock Drive that morning, and stopped in Grand Junction to see the movie.  We were stunned to discover that the red rock formations in Cars looked like what we had just seen that day in real life.  We bought the CD and listened to the soundtrack for the whole rest of the trip.  The film and the music are still a family favorite!  (When we went to Disneyland in April, guess which part we liked the best?)

Tuesday, June 21

My parents and I met Chris and his friend Michael for a Salem Red Sox game.  Michael lived next door to us in Fredericksburg, he and his siblings went to the same schools as our boys.

Chris and Michael earned their 15 minutes of fame between innings, by spinning with their heads on a bat to get dizzy, and racing to be the first to put on a cow costume and run about 30 yards or so.  Michael was the big winner and got to take home a Chick-fil-A gift card.  The things you'll do when you are young...

Wendesday, June 22 - Friday, June 23

Finally, a trip to Mooresville to spend time with Ray's family.  

(Chris and Nick with the grandparents and the cousins.  Matt and Andrea weren't able to make this trip.)

(Lilly wanted to join the fun!)

(And we wanted Uncle Bill in the picture too!  Still Lilly wants to hog the photo.)

On Friday we dropped Chris off at the airport in Charlotte before heading home.  I was sad to let him go, but excited for him to begin this new adventure.  And it's only for six months. We can still talk to him via Facebook Messenger.  The only thing that sucks is that he'll miss Matt and Andrea's wedding in October.

I went on one more hike in June, which deserves its own post.  Stay tuned!

UPDATE!!! I almost forgot one super fun and important part!!

Saturday, June 18

The morning after the concert we said goodbye to Riley and took a detour on our way home to our old house in Fredericksburg!  Our dear friends Lesley and Glenn have bought it, and they have been hard at work making renovations, and turning the house where Ray and I raised our kids into THEIR home!  They fixed us a great lunch in their fancy new kitchen, and gave us a tour.  It was so much fun to see our friends, and to watch the boys' reactions to all the wonderful improvements to the house!

(They took out the wall between the kitchen and dining room to make a fantastic great room!  Here's Chris in the kitchen, and the former dining room is behind him.)

(This may end up being the photo I send with my Christmas cards this year.  I wonder how many people will be confused and think we still live there?  One time, when our 14-year-old nephew was a baby, we sent a photo of the boys with their new cousin.  I clearly wrote on the back, "Matthew, Christopher, Nicholas, and thier cousin J."  Several people wrote to congratulate us on the new baby.)

OK, now that this post is finally finished, perhaps I'll accomplish something productive today!