How I'm Spending My Summer Vacation

The last you heard from me I was on a trip to Kentucky. It was great but now it seems so long ago. There are two things that can make a recent trip seem that way:

1. Life is so boring or intolerable that one can hardly remember being away at all, or
2. Life is so busy that one good thing just quickly follows afterward.

In my case, I'm glad to say it was the latter.

So, where have I been and what have I been doing? I'd like to think I've been putting some memories into my spouse's and children's memory banks. Here is a quick run-down of recent activities:

• That little trip to Kentucky featured a bit of unintended genealogical research. Okay, yes, there was also some intended genealogical fun, too, as we visited an obscure cemetery where some of Pastor Dad's ancestors are buried. We can now say we have visited "Lizard Lope." The part that was unintended was finding out that the conference's host preacher is distantly related to Pastor Dad. I found this out by talking with the preacher's 90+ year-old grandmother. The preacher and Pastor Dad are 3rd cousins once removed. Will wonders never cease?
• About 36 hours after I returned home I found myself on the road again. This trip was with Lulu. We spent one day traveling to NC, one day doing TONS of work in her yard in NC, and one day driving back from NC. Whew!
• Upon returning from NC we took some hasty showers and went to Wednesday prayer meeting. Afterward we took Pastor Dad out to eat for his birthday. We didn't rush home because Pastor Dad expected us to be here for his birthday. We did it because Lulu wanted to take her daddy out to eat. You'll need to see her blog to see how that episode turned out! :)
• We celebrated the Fourth of July (on the actual date) at Karen's house. Thanks for having us!
• We celebrated the Fourth and Pastor Dad's birthday again yesterday at my mom's house. We're party animals I tell ya!
• Today we took the whole family to the zoo. Well, the whole family minus Sgt. Dan who is not in town yet. I think everyone, including our newest grandchild, had a great time. Too bad he won't remember watching cheetahs run, being up close and personal with a penguin, or seeing his cousins hand-feeding giraffes. Of course, he won't remember that his mommy took the time to feed and diaper him whenever necessary either but that's okay. Our zoo always makes a big deal out of "Zoo Babies" each May. Little Fen was one of the youngest babies around the zoo today, animal or human.

It has been a busy few weeks with no let-up in sight, but that's fine. I only wish winter passed as quickly.