Family Week

Lee and I had a jam packed week of family get togethers. It began by celebrating Father's day with the Cripe clan at Troy and Kori's. Unfortunately, I left my camera at home so there is no documentation of the fun that was had by all. Saturday/Monday Lee had class. Tuesday night Lee's folks came down for dinner and to watch Lee's softball game. We enjoyed a great dinner, played the Wii, and watched Lee show off his softball skills. Wednesday Lee had class. Thursday night we headed to Goshen to celebrate Grandma Juday's 80th birthday. We again just spent time together as a family. It is neat to have the opportunity to be part of a family that has grandparents. I didn't really know what that was like until Lee and I got married. My Grandpa Wagner was an amazing grandpa but passed away when I was in 5th grade. My Grandma Wagner soon after developed Alzheimers and was mentally gone long before she passed away. We were little and it was scary to see her and have her not know who you were. My Grandpa Jim wasn't active in my childhood but was close to us as teenagers....he passed away my sophomore year of college. And my Grandma Rosie.......well that's just a long story. All that to say, it's been a blessing that Lee has two sets of grandparents that are loving and wonderful. Something that lots of people take for granted.

Then Friday we headed to Ohio to see my family. We decided that we were going to take Toby with us and hope for the best. He spent a vast majority of the 3 1/2 hour car ride like this:

Yep, he slept almost the whole way. What can I say, he's amazing. So we got to Ohio and the weather was amazing. Miriam came also so it was that much better. The only bummer was that my dad had to work. He works 3rd shift so that really cut back on our Wii playing and Settlers time. We managed to squeeze in the Wii between the time he wakes up and the time he leaves...but there just wasn't time for a round of Settlers. Barney (the barn cat) has had a litter of kittens, fondly called the "shop kittens" because that is their nursery- my dad's woodworking shop. We spent quite a bit of time watching them and laughing at their antics. Here are some shots of them in action.
Lee was not quite as excited about the kittens as the rest of us...and since my dad was at work....the "men" (Lee and Toby) spent much of their time out in the yard enjoying country life.
My mom's dog Edie was not really all that sure she liked Toby. He was in her territory and she didn't like it. She never really warms up to him. But after the first day she quit biting him and growling all the time. It was great to be home and spend time with my family. Mom provided funding for an anniversary date/shopping trip for tomorrow night and so after Lee gets out of summer school we are heading to Fort Wayne for the evening to celebrate our TWO year anniversary. Probably won't be quite as memorable as the one year celebration in Chicago at the Gay Pride Parade...but we'll take what we can get! :) I'll post a mushy two year anniversary post later this week.