Orcas Island

Good times at Bridget and Collen's new farmhouse on Orcas Island.  Carmela was in heaven to be back with I-Pie, and Poppy brings life to the world!  Priceless times with dear friends.

That ferry ride was WAY too much fun with Bridget and Joel.  Thai food, Soju, and laugher.  

Unsuspecting Friends

Poppy running in for a surprise attack! 

BLAMO!

And she took them DOWN!  

  

Gorgeous evenings with the horses.

Sailing!

Could you get any cuter?  These two hit it off - as they always do.  Best Buds.  

Korea

One of the highlights of my summer was spending a week in South Korea.  I facilitated a math training for the elementary teachers at Osan Air Force Base an hour outside of Seoul for two days, and the rest of the time I enjoyed traveling solo and delighting in the flavors and energy of Seoul.

My favorite part of the DMZ - the South Koreans are very hopeful about reuniting with North Korea.

I ate my way through this country.  When I look back at my pictures, most of them are food.  It was all so delicious.

The fantastic teachers at Osan Elementary School!  What a gift to  work with such a fabulous group of teachers!

Road Weary in Utah

Our road weary bodies pulled into Salt Lake City exhausted from thousands of miles in the car.  We were welcomed heartily at Uncle Bobby Baby and Teri’s house with rib feast and a 2400 sq. ft. basement all to ourselves.  It was awesome.  We spent 7 days avoiding the car except for quick trips for groceries and Sunday mass.  It was just what we needed to recover and relax before the next round of travel. 

One highlight of our stay was our gun safety class with Uncle Bob.  I requested this lesson after nine-year-old SoJo asked me several months ago - completely seriously – “Are guns real?”  

I freaked out and realized that I had totally FAILED in the gun safety department, and that is exactly how kids die.  Nine-year-olds that don’t know guns are real, see one at a friend’s house, pick it up, and BLAM – you know the rest.  I had a frantic mom moment, gave her a quick and serious lecture on guns, then made a mental note to ask my pistol-toting brother to take over.  The kids were soberly impressed and even got to practice shooting the bb gun – which they all loved too much – just like their mom.  We were fighting over whose turn it was until every bb was spent, including the ones we found and reused off the ground. 

Whew! Gun safety lesson complete.  Check.  Dogged that bullet. 

Gun Safety Class with Uncle Bobby Baby

Bob and Teri

Enjoying time in the lovely garden.

Our view as we enjoyed every meal on the deck.

Arizona

We started August with a drive to Phoenix to visit dear friends and Aunties!

Cruisen the town in Doug and Christina's off road golf cart!!  Seriously Rockstar Style!

It doesn't matter how much time has passed, we pick up right where we left off.  Love these two!

Adam and Aunt Terri in her new beautiful home.

Aunt Carol's pool.  Good times for the whole family!

A little Grand Canyon action!  What a Big Hole!!!

Sweet Carmela - the only one of the kids not terrified of falling into the canyon.

We convinced Aunt Carol to join us too!