July's almost over...

This has been a busy month. On July 1, I flew to Lexington, and on the 2nd, Susan and I drove to Ridgecrest for the 55th summer Crestridge reunion. Robyn flew into Asheville on the 3rd, after a long trip consisting of a bus and ferry ride from Victoria, BC, to Vancouver, an overnight flight to Houston, a very short connection, after getting through customs, for a flight to Memphis, another flight to Atlanta, and finally the last hop to Asheville. We thoroughly enjoyed the reunion and getting to visit with so many friends from many years of camp adventures. It was especially nice to have all of Susan's girls there with their little ones. Here are a few pictures from the reunion.







After the reunion, we drove to Erin's house in Alpharetta so that we could see Bridger; he's such an active little guy that Erin chose not to take him to camp. Robyn and I had not seen him for over a year, so we were amazed at his growth! It was hard to get him to be still long enough for a photo, but we did manage to get a couple of shots when Robyn got out her bassoon to play for the kids.




The next day we drove back to Lexington, where Robyn and I got to visit with the Watson side of the family. It was especially nice that we got to see Suzi, who was home for only a month of vacation from her work overseas. We spent a good bit of time telling Bethany and Elijah lots of things about camp--they are both going to starter camp next week! We taught them how to play four-square, and luckily the weather was pleasant enough that we could all stay outside and bounce the ball around in the street. Josh, at 16, didn't get caught by the camera lens, but Luke and the others didn't mind having their pictures taken.





We returned to Houston on July 8, leaving from different airports and arriving at different airports within minutes of each other. We had to get Tim's help with the pickup duties.

Ben made a short trip to Lexington the following weekend so that he could visit with Suzi and the rest of the family. Then, on July 15, Robyn and I flew to Los Angeles to look for a place for her to live for the next year or two while she's at USC. We looked at ten different places, but one place seemed to be just the right match for her. She's going to have a bedroom and bathroom in a fully furnished house which will be occupied by two other renters, both professional men. She'll also have use of space in the garage for practicing and reedmaking (this garage is not used for cars; it's set up as a home theater for the family who owns the house). The owner's aunt serves as landlady and lives next door, so she'll be close by to keep an eye on things. The neighborhood is just beautiful and feels very safe, so I feel really comfortable knowing that she'll be there.

Tim's had an interesting month, in that his car broke down and was pronounced dead. Since Robyn is living at home for now, she and I were able to share a car and let Tim use mine so that he could take his time finding a replacement. He got his "new" car earlier this week, a 2004 Mazda RX-8 sports car. Hey, he's young and single--why not? He managed to buy something that he could actually pay for without borrowing money, so I think he's a pretty smart guy!

Since we returned from the LA trip, both of us have been doing as much teaching as possible, and we're making plans for the big moving trip. Several of Robyn's friends are planning to go with us to California to give her a big send-off. We'll have four cars going and eight or nine people. This weekend I think we'll get over to the storage unit and try to sort through some stuff. August promises to be exciting!