Okay! So today I made my first loaf of french bread. Yes, I did. And...well...it tasted really good! I made a double batch and rolled it into one big loaf. It was as long as my big oversized cookie sheet. After raising for an hour it was too flat. So I pushed the outer edges toward the center of the loaf to make it a little higher. And wouldn't you know it? The minute I put it in the oven and left it to bake, it flattened out again. It just flattened it's little self right out, just like that! So!! We ended up with a loaf of french bread that was about 24 inches long and 9 inches wide and maybe 2 inches high. BUT!!!!! IT REALLY TASTED GOOD!!!!! We had left over stew with it and it was very yummy. Kodi is laughing and making fun of my little old loaf of french bread. She says you can't make a sandwich out of it. But I say you can spread peanut butter or tuna on it just fine!!
I think I'll try again tomorrow. That loaf of bread has thrown a challenge at me. Will it win? Or will I? Stay tuned.
And I guess it's about time I wrote about our month long dream trip. It was WONDERFUL!!!!! A whole month to go see all of our kids and grandkids and we just loved it so much! We even got to see our newest grandbaby before coming home. She was born five days before we had to head back. What a sweetie. And Grandma caught a bug and had to keep her distance from her. I was so afraid I would make her sick too. It was very, very hard to see everyone else loving her and holding her and having to stay away from her. But I was so grateful to be there and even get to see her at all. The night before we left Kyran came up to me and put her in my arms. My heart melted. She was so tiny and so perfect. I only held her for a couple minutes and tried to not breathe on her. And then I gave her back. She didn't get my bug and I was grateful for that.
All of our kids made us feel so welcome in their homes. It was nice to see where they live - the ones we had never seen their homes yet - and it was especially good to be able to spoil the grandkids to our hearts content and get to know the ones who were so little when they moved away. Then to finally meet the one we had never seen in person before was just wonderful. This grandma came home with a full and happy heart. I had been missing them all so bad. I am content with it all now. And that is very, very good!
We traveled from our home clear to the Canadian border and even got to cross over it for a few minutes. I stood with one foot in America and one foot in Canada and got pictures of that. Now I can say I have been to Canada and Mexico. Stephen and I went to Nogales on our honeymoon and spent a couple hours or so looking in the shops on the Mexican side. Does this make us world travelers????
Anyway! This trip was a very good thing for us. We loved being with our kids and grandkids. Many special moments shared and heart's desires met.
And we came home in a brand new pickup. A Dodge Ram, Big Horn. I know, I know. The guys would describe it differently. It's cherry red, four wheel drive, and soooooo much nicer than our Camry was - and I really loved our Camry. We got it in Nampa, Idaho on our return trip stop over at Shane and Sherri's house. Stephen disappeared one morning and I didn't know where he had gone. When he came back he said he had been at the car dealership and had found a truck he liked. He had been looking here in Mesa for a while and the prices here are a bit higher than up in Nampa. Anyway, he had made an appointment to go back that afternoon when I could go with him and have me look at it. I knew we had bought a truck! We cleaned out our car and got it ready to turn in and after our meeting with the salesman we drove out in the pickup. We drove home in BIG style!! We had to buy me a little step ladder so I could get in and out of it. And we had to buy big bins with lids to put all of our stuff in because we no longer had a trunk to take things home in. Had to get tie downs to hold everything in place. But that was all just a part of the fun. We are still grinning from ear to ear and loving our new toy. Ummmm...Stephen's new toy! No regrets.
After we got home Stephen made running boards for the truck so I don't have to use a step ladder anymore. They really look nice, too. He is so talented in making things like that. When he went to pay his boss for the materials he had used to make them with they just told him to consider it a bonus and wouldn't let him pay them for anything. Blessings!!
Our trip threw my sense of time off. Such a weird feeling. I felt like I had totally missed out on summer. We had been having such a good time with everyone that the time just slipped away from me. And yet July dragged by. And August came and school started and it felt like the holidays should be here! I had to keep reminding myself that it wasn't even September yet. And why wasn't it? Why isn't the rest of the world catching up with me and my new time table? I found myself about two months ahead of where we were at. So totally weird. I had to accept that it wasn't even Fall yet. What a bummer!! I so love fall. It's the beginning of the holidays for me. The anticipation of the good family times ahead. Time is finally back where it belongs in my life. And now I'm wishing it would slow down a little and not pass by too fast. I want to enjoy the coming holidays and not just be swept through them.
Life is good. We have been so very blessed. This spring/summer was so fun. And now we are waiting for our 25th grandbaby to arrive. She should be here any day now. And we don't know when we'll get to meet her in person. But we already love her. And Stephen and I just celebrated our 44th wedding anniversary. I love him so much. I'm so thankful he is my eternal companion.
Have a great day, Everyone! Take a minute to count your blessings and to enjoy a simple pleasure or two or three!
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