America's Roller Coast

David and I stopped for a day at Cedar Point on our way back from the wedding. We figured it might be our last chance to go before moving "out west". The weather was great and we had a fun day together.

David really worked up his appetite.
He was so hungry he could eat a whole rollercoaster!


Survey: Do you think this individual looks old enough to smoke?

David and I were amazed at the number of teenagers we saw smoking. Some of them looked to only be about 13 or 14 years old!

Happily Ever After...

Matt and Brianne were finally married on Saturday!
The wedding was beautiful and the weather was perfect for an outdoor reception.

I know this picture turned out a bit blurry, but it's the best one I had. This is the updated version of the Liddick family. (L-R: David, Melissa, Joe (dad), Esther (mom), Matt, Brianne, Jacob, Jen, Marlena, Mike). It was great to be able to see and spend some time with Mike's family. With them all the way in Tucson, AZ, these special occasions are few and far between. It was fun to get to know our neice and nephew a little better.


Matt and Brianne won't be taking their honeymoon for another week. They will be moving down to Kentucky in the mean time. (Matt will be attending seminary at Asbury). Here they are pulling away in two separate cars packed with all their gifts. Brianne's car says "Just" and Matt's car says "Married."

We're so thrilled for Matt and Brianne and are so excited to be welcoming such a sweet girl into the family!

Still blooming

Here are some additions that have popped up in the last few weeks. Hope you enjoy them!

I'm sure you've been wondering...

I know you're all dying to find out how the second day of the yard sale went. Let me put it this way: I was able to take an hour and a half nap in the afternoon. All in all it was about as productive as day one, but in the end, I've got a couple hundred extra bucks so I guess it was worth the work. But it was a lot of work.

Mom Gafford and I started packing things up shortly after 5, when two more customers came, both buying several items. The grand finale of the sale was certainly when my neighbor from across the street backed her son's pimped-out Escalade into the street, hitting the car of one of those customers. I was honored to have a police car visit my driveway for the second time in a month. (see post from May 31).

One down, one to go...

Today was the first day of our two-day moving sale. Granted this picture was taken before we technically opened, but this is pretty much what the scene looked like all day. We had a little action in the morning for a while, mostly from the two kids next door. They probably spent about $20 between the two of them, coming back again and again to spend another dollar. Then we hit a HUGE lull in the afternoon. I definitely haven't been raking in the dough today, but I did at least make up for the ad I put in the paper (plus a little more). That's always good.

Here's the thing, though. I had four Garage Sale signs that I posted on various corners to attract buyers since we're off the beaten path a bit (dead end of a dead end). I went out this evening to find two of them (which were on opposite corners of the major crossroads near our house) completely missing. That stinks. No wonder we hit a lull in the afernoon; people had no idea how to find us.

Well here's to a more productive second day! Hopefully people will be willing to brave the heat and come on out.

In good company

Mom and Dad Gafford came up for a visit this weekend. Mom helped me with packing and getting ready for a yard sale and Dad worked diligently on ALL KINDS of projects, including taking down certain fixtures that we'd like to move with us (i.e. surroud sound, pot rack, under-cabinet CD player, etc.). They were a HUGE help and great company for the weekend!

Here we are eating dinner at Filippas, the restaurant that we've passed twice a day, every day for 3 years without stopping to try it. We should have stopped sooner because the prime rib was to die for.

Lessons learned from children

We have two young children that live next door. They're both very friendly to David and I, and love to play with Allie across the fence. Tonight my friend Laurel and her two kids came over for dinner and we spent some time outside. The instant the neighbor kids saw Will and Megan in our back yard they dropped what they were doing and were at the fence making new friends, inviting Will over to play and asking if they could come over and play. I really enjoyed watching this unfold, all the while wondering when exactly it is that we (adults) lose that quality. It made no difference that these children had never seen each other before; they just knew they had their age in common so they figured it would be fun to play together. I wish I could be more like that, and why in the world am I not? As I approach this move to Minnesota I think about all of the new relationships that I'll be starting and the new friends that I'll be making. To be very honest, it stresses me out a little. It's a lot easier to just be content with the relationships and friends that I already have. Unfortunately, they're not all moving to Minnesota with me, so I'm going to have to branch out and start all over again. I hope that I can learn from the kids next door and approach meeting new people with the fearless positive attitude that they had tonight.

Flowers

I love this time of year...