simply livin' it up
We dropped Susan off at the airport today around lunchtime. She is heading to the Dominican Republic for a week with her high school friends. It was a harder goodbye than I thought it would be. I was certainly not looking forward to her leaving, but I think I have taken for granted the fact that we have spent nearly every moment of the past 6 months together.
Today we celebrated Susan’s 40th birthday! It was a little different, being on the road.
When Susan lived in Whitley City for a year she would come here about once a week for their hot fudge cake sundae. It hasn’t lost any of its charm. It even still has a smoking section.
This is a story that comes up often in our house and when I saw these pictures on Susan’s dresser I decided it was time to share it with the world. After Susan graduated from college she spent a year in Kentucky, volunteering with the Christian Appalachian Project. While she was there she took some time off in the spring to visit her parents and Erin in Arizona.
They were at a friend’s house and wanted to get a family picture with the mountains in the background. They kept scooting back to get the best shot and next thing Susan new she was in the pool. She was laughing about it then and we all still laugh about it.
This weekend Susan’s friends were in town for her 20th high school reunion. The Foley-Murphy’s (Andrea, Murph, Grace, & Jack) stayed with us, which was great. It was great to be able to spend so much time with them. Susan, Megan, Missy, and some other classmates have been planning the reunion for a few months – tracking down classmates, choosing the venues, and decorating.
The weekend consisted of a girls’ night at Megan’s, family time at Beaverdale Park on Saturday morning, Mass and a school tour on Saturday afternoon, and then a Saturday evening event at Noce. For the Saturday evening event Susan and I got a babysitter for the first time since Rose was born.
This summer Susan has been working at the Des Moines Farmers’ Market. She works one Saturday a month, leaving the house at a whopping 5:40 in the morning. She is sampling and selling wine at the Jasper Winery booth.
