Thankful Thursday

Hmmm. Somehow it's almost the middle of August already, so I have plenty to catch up on. I'm going to go in reverse...most recent first...

1. Carhenge with Asher. Yesterday, Asher joined me for a last day of summer sort of road trip. Our end destination was Carhenge in Alliance, NE. It was something I'd read about when Asher started looking at colleges in Nebraska but is off the path enough that it never worked out as part of any trip to or from Omaha. But yesterday we made it happen...

Yes, it's a replica of Stonehenge made out of cars. I've also been to the Stonehenge replica in Washington state. I've not yet been to Stonehenge, itself. I'm thinking about starting a list of Stonehenge replicas to visit, lol. 

2. Scotts Bluff National Monument. On the way to Carhenge, we stopped at Scotts Bluff. I'd never been before, I enjoy adding National Parks and Monuments to my visited list, and it was on the way. :) Also, I find the stories of the Oregon Trail so impressive and am always in awe of the perseverance and strength those pioneers had. We drove to the summit (going through some of Nebraska's only tunnels!), did the short overlook hike, and also wandered the exhibits in the Visitor Center. We did not die of dysentery. :)

So that was yesterday. Admittedly our destinations weren't the most exciting, but they were definitely appreciated. And the weather cooperated beautifully (there were storms the day before and now again today). And, most importantly, the time in the car with my boy was priceless. 

3. Nathan was in California. At the start of August, Nathan went to San Francisco for most of a week for a work conference. He also managed some time on his own and sent these photos...

Thankful we're at a point in life that trips like these are doable and go so smoothly.

4. Boot camp ladies night. While Nathan was gone, I enjoyed time with my boot camp ladies...

So grateful for these women and being part of each other's lives for ten years now. 

5. Reunion thing. You may remember that I wasn't able to attend my 30th high school reunion (which happened last weekend actually) so was putting together a digital yearbook of sorts to catch up with as many classmates as possible. While Nathan was in CA, I finished that and was able to send it out. I managed to gather information and photos from about a third of my class and was pretty happy about it.

Thanks to social media and other technology, I've been able to see lots of pictures from the reunion, itself, and hear from classmates that I haven't talked with in ages. I'm still sad I wasn't able to go in person but have really appreciated hearing stories through everything else. 

(Incidentally, there was such a positive response to both the reunion and the reunion yearbook that I've extended it for this month to gather even more responses. I've already been getting replies and photos!)

6. Nathan at Oshkosh. And before all that, back toward the end of July, Nathan went to Oshkosh, WI for the EAA AirVenture air show. It's an annual event that Nathan had been to once as a teen and had always wanted to attend again. We made it happen this year! (It took some doing, as it's very popular and lodging was difficult to figure out.) He flew out, rented a car and camped near other local EAA members who were also there (having snagged one of limited camping spots that the local chapter had secured). 

He got in a lot of steps and had a great time! 

(If you were trying to keep track...July to now had Asher's birthday, my trip to Seattle to see my college friends, Barbenheimer, Nathan's trip to Oshkosh, Micah's birthday (Nathan was home for that and a day before leaving again), Nathan's work trip to CA, and my trip to Carhenge with Asher...along with dinners and lunches with friends numerous times, all the normal working out and climbing, Noah working, my gram turning 102, and life in general. It's been busy.)

And the next couple weeks will be full. We have orientation for Asher at UNC, another infusion appointment for Micah, a black belt promotion and anniversary celebration at Karate West, celebrating Nathan's birthday, moving Asher to UNC, a well check appointment for Micah, Asher starting classes, moving Micah to CU Boulder, a Leeds Launch day at CU, and a few dozen other things. ;) I'll try to keep up to date here but don't be shocked if we wind up with a lot of posts at the end of the month, lol.