A Wonderful, Whirlwind Visit

We were pretty happy to hear that Noah could rearrange his mid-term test taking to a more remote location . . . namely, HOME! The boys helped me spruce up the classroom (well, they did the heavy furniture moving so that I could detach the stairs and make some space in the room--which really isn't a classroom much anymore--more office/guest room. Once I got the garage reconfigured and cleaned, Buck helped me get the stairs moved out there. This is a long parenthetical aside :) 

By leaving after Tuesday morning class, this meant a whole extra day at home with us. I guess the professors and students--who have only seen Dapper Noah show up for school--were surprised to see Going for a Jog/12-hour road trip Noah on campus that morning :) Caelan picked him up on the way out of town and the collegiate couple headed toward the sunset. We were all so excited we could hardly wait!

The next morning Caelan started an apartment's worth of laundry--which I invited her to do :) We stocked up on laundry soap and dryer sheets and found all the stray dryer balls just for the occasion! Let's see, that was a Wednesday, so Buck and both boys left for work early. Noah focused in on his schoolwork, Caelan continued to knit and knit and knit, and quiz Noah for his midterm while she knit. He did well and earned a sticker! (for all grades 95% and above . . . Caelan says he gets a lot of stickers). 😊

Gabby rushed in to give her sister a hug when her own workday was through. We decided to do a bit of shopping--Caelan needed more yarn, and the girls wanted to bake goodies for the guys' Bible study the next night, so we needed some ingredients. Missions accomplished, we headed back to the house.

I'm currently staying up late waiting for the boys to get home/come inside (Graysen and his buddy are doing something with G$'s car), so I'm not remembering specific daily details very well. I do know that I had saved up a whole list of topics to talk to Caelan about, updates I wanted to hear, and questions I wanted to ask--but somehow, I didn't remember any of them until after she and Noah headed home. I do remember that the next day, Caelan popped in Gone with the Wind while she folded laundry (and knitted). I pretty much did nothing but sit there and watch it with her. I'm not used to that kind of downtime! There was a squirrel outside the window who seemed to be strategizing access to the new birdfeeder . . . or maybe was just a Scarlett O'Hara fan; he seemed to peeking in the window to watch with us :)

G$ and Noah went kicking. Gabby called and talked to Caelan for about an hour while Caelan used Daisy as a desk for looking at the Amazon toy catalogue that they inexplicably send me every year. Gabby came over after work and the girls drove a knitting order to one of Caelan's bridesmaids. Meanwhile, the boys went to "not Bible study" because some of the guys couldn't make it (our NGFs are touring Washington for a couple weeks), but they did take the girls' monster bars to keep up their calories while shooting pool :) When the girls returned, they took turns giving each other haircuts--both turned out nicely!

On Friday, Buck had the day off. Gabby planned to stop by with coffees for everyone from a new coffee kiosk (?) that opened on our side of town. I had errands to run at a few stores, and Caelan needed to mail a knitting order to a state closer to ours than hers (hoping for a shipping discount). Buck grilled a pink fish that tasted like the salmon Caelan requested, but he called it a different name. Gabby went to grab some groceries and then head home to get her house ready for all of us to come down for dinner. 

Caelan and I went on the hunt for cute fall plants and some sealant spray to put together a surprise return of the wedding bicycle to Chase and Gabby. It proved a challenge and some backtracking occurred, but we found some cute things (I forgot to take a picture of the finished product--it was VERY windy windy at the farm). Caelan and I agreed that Christmastown in the hardware store made us happy! Gabby is likely happy that she didn't have to build it this year :) I wonder if they let people bring a chair and read a book in the middle of all the lights. Ahhhh. I love Christmas lights.

Back at the house, Noah tended Caelan's artisan bread and Buck kept an eye on the dual boiling chickens. Gabby declared it a cozy soup dinner night and Caelan and I each planned one to bring. I made dumplings and she made a tortilla soup with the broth and meat from the second chicken. I actually used what was left to make a third soup tonight with quinoa and veggies. Gabby made one of her mother-in-law's recipes--kielbasa, potato--very tasty! Noah asked for the recipe :)

Brennen was running late . . . as he apparently is again tonight (I'm soooo tired), so we left for the farm without him. We got to play with the newlyweds' volunteer kitten, Texas/Tex/Teks--he's an adorable little Tuxedo kitten that showed up in the barn. Chase and Gabby rescued him from the outdoor world and tamed him enough to be friendly around people. He's crazy cute!

And they've made a HUGE amount of progress in their renovations! It is cool to see their vision for the spaces coming together. We loved the lights they strung from the ceiling like they did at the apartment. They also put down and stained all those pretty floors we're standing on. And installed the carpet, and the brickwork, and the plumbing, and the trim, and the electrical, and the . . . EVERYTHING!

When Brennen arrived, we had just a few minutes left of daylight. The plan was to take family photos for my Christmas card and Gabby's wall. Finding a spot without wind was left to the property expert--Chase. Buck loaded a camera app on his watch and was able to set the phone against one of the grain bins, kind of pinched in a metal table leg. It took a few tries to get the technique down right, which led to some entertaining photos :) I put us in the Bluey house for fun . . . the girls and I watched the mini episodes and the trend showed up on Caelan's pumpkin while we all hummed the song on the back deck. But that's a story for the next day . . .

We planned to go out for a meal to celebrate the double October birthdays and Caelan's graduation. But as the time to choose a location neared and the requested number of grilled meals became challenging to fit into the schedule, we decided to celebrate at home. Buck was declared the celebration dinner chef! Caelan made some popcorn balls, I made an apple crisp, we warmed up some cider. Gabby came over . . . and we waited for the boys (who were at the farm from a sleepover following the soup dinner). And we waited. And waited. 

It turns out .... uggggggggggh .... Brennen's two-week-old, still-unregistered car started knocking. The oil that was in it when he bought it is no longer in it and did not appear with a telltale puddle at any time. A warning light or two came on a little too late. So, Buck charged away in his Charger to get them back to the farm to pick up a dually and a trailer. They Macgyvered the car onto the trailer with ratchet straps and brute strength. It has been sitting forlorn at the farm ever since. Graysen asked at work about it, and the guys said they won't even look at it if it's seized . . . which means Brennen may need a completely new engine which will rival the original price tag of the vehicle + will take him several months to save up for again. It just stinks :( Praying somehow God heals the car? Or maybe it won't be as bad as they think it is? Graysen planned to look last night, but after he got the oil changed in Buck's truck and  made some straight pipe (with sound dampening button) modifications to his own ride (while hanging out with a possum??!), he didn't circle back to B's car. To be continued . . .

Buck brought home four giant pumpkins and each couple or individual picked their gourd--actually, it's a fruit in horticultural terms. Only in culinary terms is it a vegetable. We learned something new, did you just, too? :) We also discovered Chase is a champion-level pumpkin guts scraper-outer! That thing was as clean as a whistle! Unfortunately, the dogs love pumpkin and got into the bowl of seeds before I could rescue them for baking. I was, meanwhile, melting caramel sheets over apples in the oven. I was five apples short, but still have the coordinating wraps in the fridge for a bonus round :) They were pretty easy and the five who got to sample said they were delicious. We did our best to pack in as many "fall" things as we could :)

So Brennen's pumpkin is a skibidi something from Roblox (???) and it is "mewing" (mewling?) I told the kids words are my thing. I know all the words. I do not know these words or what they mean. It's like bonus English. Lol! So, his pumpkin is making a "cute guy smirk that accentuates the jawline and cheekbones while also raising an eyebrow and squinting a little" face--maybe this is how people flirt nowadays? You can see Brennen demonstrated this face in real life in the photo below . . . I have to keep my eye on him and Graysen because they like to surprise me with all kinds of faces and poses when I look back at the pictures later. There were some doozies, as usual :)

Gabby spent the most time on her pumpkin and wow! Look at that kitten shine!

Graysen wins for scariest pumpkin 😂

Caelan went the Bluey route--so cute! I've got the theme song in my head right now . . .

After carving pumpkins we all ended up downstairs to watch On Patrol Live. Caelan and I made some sleepy girl mocktails . . . which is just tart cherry juice and Fresca. The Trader Joe's guys are all geeked out about the helps for aches, pains, arthritis, gout, and of course better regulated sleep. Last night, Caelan showed me that she'd picked up some tart cherry juice at home, so we could still have our sleepy-tails at the same time :)

Caelan threw in a last load of laundry and started packing up for their early morning drive. They made it safely home on the evening of Chase and Gabby's first wedding anniversary. What a year it's been for our newlyweds! I suppose I'll have to call them something else now, our yearly-weds maybe? :) Caelan said she thinks about how much Grandpa Barry would have enjoyed theological conversations with Noah. And Gabby said she thinks about how Grandpa Barry and Chase would have gotten along so well with their adventurous, hands-on project personalities. How special that they are both right!! Dad would be so proud of his new grandsons. Pretty awesome 💜

I'm thankful for a week full of family and for the kids spending time together building relationships as grown-ups and making memories while recounting some of their favorites. More time like this, yes, please! 💕