Being in Blaine for a Couple of Days

Hi Everybody! I have decided to do blog posts every couple of days of where we are and what we are doing along with adding in blogs of our life, thoughts, pictures from our time with the carnival along with a blog with Ron. Thanks everyone for the questions...will be getting to that one in a couple of days once we are settled in at Lewiston, ID.

Tuesday Gerald & Sandra drove to Puyallup to pick me up. They arrived just as lunch was winding down for the tear down crew so they were able to see Ron for a few minutes. And then we were off for Blaine. As we got close to Bellingham, Charles called Sandra. She mentioned they were on their way home from Puyallup and that I was in the car. Charles asked her if I had to be taken by handcuffs ~ I think he thought I was being held by captives. First stop in Blaine was at Nichole & Marquez' to pick up the Suburban. As I was pulling out of the driveway, 3 yr old Julian started crying "No, don't let it go! No, you can't take it!" It was sad to watch him cry. I am sure he thought the Suburban was theirs as they had used it for the seven months we were with the carnival. Sure hope he didn't cry too long.

I went spent 2 1/2 days in Blaine at Gerald & Sandra's. Enjoyed their hospitality which included delicious dinners, lots of laughter and great talks...what was missing was Ron. The three of us promised Ron that we would include him next time.

Here is Sandra & Gerald putting the final touches on dinner. We had grilled/roasted chicken with a seasoned rub along with baked potatoes and salad. It was delicious.Sandra putting the final touches on our salad.

A picture of the chicken fresh off the grill. The chicken cooker (for lack of a better name) is a pottery dish kinda shaped like an angel food cake pan but the center is not hollow. Gerald put seasonings and lemon juice in the center for cooking on the grill. Sorry for cutting Gerald off in the picture.

Here is a closer picture of the chicken. Makes me drool just thinking about how tasty it was.

Another view of the chicken.

And this is what is left...maybe a good thing Ron wasn't there :)

Wednesday I had lunch with my friend Dee (forgot the camera on my jaunts on Wednesday) at Bob's Burgers and then we walked over to Wood's Coffee to continue our visiting. Late in the afternoon I met Kristen, Jade & Coral at Peace Arch Park. In the evening I joined Gerald & Sandra over at Bud & Kay Dee's for another delicious dinner and great conversation. It was a fun day to be visiting with friends and seeing familiar faces.

I could not wait for Thursday morning. Getting to spend time with Opal, Jamie & Suzanne. We met at Big Al's for breakfast. Well I had breakfast and they had lunch. Here is Opal taking a nap on the bench. She actually only stayed down for about 30 seconds. I was so amazed at how tall she has gotten. Was told when she was measured at age 2 they said she should be 5'9" or so. Jamie thinks she got some of Brandon's tall genes.

Another cute picture of Opal.

Jamie & Opal inside Big Al's.
Here is Grammy, Opal and Jamie. Can you see how much Opal looks like her daddy.

Here we are again. Can you believe the sunshine in October? So thankful for whom ever ordered up the beautiful weather.

And here she is checking out Grammy's little pink pig.

After a delightful time it was time for Jamie to head to school and Suzanne & Opal had an appointment in Bellingham. Too short a visit but glad I was able to spend that time with them. I think Ron was a little jealous ~ he will see Opal the end of October once we are back in Blaine.

I then went and spent a couple of hours sharing with Charles about our time with the carnival. Of course, his question was when are we coming home? I told him we will be back in Blaine between the 25th & 31st of October. We will be looking for work and praying for God's leading. Ron would like to travel somewhere, I am ready to settle in one place. We need to figure out what we are going to do in the future ~ are we going back to the carnival next year? Will Ron reopen Alion Plumbing & Home Repair. I am looking forward to being back at the church doing my secretary thing. Feel free to pray for us in the coming days/weeks as we reflect on the past seven months and contemplate our future. Then it was off to see Marla and then back to G & S's for a little down time. As we were getting ready for dinner Ron called to say they were done with tear down. Everyone was surprised that it was Thursday and they were done. Fini! Usually they don't finish up till late Friday evening or Saturday morning. Ron sounded tired, so I was glad to hear he could rest on Friday. In the evening we all went to Bible study. Watched a movie on the Book of Ruth. It was so good to share in corporate prayer with other believers.

Friday morning found me sharing a great breakfast of poached eggs & toast with Gerald & Sandra before heading to Bellingham and then Puyallup to rejoin up with Ron. First stop was an appointment with Dr. Moore. He needed to see me before he would renew my prescriptions. Funny how doctor's can be about those things. I was eager to get on the scale. I thought I had lost about 15 lbs since joining the carnival. I was pleasantly surprised to find out I had lost 22 lbs! Dr. Moore was also pleased to hear that Ron had lost over 30 lbs in 7 months. Now to keep up the walking and adding in some Wii bowling & tennis to keep up the losing. Then off to Puyallup. By the time I arrived Ron had moved the motor home over to the fair campground. It was definitely time to dump the tanks! We had gone 24 days without dumping!

We just relaxed Friday evening and called it an early night. It was good to be together again and think about our next adventure.