On Sunday most of the family went home. Our nephews, Scott and Greg, came down to spend the day. Joe's brother and sister-in-law, Pete and Sandy, came later in the day and spent the night.
On Monday, 4th of July, Joe's sister, Karen, came to spend the day with us. We also welcomed Joe's old friend from Germany, Glenn and his family, wife, Cindy, and kids, Andrew and Lydia. We also had old friends, Jeff and Laurie, and their daughter, Whitney.
We enjoyed the day catching up with old friends and spending time with them. We had another fun-filled day on the lake taking turns on the tubes. I finally got out on one with Joe. Our friend, Jeff was driving. I'll just say that he is one crazy driver and I thought I was going to die. For the most part I managed to stay on but Joe went flying on a wave. That in turn sent me off balance. Way to go Joe!
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| Karen, Pete and Sandy |
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| Andrew, Lydia and Glenn |
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| Jeff, Laurie and Whitney |
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| Kim and Joe |
By the next day all company had gone and we had a busy but quiet day to ourselves. We had to get things all put back and cleaned before our departure. Joe just had a few more days left before going back to Chengdu. We got the house and boat cleaned. Got the boat put in storage. With no rain, the lake levels were beginning to get very low and we couldn't keep the boat at the dock.
We have such a great time when we are at the lake. Something we look forward to every time we come home now.
Our trip home was winding down. Joe was scheduled to leave, I was staying on for an extra week to dog sit for Jay and Ashley while they were on vacation.
On a sad note, my sweet aunt, Dorothy, died on July 8. As I was putting Joe on a plane back to China I was getting ready to say good bye to my aunt. Although it was a sad time, it was so good to see family and friends that I hadn't seen in many years. My aunt was loved by many people and their love was present in all that came to say good bye to her. I was also able to spend some extra time with my mom and dad, as well as with Paul, Candice and Talon.
Before heading back to Chengdu I made one more trip to the lakehouse. Talon and Joe's stepmother, Susan, went with me for the day. We had an old tree in the yard that had died and we had to have it cut down. It was so sad to see that tree go. It added to much to place and it was estimated to be around 80 or 90 years old. Taking the old tree down completed changed the view from our house.
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| Going |
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| Going |
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| Gone |
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| Talon and Susan |
I came back to Chengdu on July 17th. One week after coming home, I got a call that my poodle, Toodles, 15 1/2 years old had begun having seizures. On July 29 she died. It was so hard to be so far away when she died. I had her with me for so long and leaving her when we came to China was very hard to do. She will be missed.
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| Toodles - 1996-2011 |
Hoping to come home in October. Until then . . .
Love to all!
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