A Summer to Catch Up...

Gosh, it's been a while since I updated my blog, and I have so much to share! Our summer has been so busy this year, it has just flown by. I can't believe it's already the second week in September.

Well, to update everyone, I have to go back to July! Parrish went on her annual vacation with her father, and this year, they went to Costa Rica. During the two weeks she spent there, she went whitewater rafting, surfing, and scuba diving. And saw lava pouring out of a volcano. I didn't even realize there were active volcanos in Costa Rica. She had a great time, but was ready to come home by the end of two weeks.

While Parrish was in Costa Rica, Kelly was in the Dominican Republic, building houses with Habitat for Humanity. He was there for 10 days, and had a great time, other than when he fell off the roof and dislocated and fractured his shoulder, that is. He didn't realize it was fractured until several weeks after he returned home, because he didn't seek medical care while there (can't say I blame him for that!). Fortunately, the orthopedist says no permanent damage was done, and it will finish healing on it's own just fine. One of the highlights of his trip was visiting the Viviana Cigar Factory, and watching Viviana roll cigars. He brought a whole box of them home.

Not too long after everyone recovered from these adventures, we were off on another--taking Parrish off to college in Honolulu. Oh my gosh, what a long flight! My feet were swollen for two weeks. And there were screaming kids on every flight. Really people--can't you leave your kids at home, or drive? No one wants to be stuck in an airplane for 15 hours listening to your kid scream like he's being tortured in an Iraqi prison. Seriously. It's not fair to the rest of us who pay a lot of money for these flights.

Anyway, the island of Oahu was a huge disappointment. There wasn't a whole lot to do, and you had to fight traffic like Atlanta or LA to do it. Honolulu is not a place I want to spend much time in the future! But Parrish seems to be all settled at U of H, and started classes a few weeks ago. She has already made quite a few friends. She is so excited about the cultural diversity on campus. Her friends are from Japan, Germany, South Africa, Hawaii, Vegas, Washington, Georgia, and Philadelphia. One of them has lived in 4 different countries and speaks 7 languages! Try finding that at MTSU! There are only 3 kids on the entire campus from Tennessee. She has a view of Diamond Head Crater from her dorm--how cool is that? She and her roommate, Jenny, seem to be getting along just fine.

While we were there, the three of us went scuba diving in Shark’s Cove, on the North Shore. This location is ranked number two in the world by Sport Diver magazine. It’s beautiful! Lots of caverns, and a wide variety of sea life. We saw sea turtles, too. We didn’t get to see the white-tipped shark that lives there, or any octopi, which would have been cool, but it was still a great dive. Scuba Drew, our guide, was wonderful, and has promised to show Parrish some of the other great places around the island. She has all her own gear, except for a wetsuit and tank, so it will be fairly easy for her to go whenever she wants. Several of her new friends want to learn to dive, too. And a few of them want her to teach them to surf. She doesn’t have a board yet, but plans to get one sometime this semester. Of course, they can be rented all over the island.

So Kelly and I have been adjusting to this thing called an Empty Nest. Two weeks ago, we went diving in Cerulean, KY. It was so cold that day! But we still had fun.

Last weekend, we went whitewater rafting on the Ocoee River. What a blast! We made two runs down the river with Jerrold and his dad, Carlis. I still need to develop the pictures from the little waterproof disposable camera.

Now Rebekah and I getting ready for our annual job of photographing all the kids at Forest Hills Baptist church Mother's Day Out program. Those kids are so cute! And Kelly is tearing out the tile on the kitchen floor and getting ready to lay the hardwood. So we continue to be very busy.

So that should update everyone fairly well. I hope it won't be so long before I update this thing again!

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Write by: RC - Monday, September 11, 2006