Beckie is our hero as she stayed at the house and took care of Sally while we were gone. It was incredibly hot and dry during our absence and she kept my plants alive with constant watering. Thanks to Beckie! I continued her efforts and watered and watered until we finally got some rain.
Elise drove into town on the 27th to help Emily celebrate her birthday but she didn't come as far as our place. We went to the Southerlands on Friday, the 28th and brought a gluten-free chocolate cake and we had pizza with her and the kids. Joe was out of town. Noah now has a job at Oberweis Creamery so I took some photos of him in his uniform as he demonstrated his bass playing skills. After our cake, we all went to Oberwies for ice cream - Noah served us.
We saw Emily and kids again on Sunday. First, though, Steve and I attended a 77th birthday celebration for Ed Van Vooren, our neighbor who owns the house that is being remodeled to the east of us. Emily picked me up at about 4:30 and I drove with her and Noah, Lucy, Quinn and Larkin to Mt. Vernon, Illinois where she had a photo shoot at Blackberry Hollow, a lovely you-pick farm that features blackberries and flowers. While Emily was taking pictures, the kids and I took a walk along a mowed path through fields of wildflowers. Then we hung out on swings around a large firepit and at the barn that sold jams and flower seeds. On our way back to St. Louis, Emily inadvertently took a wrong exit which delayed us about fifteen minutes. But, I believe it was a good thing because, once we returned to I-64, the van started acting up - all the warning lights showing up on the dashboard. We pulled off at a rest stop that was the very next exit and there the van completely died. Had we not made that detour, we would likely have broken down in scary East St. Louis. While Emily called for roadside assistance, I called Steve and he drove the thirty five minutes in the Kia to meet us. After supervising the tow truck, we all crammed into the Soul and drove back to our house. Emily and the kids then took our Element to Ballwin and Steve and I finally got to bed at about 1:00 am. What a day!
Two other bits of news - we finally have our missionary nametags and our handyman finally finished our deck. Notice that he expanded the seating. Steve and I now get to prime and paint it - once it stops raining and it dries out....
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