One year ago, we locked our house and drove away. We’ve been living a semi-nomadic existence ever since. It’s been quite the adventure!

It’s been a few weeks since I wrote a proper post, so I thought I would give you an update on some of our adventures since returning to the U.S. Next week, I’ll be answering questions, so send me your burning queries.

Time in Ohio and West Virginia

We are staying in an AirBnB in historic Harmar Village, across the Muskingum River from Marietta, Ohio. We are totally loving spending time with Lauren, Bo, Huck, Piper, and Hugh at their place in West Virginia. It’s about a 25-minute drive across the Ohio River and through the green hills to get to them. We took Huck on an outing to see “Inside Out 2” a couple of weeks ago. It was his first visit to a movie theater, so that was a lot of fun. He loved munching on popcorn and candy. He also loved the movie. We took Piper on an outing this week to a playground and to Chik-fil-A for lunch. She loved having Grandma and Grandpa to herself. She alerted us to all the American Flags that she saw during our drive and loved her kiddie meal of chicken nuggets and fries. It’s a lot of fun for us to be close by so that we can help out with babysitting, etc. Since we were gone for so long, we really missed that.

A Trip to Utah

We were planning to visit Utah this summer, but when Nathan’s dad broke his arm a few weeks ago, we decided to add an extra trip to see him. He’s had a rough go of it. At 92 and with some memory issues, his healing journey had been difficult at times. He is in a care center and, although it is a comfort that he has round-the-clock care, it isn’t fun for him or the family that it has come to that. However, it was good to see him again. It’s so hard to get a good grip on what’s really going on from so far away.

We also enjoyed very much spending time with our other family members and getting caught up. We loved spending time with Nathan’s siblings (we missed seeing Shelley, but hopefully we will be able to connect soon). I also got to do some happy dancing with my sister when she came to pick us up from the airport. We even had the luck to be able to go to our niece Emery’s concert. She plays saxophone in the Little Big Band (she’s 10) and they played at the Gallivan Center. It was so good!

We also had some pressing business to take care of while we were visiting. We spent one full day seeking out used cars and test driving them. Then we ended up buying a brand new Kia Sportage instead. Whenever we have had a car in the last 6 months, Nathan has had to be my chauffeur, so it felt good to get my driver license renewed so I can finally be a bit more independent and also help him do some of the driving. We also managed to squeeze in a meal at our favorite Mexican restaurant (Del Barrio in Midvale). After a four-day whirlwind, it was time to drive eastward.

A Weekend in Missouri

We wanted to head back to Ohio to resume our visit with the Bausermans, but not without a stop in High Ridge, Missouri to visit Alex, Hanna, Teddy, and Peter. It was a delight to hug more grandkids! We spent a long weekend playing lego, eating yummy food, and reading lots of stories. We got to take everybody to the very fun National Transportation Museum to see crazy old cars, climb up into train engines and tank cars, and ride the miniature train around the property. We also shot off some fireworks, even though Teddy did not love how loud they were. Hanna will deliver our newest grandson in just a few weeks and she is handling it like a champ. We are excited to meet him and to return to visit in a couple of weeks.

Some extras

I got to help out our niece, Sarah, one day by making a batch of icing and starting on the decorations for a fabulous Hogwarts birthday cake for her son, Rye. They finished off the decorating and it turned out so cute!

It’s been a delight to go swimming with Huck and Piper a couple of times and see them grow in their confidence in the water. Huck is getting braver all the time!

Nathan was able to take Max’s violin to the care center and play some music for him. Max seemed happier that day and it was good to see him smile and enjoy the familiar tunes.

We stopped in Kansas City (again) for lunch at our favorite BBQ place, Q39, on July 4th. It was fantastic, as usual, and it felt very patriotic 😀. We are going west again in August and we’ll be back in the Kansas City area for a few days this time.

All the grandkids (except Hugh) are loving their bikes. Piper and Peter are both using Strider bikes. Teddy and Huck are both great at riding their regular little pedal bikes. It’s so fun!

For next week’s post, please comment below (or just send me a dm) with any questions you have for us! Talk to you soon!