Well, here it is the middle of August (almost Maribeth's birthday) and we have not posted since spring break! My, my how the time flies. You may need a large cup of coffee to get all the way through this post. Or, you may want to take an intermission somewhere along the line. Yes, this is a long one...
Our summer starts on May 1st when Megan and James arrived at our house. They needed a place to stay and we needed some help due to my up-coming surgery. In the end, their plans didn't work out, but it was wonderful to have them stay with us for the summer. It really was a blessing to have their help while I recovered and even more of a blessing to have just the time together to really get to know each other.
Megan celebrated her 22nd birthday while she was here. She got to experience the traditional family celebration. It was fun for all of us:-)
Anyone want to go to the beach? says Pat.
Me! Me!! says Sarah.....hummmm, I think it was actually the other way around!
So, off to the beach went the Harrington/Bassmans.
This year we beached with Vaneta, Jen, Bob and Zora and had a royal time. No, this is not the royal wedding, but Zora's first (of many, I'm sure!) carriage rides, in honor of her #1 birthday.
Here is the birthday girl, in one of her many beautiful "frocks", with her Mom. (Thank you,
Aunt Sarah.) We partied on the porch of their beach house when the carriage return.
We had more overcast skies that usual this year, not all as pretty as this one, but, we didn't loose any beach time. The water was warm, the food was good, and the company was awesome! I'm guessing we will go again!
As soon as we go home from the beach, Ian arrives for his summer visit. Eleftheria was not able to come due to her work schedule and Ian wasn't the only one that missed her. We did enjoy every minute of his visit though.
And! Right after Ian got home, Adam arrived. LeAnna had been home for awhile, already, while Adam finished up a stint in Alaska. Can you tell they were happy to see each other?
All three of the preceeding pictures are taken at a restaurant (the name of which I can not remember) on Portage Lakes where we spent a wonderful afternoon eating and visiting by the lake.
This is a picture of a surprised LeAnna. In spite of someone who shall remain anonomous, LeAnna's parents pulled off a surprise (30th) birthday party for her. It was fun. We got to meet lots of LeAnna's family and, to me, the craziest part of it all is that LeAnna has 3 Karen Sue's in her life!!
My dear, dear friend Jill was in for a weekend. A sad occasion for her, as the primary reason she was here was attend the memorial service for a long time friend. The good part though, was that she was able to catch up with friends. We spent a delightful Sunday afternoon together on the porch swing.
So, woke up one morning and found this sign in our yard. Pat and I had a good laugh as, due to my surgery, the yard was probably in the worst condition it had been in in several years. It did look pretty good from the street though!
We think the dry riverbed that James and his helpers put in beside the garage was probably the reason we got the recognition...it really does look cool, even if there is no waterfall or even any flowing water, much to James' dismay.
If you look to the left of my backside, you will see that I am wearing my "Power Ranger" belt. This picture was taken shortly after I was released to resume my "normal activities". We have been working like crazy trying to get the yard pulled together so that we will go in to the spring with it looking good! Stay tuned for the "before & after" pictures.
So, those are the highlights of summer 2011...at least the ones that are ours to tell. We love you all so much and are looking forward to the next time we see you in person. In the meantime skype and post and call as often as you can and we will do the same.
Love,
Dad & Mom
