Tuesday

It was an absolute beautiful day here. The temperature was moderate and the humidity was low- gorgeous for the first day of July! The evening was even more enjoyable. Paul and I took a long walk as we enjoyed this rare treat in the middle of the summer. Ellie, Ben and I swung on the porch swing, not wanting to go inside on a night like tonight. Benjamin loved looking at the torches we had lit, and before we knew it, his little eyes closed and he was fast asleep.

We leave on our vacation two weeks from tomorrow. We are all so excited! We are headed first to Kansas City to visit with my family, then onto the Colorado Rockies, the Grand Canyon, Carlsbad, New Mexico, Texas, New Orleans and lastly, 3 days on the beach in Florida! Over 5,000 miles in 3 weeks in a mini van crammed with kids, pulling a trailer crammed with camping supplies. Yes, we are camping our way through desert country in the middle of summer! Call us crazy or brave, we're not sure which label fits! This vacation is a graduation present for Paul Jr. He and his dad planned the locations we are visiting, and the rest of us are glad to tag along. Seriously, we would appreciate your prayers for safety and for good weather and lasting memories. I'm sure you'll see many of the pictures of the vacation on this blog.