Saturday, June 20 - The next morning, I had a leisurely breakfast and put my things together. Anita drove me over to Ben's place, which was really close, and we had sandwiches and cookies. He drove me up to University Mall where I caught a shuttle bus to the Sandy Tracks station. As I waited for Dad to pick me up, Aimee and I had a great conversation.
Dad finally arrived and I went with him to Sam's Club to pick up a really cool and affordable picnic table. I'd like to find something like that for our patio. I hung out and helped a bit as we set up for a family BBQ. Around 6 PM, people started trickling in. Here is a list of everybody that was there: Jaron & Christina (& their boys), Elissa & Merril, Natalie, Mark & Amber; David & his little girl Norah, Maryvonne, Clynn, Shaunda; Trudy (& kids), Aunt Kris, Rob; Tom, Andy, Patrick, Mom & Dad, & Katie (the dog).
It had been several years since I had seen my cousins so it was great to reconnect. It honestly felt like it had not been nearly three years since I had seen most of them. I guess that's sometimes how it goes with family. Even after a long time, it doesn't take too long to reconnect. Mark has become quite the guitar player in the past few years. He brought his Alvarez, and we jammed on a few songs (Jack Johnson, Neil Young, John Denver). Mom requested that I play a song, so I played "Song of Sussanah." Everyone was quiet. This is a powerful song that demands people's attention. I'm not quite sure what it is...the raw honesty, the haunting beauty, the forlorn harmonica part? I don't know, but I'm excited for it to be on the next album. I'm really glad Mom arranged this BBQ and I was surprised how many people showed up.
Sunday, June 22 - I went to sacrament meeting with Mom. Their ward is slightly dysfunctional. There are nice people, but it's kind of stagnant. Mom and Dad really should move, and I think that's what they are planning on doing once Patrick is done with school. After lunch, Andy and I went and saw Get Smart. It was a pretty funny movie, one that I would like to see again. Afterwards, he treated me to some Cold Stone ice cream. Great stuff. We drove around for awhile and talked about things that are going on in his life. That evening I tried to do a Skype call with Aimee and the kids, but the connection on the upstairs iMac was spotty. I got really frustrated and decided to bag it. I was in a bad mood but ended up talking to John and then Doug. I felt a lot better about things after talking with my brother and my best friend. Thanks guys!
Monday, June 23 - It was a lazy, yet productive morning. I worked on my dissertation proposal and tweaked a few things. When Dad came home for work I decided to go get a haircut. The back was getting a bit shaggy, so I had them take off a few inches and trim up the rest. It looks great now and I'm closer to my goal of having shoulder-length hair. Dad took me out to lunch at Famous Dave's. We had a great chat. Although we're very different people, he and I have become good friends over the years. When we came home, A Hard Day's Night was on TV. I fell asleep to most of it. Andy came over that afternoon and we hung out a bit. Mom and Dad went back to Famous Dave's to celebrate 32 years of marriage. Wow! That evening, Andy helped me haul Kevin's equipment back to his place. Then we went and got some Iceberg shakes. He dropped me off and I packed up my things. For some crazy reason, I thought it would be a good idea to stay up and watch Dances with Wolves on cable. I only got about four hours of sleep.
Tuesday, June 24 - Mom took me to the airport. The flight to Denver was comfortable and relaxing. I was the only person on the row of three seats. I started reading No Country for Old Men. I had enough of a layover to eat a BBQ chicken pizza from Wolfgang Puck's. The flight to Nashville was a bit cramped, but okay. I nearly finished my book. Aimee picked me up and then I took her to work. I picked her up at 9:00 PM and we grabbed a quick bite to eat at Chili's.
...
Now I have been home for over a week. It is great to be home. Since Karyn is still here (she leaves today), I still feel like I'm in vacation mode. Luckily, I wrapped up my proposal and turned it in on Thursday. Friday night, Karyn and Aimee went downtown to see the honky tonks on Broadway. They even got asked to dance by some cowboys. Aimee was flipped and hurt one of her ribs. It sounds like they had a great time, though. Saturday, we went over to Loveless Cafe for a late brunch. The food was delicious and we almost made it the entire meal without one of the kids spilling their water. Sadly, Little Girl spilled hers right at the end as we were leaving the table. Par for the course, I suppose. We then drove for about an hour on the Natchez Trace Parkway. Karyn really enjoyed it. We only drove south for about 30 miles and then came back. On our way back, we pulled off and drove through a quaint little town called Leiper's Fork. Apparently, every Friday and Saturday, they have these outdoor movies that they project onto the side of a barn. Some friends have told us about it in the past and now that we know how close it is, we're going to go. Church was pretty good yesterday. We actually arrived a few minutes early and got a pew. It was really nice. I helped Aimee finish preparing her lesson and then I helped her in her class. She has some nice kids.
Dad finally arrived and I went with him to Sam's Club to pick up a really cool and affordable picnic table. I'd like to find something like that for our patio. I hung out and helped a bit as we set up for a family BBQ. Around 6 PM, people started trickling in. Here is a list of everybody that was there: Jaron & Christina (& their boys), Elissa & Merril, Natalie, Mark & Amber; David & his little girl Norah, Maryvonne, Clynn, Shaunda; Trudy (& kids), Aunt Kris, Rob; Tom, Andy, Patrick, Mom & Dad, & Katie (the dog).
It had been several years since I had seen my cousins so it was great to reconnect. It honestly felt like it had not been nearly three years since I had seen most of them. I guess that's sometimes how it goes with family. Even after a long time, it doesn't take too long to reconnect. Mark has become quite the guitar player in the past few years. He brought his Alvarez, and we jammed on a few songs (Jack Johnson, Neil Young, John Denver). Mom requested that I play a song, so I played "Song of Sussanah." Everyone was quiet. This is a powerful song that demands people's attention. I'm not quite sure what it is...the raw honesty, the haunting beauty, the forlorn harmonica part? I don't know, but I'm excited for it to be on the next album. I'm really glad Mom arranged this BBQ and I was surprised how many people showed up.
Sunday, June 22 - I went to sacrament meeting with Mom. Their ward is slightly dysfunctional. There are nice people, but it's kind of stagnant. Mom and Dad really should move, and I think that's what they are planning on doing once Patrick is done with school. After lunch, Andy and I went and saw Get Smart. It was a pretty funny movie, one that I would like to see again. Afterwards, he treated me to some Cold Stone ice cream. Great stuff. We drove around for awhile and talked about things that are going on in his life. That evening I tried to do a Skype call with Aimee and the kids, but the connection on the upstairs iMac was spotty. I got really frustrated and decided to bag it. I was in a bad mood but ended up talking to John and then Doug. I felt a lot better about things after talking with my brother and my best friend. Thanks guys!
Monday, June 23 - It was a lazy, yet productive morning. I worked on my dissertation proposal and tweaked a few things. When Dad came home for work I decided to go get a haircut. The back was getting a bit shaggy, so I had them take off a few inches and trim up the rest. It looks great now and I'm closer to my goal of having shoulder-length hair. Dad took me out to lunch at Famous Dave's. We had a great chat. Although we're very different people, he and I have become good friends over the years. When we came home, A Hard Day's Night was on TV. I fell asleep to most of it. Andy came over that afternoon and we hung out a bit. Mom and Dad went back to Famous Dave's to celebrate 32 years of marriage. Wow! That evening, Andy helped me haul Kevin's equipment back to his place. Then we went and got some Iceberg shakes. He dropped me off and I packed up my things. For some crazy reason, I thought it would be a good idea to stay up and watch Dances with Wolves on cable. I only got about four hours of sleep.
Tuesday, June 24 - Mom took me to the airport. The flight to Denver was comfortable and relaxing. I was the only person on the row of three seats. I started reading No Country for Old Men. I had enough of a layover to eat a BBQ chicken pizza from Wolfgang Puck's. The flight to Nashville was a bit cramped, but okay. I nearly finished my book. Aimee picked me up and then I took her to work. I picked her up at 9:00 PM and we grabbed a quick bite to eat at Chili's.
...
Now I have been home for over a week. It is great to be home. Since Karyn is still here (she leaves today), I still feel like I'm in vacation mode. Luckily, I wrapped up my proposal and turned it in on Thursday. Friday night, Karyn and Aimee went downtown to see the honky tonks on Broadway. They even got asked to dance by some cowboys. Aimee was flipped and hurt one of her ribs. It sounds like they had a great time, though. Saturday, we went over to Loveless Cafe for a late brunch. The food was delicious and we almost made it the entire meal without one of the kids spilling their water. Sadly, Little Girl spilled hers right at the end as we were leaving the table. Par for the course, I suppose. We then drove for about an hour on the Natchez Trace Parkway. Karyn really enjoyed it. We only drove south for about 30 miles and then came back. On our way back, we pulled off and drove through a quaint little town called Leiper's Fork. Apparently, every Friday and Saturday, they have these outdoor movies that they project onto the side of a barn. Some friends have told us about it in the past and now that we know how close it is, we're going to go. Church was pretty good yesterday. We actually arrived a few minutes early and got a pew. It was really nice. I helped Aimee finish preparing her lesson and then I helped her in her class. She has some nice kids.
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