Aunt Carrie

That's me! While John was busy "working" at the Arkansas Heritage & Blues Festival, I made my way to Houston to see my friend Corrie and her children. Corrie's husband Chad was working the Festival with John, so Corrie and I had a little girls' weekend.

Corrie and Chad have been blessed with two darling children and I have loved getting to know them and watch them grow up. Unfortunately, we only get to see them once a year or so, but we do our best to make sure they remember their Aunt Carrie and Uncle John. And I love being called Aunt Carrie! Love it. Every time Carson said it, my heart melted just a little more. And I feel like we are carrying on a tradition. Corrie's father grew up with my father and are still the best of friends. I grew up calling Corrie's parents Aunt and Uncle. I think I was ten years old before I realized that we are not actually related.

Corrie and I shopped a little, drank a little, ate very well and had a wonderful time hanging out with Carson and Carly!

Javier!

Javier is back. After 7 long months, he is back in Kansas. Everything has been approved, he's just waiting on the final paperwork. And he's happy to be back at work.

We took a small group and a limo to pick him up from the airport. Brenda, Cheri and Eileen joined us and we started celebrating on the way there. He was surprised to see the limo and I think he got a little teary. We opened the champagne and celebrated all the way home. I was glad I'd made the baked ziti the night before because all that celebrating was getting to me.

Because his house is being rented out, he's bunking with us for awhile. He settled in his room and waited the week before he could start work. He was back in time for Robin & Scott's wedding on Sept. 26th and we all had such a great time at the reception.

On the 2nd, we threw a little party and we had a nice turnout of folks, all thrilled to have him back in Topeka. We stayed up way too late, but the guys made it to the stadium just in time to grab our spot for Washburn football.

It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks. We love having him back and truly enjoy living with him. I hope he feels at home!