Celebrating a Milestone . . . and other happenings

I don't know the last time I had more than a week between blog postings!! This was not intentional, but life just got in the way. None of you can relate to that, can you?!??!?!?! HA!

Last Thursday and Friday were rather quiet. Thursday was filled with laundry and Friday I had breakfast with Lins & Reagan, then had my monthly mani/pedi. And it turns out the money was wasted on the pedi - but more about that in a minute.

Early Saturday morning, at 7:00, Randy & I pulled out of the campground for a 14 hour drive to Alpharetta, GA. Well, according to the GPS, the drive was just under 12 hours, but you have to add in potty breaks, food stops, or fuel fill-ups. We were going south to attend our niece, Tara's, graduation from Auburn University. After an uneventful trip (which is ALWAYS a good thing!), we pulled into Missy's driveway about 8:45pm.

Sunday was spent visiting with Randy's sister, Missy, and the kids, Tara, MacKenzie, and Patrick. It had been almost 2 years since we've seen them so it was really good to be together. We also finally got to meet Aaron, Tara's boyfriend. We'd heard great things about him and it turns out they're all true! :) Aaron is a wonderful young man who seems to love Tara and her family so much. That's nice to see.

Aaron & Tara

Aaron is a manager at a local pub, Olde Blind Dog, and we went to dinner there Sunday evening. It is a uniquely decorated Irish pub, with William Wallace greeting us as we entered. The food was good, too! So, if you're in the Alpharetta area, stop by this pub!

The family

A booth at the pub

Monday was the day - graduation day! Tara left before than the rest of us as she needed to get to campus early. The rest of us, Missy, Randy, MacKenzie, Patrick and I left about 10:30 for the 2 hour trip to Auburn. Once there, we got in line for the traditional graduation picture in front of the Auburn University sign. And such a tradition this is - we waited in line for 30 minutes for our turn! And I think we were lucky it wasn't longer. We got our pictures and headed off to grab some lunch before the graduation ceremony began.

The graduate

MacKenzie, Tara, Patrick, Missy & Aaron

Tara and us

A very proud momma and her daughter

From lunch we headed to the Coliseum which is at the opposite end of campus from where we had lunch. And this is where the money spent on my pedicure was wasted. Whether it was the walk, the heat (which was probably 105 w/the humidity), or the shoes, but I developed two major blisters on the bottom of my feet during the 15-20 minute walk. It was ridiculous!! I was in a lot of pain by the time we got to the arena.

Blisters

However, we were there for Tara and her special moment. And she did it in FOUR YEARS!! Many people aren't able to do that. So, congrats to you, Tara!!

The ceremony was about 2.5 hours and it went fairly quickly. I am always amazed how fast the calling out of the graduates goes. You look at how many grads there are and think you're going to be there the rest of the day, but no, within a couple of hours, it's over. I did get a slightly blurry pic of Tara as she shook the President's hand.

A blurry Tara

I was a bit concerned about having to walk back to the car after the ceremony, but thankfully, there was a shuttle running, so Missy, Randy, Patrick & I rode the shuttle while Aaron, Tara, and MacKenzie went to get the cars. They met us at the shuttle stop and we headed for home.

The drive home was a bit shorter than the drive down; not quite sure why, but it was. Missy had planned dinner for us and a couple of Tara's friends came by, too. We were all tired, but it was a nice way to wind down the day.

Tuesday morning was travel day again for us. We got out about 7:15 and headed north. It was a very loooonnnnggg day. More so because of the pain was I experiencing with my feet. Each mile seemed to bring more swelling and pain. After another 14 hour drive, we got home about 9:30pm. I was sooooo glad to be home!

Of course, this is the week that our doctor is on vacation! I really needed to see someone about my feet so on yesterday off we went to the local Urgent Care facility. My feet were treated and bandaged and I was given an antibiotic and we went on our way.

Treated

Our next stop was Lindsay's - of course! ;) They had kept Blackie for us while we were gone, so we had to pick him up. Oh, and if I got play with Reagan, too, how could I turn that down? :)

While there, Lindsay followed Randy over to the Ford dealership, because yes, the truck is back in the shop. UGH!! There is some noise going on and Randy was very concerned. Hopefully, it's nothing major, but I guess "it is what it is," to quote a good friend of ours.

And that brings you up to date with what's happening in the Guiler RV. We're waiting now for the dealership to call us with the news. We'll let you know!

Until the next time . . .