Wow, part 2

The Ribclan had another weekend at home, full of fun activities, mellow times and even some historic moments. We have found that while it feels odd to be home so much lately, it really is nice! More time at home means more balance in accomplishing household chores and enjoying time with folks around us. It's been a welcome change of pace.

Some of the bigger highlights from our weekend included an awesome playdate at our house with our friend's children, Kirsten & Nathan. Kirsten & Kdee have known each other since they were babies, so the fact that they had a blast goes without saying. They are easily entertained together and get along so well. Their fun included everything from playing school, doing "kids yoga" and making a volcano. The boys did great on their first official playdate and surprised me by how well they actually played together or near each other. At 2.5 & 3.5 years of age, that's not always a given! We had a lot of fun having them over!

Later that night, we went to my Aunt Marly's surprise 70th birthday party. I adore my Aunt & her family, so I was thrilled to spend a special evening with all of them. It always seems like there is lots of laughter and fun at these events--I never want to leave them! ribB was a good sport and chased the kids around so I could just sit back and enjoy my time with everyone. I really enjoyed getting to see my Aunt's daughters Karla & Karen, too. I was the baby in the family, so I missed out on some of the funny events that my brother & cousins talk about now...but, no matter! I've enjoyed some pretty cool times with these guys as I age, and I'm just so grateful for family like them. They're the best!

Sunday was part recovery day, but also a day to witness history. Kdee & I went into Mpls and walked out on the Stone Arch Bridge to see what was left of the I-35 bridge. When we started out on this adventure, I just assumed we'd drive near and try to see what we could, but it turned out we could do a bit more. The City had re-opened the Stone Arch Bridge (a pedestrian bridge) an hour before we got there, and the park surrounding it. We walked around and had some very good talks about what happened and what was going on. Now, some folks may wonder why I'd bring her down there. It certainly was a decision for us to make, but the reality is that she knew about the accident and her sharp mind was full of ideas, questions, etc. As it turned out, there were a lot of families of all ages there and there honestly wasn't much to see (the trees along the river really covered much of the damaged areas). I was dumbfounded at how "natural" it looked to not see the bridge in its usual place because the other bridge that's next to it looked so regal and fine. Kdee was very interested in everything and really asked some good questions. We talked a lot about how the world isn't perfect, things break, accidents happen. Since the accident, many folks wonder how God could let this happen. The reality is, this isn't God's plan...he created a perfect world where humans disobeyed, sin entered into our existence and life became imperfect. In my eyes, this event held many more miracles than tragedies, and that's where God was. He was, and is, always with us...caring for us in every need. It was important to me to share that hope with Kdee.

Since the weekend, we've had a busy start to our week. ribB has 2 golf tournaments this week for work (social workers golfing for charity!), so he is loving work this week. My co-worker and good friend, Heather, celebrated her birthday yesterday and we tried to goof off as much as possible to make it an extra fun day for her. Kdee is back to skiing and the smile on her face last night was priceless--she was beaming. It was the happiest I've seen her in awhile! Her leg is doing better each day (although it's not healed over yet).

(as you'll notice, photos will be posted separately due to a finicky glitch!)