We learned the Ford kids were moving on a little earlier than expected. Our plans were to try to squeeze in another visit over the weekend, but instead… we realized we needed to hop over tonight, after work, to see them once more before they left.
Got in the top course of the wall, which is technically all “bond beam” blocks. Bob used a custom blade on the circular saw to cut down three inches along the middle and sides of each block.
We got food on the way up, but showed up in time to join everyone else for breakfast. Liz noted that we were living like hobbits, with our second breakfast lifestyle.
Liz and I met up with at Katie and Tim’s lake house, where Julie and Bob were spending the weekend. We had a big afternoon of local breweries to visit, as part of Bob’s birthday celebration.
Julie and Liz, exploring some of the (many) other bottles available.
Tim’s father, Ray, was the officiant who did the marriage all those years ago. He was also the one who officiated last year (when they officially tied the knot). And he was the officiant today, when Tim and Katie were married in front of all their family and friends.
Ray is in the unique position to have married Katie and Tim not once, not twice, but thrice. Which seems like a very special and lucky thing, if you ask me.
I had a lot of fun playing ping-pong with both Sebastian and Paige. They’re both quite formidable, and we were all pretty evenly matched.
Liz decided to get in on the phone, and played a few rounds with Paige in the garage.
Brandon set up a slack line (and is something to behold, watching him run and leap onto the thing).
A big event that many of us were looking forward to this weekend: Tricia, visiting with the kids. It’s been ages since Liz and I have seen Paige, Audrey, and Sebastian… and it was a mini-reunion of sorts when they all arrived.
It was a tough decision for us, but Liz and I decided to visit Valparaiso for a brief Christmas evening with Bob and Julie.
Despite it being all video and a little laggy… it still felt nice to once again hang out. Something we really haven’t done in a long while. We got to talking and joking towards the end, and it felt a bit more “normal.” Or as normal can feel, done entirely via video.
On arriving, Liz put up the note.
After talking with Julie a few minutes on the phone, I was given the signal to knock on the front door.
All of us began working and hanging out in the dining room together, with Bob focusing on the duct work and Liz and I continuing to drywall. Despite the cramped space, we managed to navigate around one another pretty well.
Towards sunset, there were a few spots in the pool that got lit up. Made me wonder how often people tried to get into the pool, when these things are lit. Despite all warnings and safeguards, I just assume people still do it (and still get burnt).
Despite a late night ringing in the new year watching fireworks on the beach, a group of us woke up early (6:00 AM) to drive about 2+ hours for a rainforest hike at Sensoria.