Way Behind, Again!

 Hello, Friends!

Once again, I am way behind in keeping you all caught up. Life has been CRAZY BUSY! I am sure you can all relate. Instead of trying to catch you all up in one long post, I will spread this week out over a couple of days. 

My goal is to write only on weekdays, and take the weekends off. However, since I haven't been too good at keeping up with my daily posts I figured I would make a post today, and then catch you up on the rest of this week hopefully on Monday!

Tuesday we had to take our car to the dealership for a recall repair for a shift cable bushing replacement, as the previous one had been faulty and failed in many cases to allow people to put their cars in park...😗Yikes! They also tightened a loose brake caliper bracket for us. 

Wednesday we met my mom, cousin, brother's family and sister's family for lunch. It was both my birthday, and my sister-in-law Nicole's birthday. Family friend Jose owns the Mexican restaurant Tu Casa in Butler...which also happens to be the halfway point between Kansas City and where my family lives in southern Missouri, so it's one of our favorite places to meet up. 17 of us descended on the restaurant and it was loads of fun!

Our Family Gathering at Tu Casa with Owner/Family Friend Jose In the Middle

Before the Food

After the Food

Birthday Girl Nicole

Whipped Cream In the Face...A Tu Casa Birthday Tradition

We have known Jose and various members of his family since I was a teenager. When I was a kid we would often end up at El Charros Mexican restaurant in Lamar on Sunday afternoons after church. We met Jose there when I was about 16 or so. Over the years he became one of my late father's best friends. When my dad was sick I often stopped by Tu Casa on my way back and forth and kept Jose updated on my dad's condition. He was able to go see my dad on July 4, 2021 just 6 days before my father passed away. 

Jose and My Father Several Years Ago

While at Tu Casa we all had a ton of fun visiting, both with each other, and Jose and a couple of his children. I got to play with baby Kelly a lot. She seemed to want me (and occasionally Uncle Aaron) pretty much the whole time...and I was perfectly ok with that. She kept snuggling into my shoulder to give me hugs and kisses. What a precious baby! 

We ate yummy food. Sister Amber had a present and balloon for me. Mom insisted on buying me and Nicole's lunch. Cousin Dave gave me a gift. I can't express how much I appreciate all of their generosity and love as I tried to gracefully move into my 37th year. Each year is a hard adjustment for me. I do not like getting older. It was very hard for me to move out of my 20s...and now I'm pushing the end of the 30s. I wish it was possible to just freeze time yet continue living. LOL.

Once lunch was over we came home and took care of stuff here. Didn't really do much for my birthday after lunch, which was more than enough. 

Thursday was full of laundry. Since I had been sick and hadn't gotten to it like normal I had 7 loads piled up. I knew Friday and my weekend was going to be very busy, so I worked hard to try to get it all caught up. I still have a load of towels and my youngest daughter's bedding to fold (my next task after I post this), but everyone finally has fresh clean clothes in their drawers again!

Alysia is in the office/classroom working on school. Yes, it's Saturday, but we are playing catch-up, and that is the beauty of homeschool! Aaron went to pick up lunch since I have a million things to do today. I ordered soup, sandwiches and tea from McAlister's Deli in Liberty, so he should be back in a few minutes.

I can't express how much I enjoy visiting with ya'll on here. I'll update you on Friday (yesterday) and the rest of my weekend on Monday. See you then!