Long Over due...

Well Family, tears are rolling down my cheek as I write this note..yes, as you might have guessed, my Sabbatical is over...I have been back at work for about 2 weeks now and it has proven to be very difficult to aclimate myself back into the fast lane...The first 3-4 days (who am I kidding, 7-10) were excruciating as my mind refused to accept the harsh reality.

Of course I have to think that is how it is supposed to be and to me is a lasting testament to just how great my Sabbatical was. I attribute a lot of that you to our family. We had such an absolutely fantastic time in the Redwoods with Josh/Tanya & Hannah,in Alaska with Savann & Alex & Doc & Bev & Families; in Yellowstone with Mindy's side of the family and in Ohio with my folks and sister, Meggin. We also had a great time getting where we were going and even enjoyed our last 2 weeks at home, prepping and planting grass (sod) in our back yard.

The headaches from staring at my computer from 8-10hrs/day have stopped for the most part and I have actually started accomplishing things again at work, so I think I am over the hard part. This entry finds fall fast approaching here in OR, with a few drizzly days already and everyday yielding less and less sunlight. The girls are back in school...Maggie is in 2nd grade...Lydia is in her 2nd yr of Pre-school (3 days a week) and even Paige is in a Pre-school run my a group of Moms from our ward 2X /week. Maggie and Lydia have also resumed their Ballet lessons. Maggie though after 2 weeks of 2X/week rehearsals has decided she's had enough ballet after 4 yrs and wants to try something different, so we are exploring Piano or maybe Gymnastic lessons...we'll let you know what she ends up doing, for now, she likes to come home from school, get her homework done and play basketball.




I've played around here and made an attempt at including an embedded slide show using Picasa Web album, so lets see if it worked...more photos from Sabbatical, alas only 6 1/2 yrs until my next one. Hope you all are doing well. We love you and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Love, Garrett, Mindy, Maggie, Lydia & Paige

Sabbatical Update

Hello Everyone,
August 10th today and it is the first time I have had to write any of this down. Also my first attempt at blogging, but I continue to be so inspired by Tanya's efforts (www.mckibben3.blogspot.com), that I feel compelled to use this medium as a way to stay in touch with you, our family and friends, who mean so much. Luckily, this summer has been and will continue to be a wonderful time to spend time with almost all of our family.
I will have to update details in additional blogs, but so far this summer, we have done some great, fun, and exciting things:
~ July 4th CAT walk, parade & fireworks
~ July 7-9 - camping on the OR coast and ward YM/YW activity
~ July 10-18 - Camping through OR on way to California Redwoods, with Josh & Tanya
~ July 20-24 - Garrett's last minute surprise trip to Alaska
~ July 25-28 - Few days down time in prep for Yellowstone
~ July 28 - Aug 9 - Spent traveling to and around Yellowstone with Mindy's family
~ Aug 11-21 - We are leaving tomorrow @6am for Ohio to spend some time with Meggin & Mom & Dad
~Aug 22- Sept 5 - Ending sabbatical at home by putting in a yard and doing some projects around the house...looking forward to spending some nights in our new house

Anyways, I will follow up with pictures and details of our adventures as time permits, but for right now I have got to unpack the trailer from Yellowstone and get ready for our early flight out tomorrow morning..

We love you all,
Take care,
Garrett, Mindy & Girls