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