Thinking Out Loud Thursday - August 11, 2022

Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday where I talk about something on my mind and invite you to link up and do the same.  Today I'm doing a little catching up.  I had every intention of doing a weekending post because we had such a wonderful, action-packed weekend.  But life happened and the post just never came together.  I'm thinking about the weekend today and am going to get you caught up on my activities!

We were planning to go to my hometown for the annual picnic on Saturday and we were flying out on Sunday, so Friday night was my time to play catch up.  Practically every major appliance was whirling around Friday night as I tried to catch up on laundry and get all the dishes clean.  

Saturday morning we were up bright and early so we could arrive at Old Settlers in time for the parade.  We literally got there just as the first police car came leading the parade down the road! Our niece was crowned Old Settlers Princess last year, so she had a prominent spot in the parade lineup.

This picnic has been going on for 141 years.  I have so many wonderful memories of this event.  It touched my heart to see my dad talking to two of his friends from high school that had traveled in for the weekend.  This is what it is all about!  Hats off to the group of people who work tirelessly to make sure this event happens year after year.

We spent the day enjoying visiting with friends, strolling around the cakewalk, playing bingo, and watching the kids play games.  Amazing day!  And our little princess did a fabulous job turning the crown over to this year's winner.

On the way home, we stopped for dinner with our son and daughter-in-law to celebrate Kayla's birthday.  She's such a beautiful person both inside and out.  I'm so grateful to have her in our family!

Sunday morning we finished packing and headed to the airport.  We were flying to Phoenix for a few days.  I had a work thing and Eric was coming along to provide some company.  When we landed, it was HOT!

As soon as we landed, we headed straight to the Desert Botanical Garden.  They have some Chihuly glass installations and I have a thing for Chihuly glass!  One of these days, we are going to make it to Seattle to see his studio. #bucketlistitem

 

I'll have a lot more on our short time in Phoenix later.  We crossed off a bucket list item by taking a hot air balloon ride!

One other fun thing that happened - on our way home we ran into Jacob from The Bachelorette at the airport!  I just had to snap a pic.  He was so gracious and kind about it.  Rachel and Gabby might have messed up by letting him go.

Now you are somewhat caught up and that's what I was thinking out loud about today.  What are you thinking out loud about?  Link up and share!

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