Saturday in Puyallup - Catch Up Time!

Boy have we had a busy week. Our time at home was filled with lots of visiting and great food.

We arrived home on Monday afternoon and got set up at NACO. We then made one of two trips to the storage unit. Ron was so excited to get the satellite dish up and on. Monday evening we had an enjoyable evening with Judy & Kathy and sharing a meal at Bob's Burger & Brew. It was good to get caught up with them. After dinner we went to Jim & Mei's for dessert and more visiting. We laughed a lot and watched a beautiful sunset on the bay.

Tuesday found us up early doing laundry and then off to lunch at Big Al's with Jamie, Suzanne, Oliver (Suzanne's nephew) & Opal. The food was good and it was fun to get caught up with them. Tuesday evening we went to dinner at Gerald & Sandra's. They are such great cooks. Dinner was bbq'd pork chops, squashed squash, mashed potatoes and sliced tomatoes w/onions in a balsamic dressing. Pastor Charles joined us for dinner. It was so good to get caught up on what's happening in their lives and to tell stories of our time with the carnival.

Wednesday started off early as Ron went to the Men's Bible study at Blackberry House. He said it was a good time reconnecting with some of the men from church. Being involved in the Bible study is something Ron dearly misses. While Ron was at Bible study I went to Wood's for coffee and more visiting with Dee. It was fun to catch up with her and get lots of hugs. We then went over to Jamie's. He wanted to show us the 31' travel trailer they had just bought. So much more room then the 22' Class C they had been living in. After being at their place for an hour or so they came back to the motor home to pick up something for their trailer and of course, more visiting. Ron made a trip to Pacific Builders to get our screen door and living room window rescreened. While he was doing that I had a visit with Stacey. After that I was able to sneak in a nap in the afternoon. All that visiting was tiring me out. In the evening we went to The C Shop for dinner and more visiting. It was so good to see John (Ron's brother), Kristen & Coral (Jade was at camp), Gerald & Sandra, Patrick & Patricia, Jim & Mary, Sarah along with Kiera & Ryder, Glenn & Marla along with Odie, Lucy & Milo, and Keith & Beth. Also got a chance to say hi to Keith & Saara. We had lots of pizza and even more visiting. Ron and I appreciated the opportunity to share about our time with the carnival: our jobs, people we are becoming friends with, an update on Theresa (please keep her in your prayers as he has started her chemo) and most of all just being together with friends for an enjoyable evening.

Thursday we readied the motor home for our return trip to Puyallup along with one more visit with Jamie, Suzanne & Opal (I promise pictures to follow soon). We visited till about 10:30 and then it was time for them to head out and us to get on the road. Our first stop was dropping off the suburban at Marquez & Nicole's and then off to Bellingham to lunch with Jerry & Lynda. It was fun to catch up with them and hear about their trip to Columbia. After a couple of hours of visiting Ron said we had to get on the road. We left Bellingham and headed for Puyallup. We arrived about 7:00 p.m. and got all settled into our spot at the bone yard. It felt good to be back "home" with our fellow travelers and workers.

Friday dawned early as the show van (with Ron driving) headed to Ft. Lewis at 7:00 a.m. I stayed snuggled in bed till almost 8:00 a.m. I did a little around the motor home till Debbie picked me up at 9:45. Ron worked on setting up the ticket box, Sinbad, Zero Gravity, the show office and the Lolli Swings. I started out with Debbie in the office and then Rob told me Wendy had quit so I needed to go help Joel in the Burger Kitchen. After I got the inside set up I went back into the office to finish getting things ready for Sunday as well as doing the time sheets from tear down the past Monday. Once we were finished with that Debbie and I cleaned the ticket box. It looked like a hurricane and flown through it. Once done with that I went and joined Sophie in doing a thorough cleaning of the Burger Kitchen. I must say we did a great job and it is sparkling now. Rob informed me that Ron & I would be taking the health class/food handler's permit class on Saturday evening at 6:00 along with Sophie, Kollin & Nicole. A lot is up in the air about what I will be doing on Sunday. I will start out in the office handing out paychecks and readying the ticket sellers. I will be available to work in the office, sell tickets and help in the Burger Kitchen ending with finishing up in the office doing the time sheets and books for Ft. Lewis. As I told Rob yesterday I am flexible and will do what needs to be done. I think he was glad to hear that and see that I have a positive attitude about working.

After finishing up at Ft. Lewis we arrived back at the bone yard to find out Richard had made a full dinner for us. He bbq'd pork chops, brats, had baked potatoes, watermelon and grilled vegi's along with homemade beans that Tammy provided. It was such a nice treat to not have to cook after working all day. We visited for awhile in the evening. After retiring to the motor home it started to rain and rain some more. It was a very heavy rainstorm even knocking out the satellite (bummer for Ron as he was getting ready to watch a movie) so we called it an early night and headed to bed about 9:30.

We slept in this morning and then had a nice breakfast of bacon & eggs, a treat I don't make very often. Today is mostly a day of rest, though we do plan on going into town to pick up some more of the Chocovine - as I have told people it is like drinking chocolate milk with a kick. This evening we have the class at Ft. Lewis and then tomorrow we have our long day starting at 9:00 with the carnival opening at 11:00 and going till 11:00 p.m. It is a lot of work to set up the carnival whether it is for a one day show or a 5 day run. We have 8 games and 6 rides: Sinbad, Zero Gravity, Torpedo, Bear Affair, Lolli Swing and Dragon Wagon as well at the Burger Kitchen. And then comes tear down and our next jump to Kent for the Kent Cornucopia Days.

That's all for now. Sure hope you have enjoyed catching up with us. I will be back soon.

Love and miss you all! But relishing in the memories of our recent visit home and seeing friends & family.