3,640

That’s how many miles we traveled in just a week!  And what a trip it was.  Janette, Sarah and I began our adventure in sunny San Diego, flying from our base at DFW, headed toward Portland, OR.  There, we hooked up with Sarah’s very cool cousin, Sean (who is my age) so that we could all drive together up to Sarah’s (and Sean’s) grandparent’s home just outside of Polson, Montana.

The scenery was amazing, the time spent with family was awesome, and the trip was spent just breaking away from the hectic lives we’ve been living for the past I don’t know how long.  As you can see from the view of the Mission Mountains in Montana, this was just what the doctor ordered for us.

  When we arrived at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, I was very overwhelmed, meeting people I had never met before.  They swarmed around us like vultures, but they weren’t mean at all, and they didn’t even seem like they wanted to eat me!  Soon enough, I became very comfortable inside this wonderful family and it just felt too cool for words to be a part of it.  This is one picture (of many!) that the Lonnevik’s took to capture the reunion.  Here we are with Grandma and Grandpa — the grandchildren and their spouses.  From left bottom: Mark & Anna (she is one granddaughter), Grandpa, Grandma, Emily (another granddaughter; top row: Lindsay & Darin (grandson and his wife), Sarah and me (of course, Sarah is a granddaughter and I am her spouse), and Sean (grandson).

 Aside from staying up late, sleeping-in in the mornings, and drinking lots of beer, we did a lot of fun things!  We visited a brewery in Polson (Glacier Brewery), but we also went out on Flathead Lake and went wakeboarding.  Here I am on the left trying to get myself up on the wakeboard… and I almost had it about 4 times!  Very frustrating, but it doesn’t look half bad from the picture.  Sean did manage to get himelf up… kudos man!  But it was a blast nonetheless, and it was more time with family soaking up the sun.

   

 (Left: the cabin up the hill; top: a peaceful evening with the moon visible behind a stoic pine tree)

 

After the reunion week, Sarah and I, along with Sean and Janette, all headed back to Portland to spend a day and a half in that great city.  We ate sushi, drank more beer (of course), and even went to historic Cannon Beach. 

Here (above), Sarah and I are enjoying ourselves at the Laurelwood Brew Pub.  Later on, we went on to karaoke at the Ambassador.  Kyle, a guy from Sean’s work, met up with us.  He did the best karaoke version of “Wonderboy” (Tenacious D) that I’ve ever heard!  Karaoke seemed to be a theme with us this week, as we also hit up the stage when we first arrived to Portland (before the big road trip to Montana).  Our post-Montana karaoke stop: Sarah, Kyle and Janette are singing “Bohemiam Rhapsody” together — and are having quite the time!

I already want to go back… feel the sand between my toes, and spend more time getting to know Sean and the rest of Sarah’s family.  But, I think that’s what I get to look forward to — many more trips and new relationships that we can carry with us. 

I guess sometimes family – and new friends – are like a good beer.  You just can’t get enough.

So, CHEERS to this family trip and the nearly 4-thousand miles that brough us all a little closer together in a land (at least for Sarah and me) that isn’t really close in distance, but is definitely closer in our hearts.

Big News – More Moving

It’s officially official.  We are moving… again.  I hope this will be our last move.  Sarah has accepted a position in Austin and so we’ll be packing our bags, and our dogs, to move to the capital of this great state.  As of yet, I have not found a job.  But at this point, I feel comfortable with prospects.  I’m not exactly nervous just yet.  The big thing is to sell the house and get loose ends tied up here first.  This comes as quite a surprise since we haven’t been here that long.  I know that new beginnings are exciting, but I am also a little sad to leave.  I will definitely miss our wonderful home, church, and this community.  I’ve had the chance to really get to know my mother and father in law, and for that I am so thankful.  We’ll be further away from them, but we’ll always be close.  Janette said to put it into perspective.  We’re moving to Austin, not Afghanistan.  And today I feel much better about things.  I think I needed to have dinner and talk to Sarah’s folks first, just to measure their reaction and get a sense of how they feel.  They’re all grown up, and I think they’ll be ok.  I think we will be ok, too.  Just gotta get used to the change, and re-develop a routine.  Barker and I… we like our routines.

You know…

I’ve heard so much spoken about “what goes around, comes around,” (karma) and “nice guys always finish first.”  In the church and in the realm of faith, prayer is key: prayer for someone who is challenging you, prayer for triumphs, prayer for trials.  I think these are all great things to consider when facing hardships.  I believe I’m an incredibly nice person… I think I’m even too nice.  And if nice people like me are taught all these things all our lives, does it give us any sort of advantage when it comes to people who AREN’T taught this?  These are the people who live their lives stomping all over people like me.  So whereas I’m praying for these people and believing that one day they’ll come face to face with a self-realization, these people are living their lives totally squashing people like me — and not even caring.

Do nice people really finish first?