All Things Anne

Since we’d gotten such a late start on Sunday, we didn’t get home until around 8 pm. It was a very weird day, driving all day. I bet you didn’t know that sitting in a van for hours on end is exhausting, did you? Well, if you didn’t, it is. But the work wasn’t done; when we got home, we unloaded the trailer, because it had to be taken back the next day. We didn’t get to bed until late that night, too!

And we’ve been home ever since! Pi (my cat) was soooo glad to see me, she’s slept with me every night since we came home!

We got up early on Sunday to make the two hour drive to Uncle Steve’s church, which turned out to be a 1.5 hour drive! After the service was a “wedding”, where a couple who had been married for 35 years renewed their vows (the man arranged it as a surprise for his wife), which was neat, and there was a potluck, and…of course, wedding cake! The people there were so nice, we felt right at home!

Then the boys and Dad set up the music stuff (which took a few hours), and we did a soundcheck, then went across the street to Uncle Steve’s (he’s the pastor there) for a bit, then we changed into our concert clothes, and went back across the street and gave a concert. I think that one went better than the one at Grandpa’s, too! After that was a very nice finger food buffet (everybody wants us to get fat, I think!), and after a while there, we went back to Uncle Steve and Aunt Barbara’s to change and hang out for a bit.

Uncle Steve restores and remodels cars. I guess this is his latest finished product!
Uncle Steve and Aunt Barbara. In case you can’t tell, Aunt Barbara is the pretty one on the right and Uncle Steve is the other one.

Then we went back to Grammoo and Papa’s, where Grammoo loaded our trailer with food! We didn’t get out of Grammoo and Papa’s until 1:45 am. Duke was very happy to be with us again!

Aunt Jeanie and one of her sisters came, and brought us girls 7 totes full of fabric! Very cool! The boys and Dad went to Grammoo’s to get the U-Haul trailer (we’d left it at Grammoo’s…we left Duke there, too), and when they came home, we went to some Russian’s house. The dad, Mr. N., used to be one of Dad’s drivers.

We had dinner there…it was soooo good! There was a potato-chicken casserole; pink cabbage salad; a salad that tasted like scalloped potatoes; a green salad; and these biscuit/pastry things that were round that were stuffed with sausage, then for dessert: diamond wafers (like from sugar wafers), layered with Russian caramel (that’s better than our caramel, it has the consistency of lukewarm hot fudge sauce, and is less sweet than our caramel), and these cookie shells about the size of a walnut, also filled with Russian caramel. It was all very good!

Us and the Russians…left to right (back row): Diana, Mrs. N., Mr. N., Dad, Mom, me, Beth. Middle: Vita (with the Daddy’s girl shirt), Em holding Elle Jane, Kate, Tess, Jay, Eric. Front: Stephen (Victor’s friend), Victor (who wouldn’t smile for the camera!), Joe, Rase, Abby, Ben.