Sister Time

Alphabetically I'm to the Guisingers (even though, chronologically, St. George was our final stop of the summer).

We drove to my sister's house in St. George in mid-July. If I'm being honest, I need to say I was a little worried my large crew would be overwhelming for my sister and her very neat, very clean, very orderly house (she's extremely talented in this way). But we were greeted with a huge warm welcome, delicious food, and lots of joy. In fact, in the three days we were there, I never once felt as though my children were a burden or in any way un-welcome. And to my sister's credit, that is saying a lot. Cuz we are, after all, a large group!

Katie planned such fun activities.We picnicked.

She threw a surprise "un-birthday" party for the kids to (in her words) "make up for the past two years of birthdays." Cupcakes, balloons, party hats, and gifts. So much fun.

We toured downtown St. George where we splashed in the fountains, rode on the carousel, and ate delicious ice cream (I also had breadsticks and soup) at Jed's old fashioned candy store. Katie proposed we buy wax lips and wax mustaches for this fun picture.

 

Katie wasn't the only one who made sure we had fun. Uncle Joe carved out a morning to take Tman shooting. They stopped at the store for donuts on the way there. Tman used a 22 rifle to shoot at a plastic water bottle and targets. To this day, when Tman is asked about his favorite part of the summer, he always answers: "Shooting with Joe." Now remember, this is the summer we went to France. But shooting trumps it all. Tman saved one of the plastic water bottles from the outing (with lots of the bullet holes) and has it proudly displayed along side his soccer and chess trophies on his dresser.  

I can't write about Katie and Joe without writing about my adorable niece. I missed getting to see Katie pregnant. And I missed out on seeing Megan as a brand new baby. But oh the joy of holding her! Or seeing my children play with her! - eclipsed only by watching my sister be an incredible mom. One of the saddest parts of returning to Jakarta was knowing I wouldn't get to hold this precious girl for another year.

 

There are many precious moments I don't have pictures of. Katie and I got up early to run on two mornings. Joe saved me the first time because I was delirious with dehydration (true story) at mile five. The second time, we were more prepared with a mid-way water drop. Nine miles of pure joy, running along the river as the sun rose, just talking to my sister. Then there was the cooking and eating. I loved Katie's crockpot mexican chicken and her amazingly healthy, delicious granola. She helped me find all the ingredients so I could make it here in Jakarta. Lunch at the Painted Pony was divine. And of course, a little shopping at our favorite clothing stores.

When I think back on this time in St. George there is another memory that stands out. We had just returned home after watching "Mulan" at the outdoor theater at Tuacan. Joe and Katie had lit their outdoor fire pit and prepared an incredible spread of smore fixings. I'm sure they were both tired - Joe had worked all day, Katie was balancing entertaining and being a mom to Megan. But they didn't make us feel that.

Joe showed us the trick to a perfect smore - putting the graham cracker with chocolate near the fire so the chocolate is all gooey. Our fingers were chocolatey, our lips were sticky with marshmallow, Joe had his arm around Katie, and I remember feeling such love for them.

We sat under the stars, ate smores, and just enjoyed each other.

Having a sister like Katie and getting to share this special time with her and her beautiful family is one of the biggest blessings of my life.